The term "GeLao" comes from the Tang Dynasty, and is one of the pronouns of Zhongshu Ling's subordinates and Zhongshu Sheren, which is recorded in the New Book of Tang and the Hundred Officials Chronicle:
Six people, just five products. Palm attendant, senator table chapter. All edicts and edicts and seals are drafted into paintings; Take the long-time person as the cabinet elder and judge the chores of the province.
The "long-time subordinate" is the one with the deepest official qualification among all the Zhongshushe people, and if he becomes the elder of the cabinet, that is, the head of all the Zhongshushe people, he will have the opportunity to become the acting Zhongshu Ling and exercise part of the power of the prime minister.
However, the Cabinet Elder of the Tang Dynasty was not yet the Prime Minister after all, but only a substitute for zhongshu when the affairs were busy.
In the Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the chancellor and set up a cabinet to help the emperor handle government affairs with cabinet scholars.
After several generations of emperors changed the power of the cabinet university scholars, the cabinet university scholars gradually became the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and these cabinet university scholars were either called "auxiliary ministers" or "cabinet elders".
Therefore, the cabinet elders of the Ming Dynasty were much higher in status than those in the Tang Dynasty, and the cabinet elders of the Ming Dynasty could really be the prime minister, such as Zhang Juzheng.
This article is going to talk about the Cabinet Elders of the Ming Dynasty, talking about some of them.
In their daily lives, these elders have various strange nicknames because of their different behaviors and habits, and they have been recorded in the main history or the wild history.
Their stories are still well worth reading.
One: Paper paste three pavilion old, long live the old
During the reign of Emperor Mingxianzong (Emperor Chenghua) Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty, among the cabinet ministers he appointed, Wan An, Liu Jue, and Liu Ji were called "Paper Paste Three Pavilion Elders", which is recorded in the Biography of Ming Shi Liu Ji:
At the beginning, when Ji, Wan An, and Liu Jue were in Chenghua, the emperor lost his morality and had no rules, and sometimes there was a rumor that "paper paste three pavilions are old, clay sculpture six shangshu".
This is to accuse them of failing to exhort and stop the emperor when he made mistakes, but blindly pandering to them, and in the eyes of the historians, these cabinet scholars were like paper paste.
Of the three, Wan An was written the most badly in the history books, he was also a scholar of the Eight Classics of Zheng'er, and he also served as a cabinet minister for eighteen years, but in the History of Ming, it is said that "An Wuxue ... Castration as internal support".
This is because Wan An was too deeply related to Wan Guifei, who was favored by Emperor Mingxianzong, and he used the same surname "Wan" as a reason to be close to Wan Guifei and "called himself a nephew".
In fact, Wan An is not only 13 years older than Wan Guifei, but the place where the two were born is also thousands of miles apart, Wan An is a Sichuan native, and Wan Guifei is a Shandong native.
Wan Guifei also hoped that a famous family would come to climb the family to elevate her own identity, "Concubine tasted ashamed of herself without a door valve, and when she heard it, she was very happy, and her concubine Jinyi commanded the pass, so she counted the clan members and settled down." The two also married because of their respective needs.
Wan An was later able to stand in the cabinet until after the death of Emperor Mingxianzong, and did not resign his position as a cabinet minister during the ming xiaozong period, all because there was a noble concubine who supported him.
Most officials who behave like Wan'an will not be evaluated too well in the history books, and the scholars and doctors will collectively despise people like Wan'an who climb the harem and seek wealth.
Liu Jue and Liu Ji were both former attendants of Emperor Mingxianzong when he was crown prince, and they could also be regarded as Ming Xianzong's teachers.
The evaluation of Liu Jue in the "History of Ming" tends to be positive, "The temperament is loose and straight", "the cabinet is three people, An is greedy and cunning, and Ji Yin is carved." Slightly better".
The reason is that Liu Jue "thin Wan'an, tasted to rebuke An negative country shamelessly", and later, Liu Jue was deposed because of Wan'an's mischief.
He worked against Wan An, whom the scholar looked down upon, and even if he was listed as one of the "Three Elders of the Paper Paste", his evaluation would be much higher.
Liu Ji's evaluation is that there are praises and demeans, "Ji Duo Zhishu, Good Attachment, Self-Adornment, Sharp in Selfishness", he is also a capable person, and he has also been in the cabinet for eighteen years.
Liu Ji's tenacity is relatively sufficient, and whenever he encounters impeachment, he can always cross the risk, so he has a separate nickname, called "Liu Cotton", because "with its resistance to impeachment (impeachment)".
In addition to the title of "Paper Paste Three Pavilion Elders", Wan An, Liu Jue, and Liu Ji also had the title of "Long Live the Elder of the Pavilion", which is recorded in the "Wan Li Ye Zhi Zhi":
One day, they summoned the cabinet ministers Wan Meizhou, Liu Boye, and Liu Shouguang (Meizhou, Boye, and Shouguang as their hometown seats) to visit the government of the time, and they could not be put in the right place, that is, they prostrated their heads and shouted long live. At that time, there was a "long live the fair" joke.
Remarks: Regarding the allusion to "Banzai Ge lao", there are several versions of various wild histories, I chose one of them, the characters in each version are different, only Wan An is in each version, which is recognized as "Banzai Ge Lao".
Whether it is "Paper Paste Cabinet Elder" or "Long Live The Elder", in fact, they all accuse them of inaction, only know how to cater to the will of the superior, and have no opinion.
Come to think of it, in the final analysis, this is still the official addiction at work, and it is difficult to climb to the high position of the cabinet minister, and no one wants to be deposed because of offending the emperor, so he has lost some of his original intention.
Two: Companion Food Cabinet Elder
"Companion Food Cabinet Elder" is also called "Companion Food Zhongshu", this title comes from a poem, the name of the poem is called "Seven Revisions of The Draft, Things, Li Xiya":
The article is worth a lot of money, accompanied by food in the book day and west.
Looking back at the spring water of the Xiangjiang River, partridges cry and cry.
Li Xiya refers to Li Dongyang, an cabinet minister during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming and Emperor Wuzong of Ming, who called himself "Xiya".
The "food companion" in this poem is a pejorative meaning, accusing Li Dongyang of serving as a cabinet minister, but he was timid and did not dare to fight with the traitors.
Is this accusation right? Half of them are right, because when Li Dongyang was a cabinet minister, there was indeed a period of idleness.
This period coincided with the reign of Liu Jin, the eunuch who was favored by Emperor Wuzong of Ming.
At that time, Liu Jin was in a terrible position and acted recklessly, while Li Dongyang, as the elder of the Four Dynasties (he was a jinshi of the Tianshun Dynasty of Emperor Mingyingzong, who had gone through the four dynasties of Ming Yingzong, Ming Xianzong, Ming Xiaozong, and Ming Wuzong), just watched Liu Jin Hu lai and did not ask.
In addition, at the beginning of Emperor Mingwuzong's succession, he had the idea of reusing Liu Jin, and Liu Jian and Xie Qian, who were listed as cabinet ministers alongside Li Dongyang, were strongly opposed, but Li Dongyang failed to go all out.
Therefore, when Emperor Wuzong of Ming changed the cabinet in anger, Liu Jian and Xie Qian were deposed, but Li Dongyang retained the position of cabinet minister, as recorded in the Biography of Ming Shi Li Dongyang:
Wu Zongli (武宗立), who repeatedly added the young fu and crown prince. Liu Jin entered the ceremony, and Dongyang resigned on the same day as Jian and Qian. Zhongzhi went to Jian and Moved, while Dongyang remained alone. Shame, please, don't allow. In the beginning, Jian and Qian wanted to discuss Jin, and the words were very strong, but Dongyang was less slow, so he stayed alone.
In this way, in the court and in the folk, there are many people who believe that Li Dongyang has discarded the backbone of the reader, colluded with Quan Castration, and connived at Liu Jin's chaotic government.
The poem written earlier was probably written at this stage.
In fact, Li Dongyang was just enduring humiliation and bearing the burden.
When Liu Jian and Xie Qian were deposed, they approved of Li Dongyang's approach, believing that if he also fully opposed Emperor Mingwuzong's appointment of Liu Jin, he would also be deposed, so that there would be no upright people in the dprk to stare at Liu Jin.
Both Liu Jian and Xie Qian hoped that Li Dongyang would continue to look for Liu Jin's handle in the position of cabinet minister and strive to find an opportunity to overthrow Liu Jin.
Later, Li Dongyang did it, and he, Yang Yiqing and other upright ministers, together with Zhang Yong, another eunuch who was dissatisfied with Liu Jin, killed Liu Jin in one fell swoop in the fifth year of Emperor Mingwu Zhengde.
When you want to come to this time, everyone in the world can see it clearly, and the derogatory reputation of "accompanying food cabinet elder (Zhongshu)" will also pass away with the wind.
When the History of Ming evaluates Li Dongyang, in addition to affirming his literary talent, it also affirms his fame: "Since Ming Xing, Zaichen has led the gentry with articles, yang Shiqi, and Dongyang. Fifty years after the founding of the dynasty, the Qing Dynasty has been unswerving. ”
Three: QingziGe old
"Qingzi Ge Lao" does not refer to a single person, but refers to a number of cabinet ministers.
All of these courtiers came from a period, that is, during the reign of Emperor Ming Shizong (Emperor Jiajing) Zhu Houxi.
The reason is also very simple, Ming Shizong likes Taoism, according to the rules of Taoism, to communicate with the gods and immortals in the heavens, or before drawing symbols, they must use a Zhu pen to write green words (also called green words) on qingteng paper to show the gods.
The more gorgeous the green words are written, it is estimated that the more happy the gods and immortals of heaven are, and the better the effect of asking the gods or drawing symbols will be.
Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Ming Shizong, if you want to be a high-ranking official and want to enter the cabinet as a cabinet minister, in addition to having political achievements, the most important thing is to have the ability to write green words with one hand.
At that time, the famous cabinet ministers, whether they were traitors such as Yan Song who were identified by the history books, or loyal ministers who were identified by the history books as Xu Jie, were good at writing green words.
Can't write green words, can't even enter the cabinet, where is the opportunity to fight adulterers?
Xia Yan, Xu Jie, Yan Song, Li Chunfang, Yan Ne, Guo Pu, Yuan Wei, etc., were all promoted to cabinet ministers by Emperor Ming because they were good at writing Qingzi, and they were also called "Qingzi Ge Lao" or "Qingzi ZaiXiang".
This is typically because of the emperor's preference and is greeted by the nickname of folklore.
Four: Bandit Cabinet Old
The "Bandit Cabinet Elder" is a high arch that refers to the cabinet ministers from Sejong to Myeongshinjong (Wanli Emperor).
The History of the Ming Dynasty says that Gao Gong was "strong and self-righteous, and quite quick to complain." Therefore, when he was in power, he acted very domineeringly, without too many readers' tacts.
Coupled with the fact that when he was in power, he was very anti-corruption, and his tough style and domineering words and deeds gave him such a domineering nickname.
In the evaluation of Gao Gong by Wang Shizhen, a famous minister at that time, he brilliantly described his "bandit" (domineering) style: "And sexual urgency, can not tolerate things, and can not hide and endure, some are afraid, touch is shattered, every eye is angry, and the evil voice follows." ”
Because of this disposition, Gao Gong also spoke straight and straight, and was later caught by people, and was almost killed by his political enemy and eunuch Feng Bao, who was accused of "unauthorized power and no monarch".
Fortunately, Zhang Juzheng, who was an ally with Feng Bao, did not want to kill him, and stood up to ensure that Gao Gong did not die, and Gao Gong escaped the disaster, and finally dismissed the official.
In fact, the dispute between Gao Gong and Feng Bao, losing is lost in Zhang Juzheng and against the water, gao arch anti-Feng Bao, looking for Zhang Juzheng to join forces, Zhang Juzheng turned around and sold the high arch, "The arch makes people report Juzheng, Juzheng Yang promises, and privately protects." ”
Five: Elder Wei Jia Ge
The "Elder of the Wei Family Pavilion" mainly refers to the period of the reign of Emperor Xizong (Emperor Tianqi), a part of the cabinet ministers who were dependent on the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, that is, the so-called "castration party".
Among them, there are several who can be called "Elder Wei Jia Ge", namely Gu Bingqian, Huang Liji, Shi Fenglai, Wei Guangwei and so on.
These people were either promoted to the cabinet by Wei Zhongxian (those who entered the cabinet in this way were basically Wei Zhongxian's compatriots), or after entering the cabinet, seeing that Wei Zhongxian was powerful, they immediately went all out to greet them and watched Wei Zhongxian's eyes act.
The suggestion that Wei Zhongxian build "ancestral shrines" throughout the country was promoted by them, and their plans and participation in the brutal struggle against the Donglin Party members were also theirs.
In short, whatever Wei Zhongxian said, they did, completely based on Wei Zhongxian's horse, so they were called "Wei Jia Ge Lao".
Of course, when Wei Zhongxian collapsed, they also dismissed the officials and punished them, and they also became Wei Zhongxian and defeated Wei Zhongxian.
Six: Qingke Pavilion Old
"Qingke Gelao" is a reference to the cabinet ministers from Emperor Xizong to the reign of Emperor Mingsizong (Emperor Chongzhen).
In fact, he was also regarded as an "eunuch party", and was written into the biography of the eunuch party in the "History of Ming".
For the same reason, he had photographed Cui Chengxiu's father's ass, the number one cadre under Wei Zhongxian and the head of the Five Tigers of the Castration Party, "When the Sect Dao official ceremonial department, he asked for a sympathy for Cui Chengxiu's father, and there was a phrase "spirit in heaven". ”
When Wei Zhongxian fell, he was not held accountable, because he participated in the action of supporting Ming Sizong and made meritorious contributions to The ascension of Ming Sizong to the throne, so he escaped liquidation and became the first assistant of the Ming Sizong Dynasty.
But Lai Zongdao knew that his history was problematic, that he might be impeached and removed from power at any time, and that the more he did things, the more mistakes he might make, so he simply ignored things in the position of the first assistant, and only knew that he drank tea all day and mixed days.
As a result, he was called "Qingke Zaixiang", which is recorded in the Ming Shi Laizong Dao Biography (attached to the biography of the Castration Party):
Editing Ni Yuanlu repeatedly neglected to argue about current affairs, Zong Dao laughed and said: "What is the canal is more than words, the story of the word forest, and the incense and tea ear." "Shi Shu Dao Qing Ke Zai Yun.
Although the reputation was not good, it allowed Lai Zongdao to successfully avoid the party struggle of the imperial court and retire peacefully, which was also a very clever political wisdom.
Seven: Concluding remarks
The introduction of some strange cabinet elders about the Ming Dynasty ends here.
The Ming Dynasty lasted more than two hundred years, if you count the Southern Ming, there are three hundred years of inheritance, of which there are many stories waiting to be discovered.
If the story of the strange old man I introduced is missing, readers who know it are welcome to leave a message in the comment area to add and discuss.
References: "History of the Ming Dynasty", "Wan Liye Won", etc