Why was Zhang Juzheng raided by Wanli? Why did Zhang Juzheng, who assisted the Wanli Emperor for ten years and created the "Wanli Zhongxing" and was known as the "Savior Of the World", be liquidated by the Wanli Emperor only two years after his death, and ended up being raided? Not only was his family starved and exiled, but even Zhang Juzheng himself was almost whipped in a coffin, what did Zhang Juzheng do? Why did the Wanli Emperor hate him so much? What kind of person is Zhang Juzheng in history?
In the sixth year of Longqing (1572), Ming Muzong Zhu Zaituan died of illness, because the Wanli Emperor who succeeded to the throne was only 10 years old, so Ming Muzong's testament appointed three cabinet assistants Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Gao Yi, as well as the eunuch Feng Bao, the superintendent of ceremonies, to jointly assist the young emperor, and later Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao designed to overthrow Gao Gong, and because another minister of the imperial guard Gao Yi died of illness, Zhang Juzheng naturally became the first assistant of the cabinet.
After more than 20 years of groping in the official field, it was finally time to show his true strength, so after Zhang Juzheng took over the post of first assistant, he immediately proposed a series of reform measures. The "Examination Law" he implemented to implement KPI assessment for officials at all levels greatly improved the efficiency of the imperial court; and the "One Whip Law" he implemented simplified the previous tax system of the Ming Dynasty, making it difficult for local officials to evade taxes, thereby increasing fiscal revenue, and at the same time alleviating the unreasonable burden of peasants to a certain extent. The national treasury was gradually enriched, which also allowed the Ming Dynasty to come out of the predicament of being stuck in the mud and create the last prosperous era of the Ming Dynasty, known in history as "Wanli Zhongxing".
It can be seen from this that Zhang Juzheng's reform was very successful, and in the ten years of serving as the first assistant of the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng continued to bow down until the tenth year of the Wanli Calendar (1582), Zhang Juzheng died of illness, but Zhang Juzheng did not expect that shortly after his death, he and his family would usher in an earth-shaking liquidation.
After Zhang Juzheng's death, Emperor Mingshen Zhu Yijun gave Zhang Juzheng a lofty treatment for him to quit the dynasty for one day, but with Zhang Juzheng's death, the opposing side gradually rose up, and the so-called wall fell on everyone, and impeachment of Zhang Juzheng became the most important thing for the officials at that time.
In the face of the teacher who was once trusted, but now he has become an evil person who deceives the king and the poisonous people, the Wanli Emperor remembers the auxiliary merits of more than ten years and does not pursue it by default, but this makes the courtiers more brazenly impeach Zhang Juzheng, and the first assistant Gao Gong, who was once replaced by Zhang Juzheng, also wrote "The Last Words of the Sick Bed" before his death, the whole article is about Zhang Juzheng's crimes, under the pressure of this public opinion, the Wanli Emperor finally could not resist and planned to completely liquidate the former benefactor. In the twelfth year of Wanli (1584), two years after Zhang Juzheng's death, the Wanli Emperor ordered the Zhang family to be raided and stripped of all his honors during his lifetime, Zhang Juzheng's son Zhang Jingxiu was also stripped of all official positions, and eventually hanged himself, the entire Zhang family was either starved to death or exiled, even Zhang Juzheng was almost opened in a coffin and whipped, after the raid, the Wanli Emperor ordered Zhang Juzheng to be defined as "dictatorship and disorderly government".
It is really sad and lamentable that the former high-ranking and powerful cabinet chief assistant, who worked hard for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, was disgraced and became a sinner after his death, so as the greatest politician and reformer of the Ming Dynasty, what was wrong with Zhang Juzheng? Why did the Wanli Emperor hate him so much?
First of all, because Zhang Juzheng offended too many people, Zhang Juzheng's series of reforms touched the interests of many people, so Zhang Juzheng's reform was successful at the same time, but also let everyone begin to increase his resentment, which is also the reason why later the courtiers impeached him.
The second is the rebellious psychology of the Wanli Emperor, Zhang Juzheng is extremely harsh on the Wanli Emperor, wanli as long as he makes a mistake, he scolds Wanli more fiercely than scolding his son, although it is said that Yan Shi is a high disciple, but Zhang Juzheng is a teacher, but he did not take the lead in setting an example, Zhang Juzheng often teaches Wanli to be frugal, but his life is very luxurious, it is said that the palanquin he took out of the house must be a large palanquin carried by thirty-two people together, and the emperor did not have such luxurious treatment, which made the Wanli Emperor how not to be angry. Let me live a hard life, but I am happy like a god, so after knowing Zhang Juzheng's double standard behavior, the Wanli Emperor was very angry, so under the impeachment of the ministers, the Wanli Emperor who had been complaining for a long time suddenly broke out.
From a generation of famous people to discredited sinners, the evaluation of Zhang Juzheng is also polarized, some people think that he is the only great politician of the Ming Dynasty, praising "there is no Zhang Juzheng in the world"; some people feel that he is arbitrary and arbitrary, and his life is extravagant. Mr. Lu Xun said: "A warrior with shortcomings is a warrior after all, and a perfect fly is only a fly in the end", perhaps Zhang Juzheng was a loyal minister committed to reform for Daming, but for the Wanli Emperor, he was an unfaithful minister with dictatorial power and disorderly government.
This article is original by the General History Jian, welcome to pay attention to, take you along with long knowledge!