Hu (91) | famous minister Hu Shining: he was imprisoned for exposing Zhu Chenhao's intention to rebel, and almost lost his head

Huang Yong/Wen

Zhu Chenhao, the King of Ning, who rebelled during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, was defeated by the famous minister Wang Yangming. However, before Zhu Chenhao rebelled, there was a minister surnamed Hu who was imprisoned for exposing Zhu Chenhao's rebellion and almost lost his head, and he was Hu Shining.

Hu Shining, an all-rounder in literature and martial arts: For human nature and integrity, he is not afraid of power

Hu Shining, zi Yongqing, a native of Hengtang Village, Renhe County, Hangzhou (now Hengtang Village, Jianqiao Town, Jianggan District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang), is said to have a "black face, electric eyes, and a lion nose", and is a man of upright temperament, not afraid of power, and understands the military.

Hu Shining was born in a family that had been farmers for generations, and in order to provide for him to study, the family was very difficult. In the 5th year of Hongzhi (1492), Hu Shining won the second place in the township examination. The following year, Hu Shining lived up to expectations and passed the entrance examination.

Initially, Hu Shining was appointed as the Governor of Dezhou, and later promoted to the post of Governor of the Punishment Department of Nanjing, Langzhong, and the prefect of Taiping Prefecture (太府, in present-day Jiangzhou District, Chongzuo, Guangxi).

While in Nanjing, he wrote 10 commentaries on the issue of border preparations, and wrote a book on the inadequacies and mistakes of political affairs at that time. The seriously ill Emperor Hongzhi looked at his recital and nodded his head in praise.

Portrait of Hu Shining (file photo)

Upon learning that Zhu Chenhao, the King of Ning, wanted to rebel, Hu Shining went to the imperial court to expose the matter

During his tenure in Taiping Province, because his mother went, Hu Shining went home to keep filial piety. After 3 years of filial piety, he went to Beijing to wait.

While passing through Cangzhou, Hu Shining happened to encounter Liu Kou attacking the city. He entered the city and helped plan the defense of the city. Liu Kou did not fight for seven days and seven nights, so he had to withdraw.

After Hu Shining arrived in the capital, the imperial court appointed him as the prefect of Baoqing Province (baoqing Province) (present-day Shaoyang, Hunan). In the 7th year of Zhengde (1512), the 44-year-old Hu Shining was promoted to deputy military deputy of Jiangxi. This was a military attaché position, and Hu Shining knew that his military talents had been put to use.

Hu Shining soon learned that Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning, was arrogant and lawless and had rebellious thoughts, and knew that many people knew about this matter, but no one dared to report this matter to the imperial court.

Hu Shining, who has a straight temperament, can't tolerate sand in his eyes and decides to stand up and expose this matter.

In March of the 9th year of Zhengde (1514), Hu Shining wrote to say that thieves in Jiangxi were more rampant, but thieves were not a scourge in Jiangxi, and what really threatened the imperial court was that the power of King Ning was expanding day by day, and many jiangyang thieves gathered around King Ning, hoping that the imperial court would take precautions as soon as possible.

When Zhu Chenhao learned of this, he was greatly annoyed and bought off several imperial historians in the imperial court, slandering Hu Shining for being rash and arrogant, and should be punished. Zhu Chenhao also personally went out on horseback, playing the Zhengde Emperor and saying that Hu Shining had alienated the relationship between the emperor and the relatives, and slandered him.

Zhu Chenhao's two-pronged plot to kill Hu Shining succeeded, and the Zhengde Emperor credulously believed these slanders and ordered Jinyi Wei to arrest Hu Shining and take him to the capital.

Coincidentally, before the imperial court had promoted Hu Shining to be an envoy to Fujian, Hu Shining left Jiangxi to take up his post in Fujian, and on the way he returned to his hometown to visit his relatives.

Wang Yangming captured Zhu Chenhao alive, and Hu Shining's grievances were revealed

Zhu Chenhao rummaged through Jiangxi, but when he did not find Hu Shining, he slandered Hu Shining for absconding in fear of crime.

Later, when he learned that Hu Shining had returned to his hometown to visit his relatives, Zhu Chenhao also asked his henchman, Inspector Pan Peng of Zhejiang, to arrest and send Hu Shining to Jiangxi, and also sent hundreds of soldiers to Hangzhou to assist in the arrest of people, in order to kill Hu Shining privately.

After Pan Peng got the order, he locked up Hu Shining's entire family and urgently pursued Himing.

Li Chengxun, the envoy of Zhejiang Province, was a close friend of Hu Shining. When Hu Shining was serving in Nanjing, he had a good relationship with Li Chengxun, Wei Xue, and Yu You, who were also serving in Nanjing at that time, and people at the time called them the "Four Gentlemen of nandu".

Li Chengxun secretly protected Hu Shining, who fled to Beijing, voluntarily surrendered, and was imprisoned in Jinyiwei Prison.

In prison, Hu Shining was tortured, but he still wrote three times to further expose Zhu Chenhao's rebellious crimes, but no one paid any attention to him.

Under the rescue of a group of upright officials, Hu Shining, who had been imprisoned for more than a year, was spared death and sent to Liaodong Shushou.

In the first round of the match against Zhu Chenhao, Hu Shining failed. But the world is unpredictable, and Hu Shining, who persisted to the end, still won, and life is so full of dramatic reversals.

In the 14th year of Zhengde (1519), Zhu Chenhao rebelled, and Wang Yangming, the deputy capital of military affairs in Jiangxi Ting and Zhang, dispatched troops to requisition and captured Zhu Chenhao alive.

In this way, Hu Shining's grievances are naturally revealed, and his disposition to risk death and regard death as a homecoming, and his upright "Hangzhou Iron Head" temperament, are respected by people.

【Next issue concern】

See hu (92).

【Special Thanks】

Mr. Hu Chuanhuai, an expert in literature and history of Pengxi County, Sichuan.

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