Preface
Xu Jie, a figure full of contradictions and contests in history. He got rid of Yan Song, who was in power for a while, but he seemed to have to step into the shadow of Yan Song. In this dark era, whether he can maintain the light in his heart has become the focus of people's inquiry.
In the face of the temptation of power and the challenge of darkness, how did Xu Jie choose? Is there a real light in his heart? Or has he become a part of the darkness in this world of power strife?
First, the ill-fated Xu Jie
Xu Jie, an important political figure in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, his life experience can be described as ups and downs, full of drama. Xu Jie, who has suffered many disasters since he was a child, seems destined to go through a bumpy life journey.
When Xu Jie was just one year old, he unfortunately fell into a dry well, but fortunately he was finally rescued, only to recover after three days in a coma. When he was five years old, Xu Jie passed through Kucang Mountain with his father and accidentally fell off the cliff, but fortunately his clothes were hung by tree branches and he was saved from suffering.
This kind of experience is enough to make people sigh about Xu Jie's ill-fated fate, but at the same time, people can't help but sigh, is such a person destined to an unfortunate fate? Perhaps, these unfortunate encounters have become the nutrients for Xu Jie's success in the future. As the old saying goes: "If you don't die in a great disaster, you will have a blessing in the future."
Xu Jie's continuous growth in the face of adversity and eventually became a generation of powerful ministers, which undoubtedly speaks to his tenacity and wisdom. He was not defeated by these unfortunate encounters, but found the motivation to move forward in the face of adversity, and this spirit is also admirable.
In the second year of Jiajing, Xu Jie's examination was awarded the position of editor of the Hanlin Academy, which opened his career path. This is undoubtedly an affirmation and recognition of his past experience, and he finally has the opportunity to show his skills in his career and prove his talents.
Second, Xu Jie, who has just entered the official career
Xu Jie, who has just entered the official career, is praised by everyone, he speaks elegantly, is smart and strategic, and does not like to say right and wrong, spreading gossip. This kind of virtue made him have an excellent reputation among scholars and doctors. However, Xu Jie's career path was not all smooth sailing.
While working at the Hallym Academy, he met such hard-line figures as Zhang Fujing, a cabinet scholar. At that time, Emperor Jiajing wanted to cancel Confucius's title and lower the standard for worshiping Confucius, but Zhang Fujing insisted on his opinion, and the other ministers did not dare to say much because they were afraid of Zhang Fujing.
In this case, the young and vigorous Xu Jie was not afraid of Zhang Fujing's power, he insisted on opposing Zhang Fujing's approach and arguing with him. This is a challenge to Zhang Fujing's authority, and it is also a demonstration of his sense of justice and courage.
Even though he was finally punished by demotion of officials, Xu Jie was not hit, but made a difference during his tenure in remote areas. When he tried the case of wrongful imprisonment, he released more than 300 victims, founded the village social school, destroyed obscene shrines, and arrested many thieves who had harmed the countryside.
These exploits finally allowed Xu Jie to be reused again, and he was promoted to the Tongzhi of Huangzhou Mansion, and later returned to the capital with his own talents, and was also reused by Emperor Jiajing because he was good at writing green words.
This experience of growing up in the face of adversity and finally being recognized undoubtedly strengthened Xu Jie's self-confidence and determination, and laid the foundation for his future political struggles.
3. The contest between Xu Jie and Yan Song
The rise of Xu Jie undoubtedly posed a threat to Yan Song, who held great power at that time. Yan Song was also a talented and learned person in his early years, but under the reuse of Emperor Jiajing, he gradually became a traitor who leaned towards the government and the opposition.
Yan Song was afraid that Xu Jie's reuse by Emperor Jiajing would pose a threat to his status, so he began to slander Xu Jie in front of Emperor Jiajing. This method is undoubtedly a common means of power struggle, taking advantage of the preferences and trust of those in power to strike at opponents and maintain one's own position.
And Xu Jie, who is also well aware of the sinister nature of Profit Field, chose the strategy of compromising in order to protect himself. He married his granddaughter to Yan Song's grandson and carried out a political marriage, ostensibly showing favor to Yan Song. This practice is undoubtedly to alleviate the contradiction with Yan Song, avoid direct confrontation, and thus preserve his own position.
But even so, Yan Song's son Yan Shifan did not take Xu Jie in his eyes, and even made many rude actions towards Xu Jie. Xu Jie chose to swallow his anger, undoubtedly to preserve his position. In Vanity Fair, sometimes you have to make some compromises and forbearance in order to keep your position and power.
As Xu Jie gradually gained the trust of Emperor Jiajing and was named the crown prince and prince, his status also rose, second only to Yan Song. This elevation of status is undoubtedly an affirmation and recognition of Xu Jie's past experience. He finally has the opportunity to display his talents at the top of power, and he also has the opportunity to compete with Yan Song.
Fourth, the fall of Xu Jie
After Yan Song retired, Xu Jie went to comfort him, ostensibly regardless of his past suspicions, but in fact, he wanted to prevent himself from falling into the hands of revenge. After all, there is no Yan family at the beginning, and there is no status he has now.
This practice also reflects Xu Jie's prudence and tactfulness. He understood that even though Yan Song had lost power, the forces around him were still operating in secret, not to mention that the emperor was capricious and wanted to reactivate Yan Song.
Xu Jie saw this, so he tried his best to dissuade Yan Song, did not let Yan Song return to the court, and brought down the Yan family. However, after gaining power, Xu Jie, also became the next Yan Song. After Mu Zong succeeded to the throne, Xu Jie was dissatisfied with Mu Zong's behavior and dissuaded him many times, which made Mu Zong disgusted, so Xu Jie took this opportunity to retire.
Afterwards, Zhang Qi impeached Xu Jie because of some personal grievances. It turned out that when Xu Jie retired, although he himself did not embezzle and accept bribes, he connived at his disciples to run rampant in the township and owned as much as 240,000 mu of land.
In addition, his disciples and domestic slaves also committed crimes, and the pleadings against him were piled up into a mountain. In order to settle the matter, Xu Jie had to bribe Dai Fengxiang with 30,000 taels of gold. Xu Jie eventually became a traitor, no different from Yan Song whom he overthrew at the beginning. The corrosiveness of this kind of power makes a person go from integrity to corruption, which is really embarrassing.
epilogue
History is always repeating, and the story of a man who goes from integrity to corruption and from humility to the top never seems to stop. Xu Jie's experience is undoubtedly a microcosm.
He had a bad fate since he was a child, but he eventually became a powerful minister, but in the end he also became a new traitor. What is it that makes a person corrupt from integrity? What makes a person a powerful minister?
These questions may never be perfectly answered, but we should continue to think and strive to find a more just and clean society. Only in this way can we avoid the repetition of history and make the world a better place.