Zhang Juzheng, the iron-fisted chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty, was never merciful in the face of internal and external troubles. When the country's finances were in crisis, he decisively introduced the "pepper and sumu discount" policy, although the original intention was to solve the emptiness of the treasury, but the collapse of the market caused this policy to provoke fierce opposition. North Korean and Chinese officials complained about him, and some even committed suicide in protest. Just when the opposition was waiting for an opportunity to take the opportunity to bring Zhang Juzheng down, things suddenly took a dramatic turn. A fire broke out at Tong Liben's funeral, and many officials lost their lives, and even Gao Gong's henchmen were not spared. What is the secret behind this fire?
Political struggles and national crises
In 1567, the first year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng jumped from the status of an old minister of Yuwangfu to a scholar of the Ministry of Zuo Shilang and a scholar of Dongge University. He officially entered the imperial cabinet and began to hold the power to participate in the affairs of the state.
At that time, the Ming Dynasty was in the midst of internal and external troubles. From south to north and from east to west, the problem of displaced people in the country has become increasingly serious, and countless displaced people have been uprooted from their homes due to war and famine, and their livelihood problems have become a major problem in front of the imperial court. At the same time, the emptiness of the treasury has reached alarming levels. Years of war and corruption in the government have led to financial constraints, and there has been a lot of discussion inside and outside the capital, and the financial embarrassment has become a major stumbling block to the country's development.
Local rebellions also caused headaches for the imperial court. The provocations of these local forces directly threatened the authority of the central government. What is even more serious is that the Tatar tribes on the northern border frequently invaded the frontier, and they repeatedly invaded the Central Plains, which brought great unease to the border areas.
In 1568, after a period of political marginalization, Gao Gong returned to the heart of the cabinet and quickly seized power. This year, the political atmosphere in the capital has become more complicated, and the storm of political struggle has become more and more intense.
In the fifth year of Longqing, that is, in 1571, Zhang Ju was facing frequent Tatar harassment on the northern border and proposed a bold strategy. He proposed to Ming Muzong to appease the Tatar tribes in the north by making Alta the king of Shunyi and opening a border horse market.
With Zhang Juzheng's strong recommendation and detailed policy analysis, Ming Muzong finally accepted this proposal. After the edict was issued, Alta was officially crowned King of Shunyi, and horse markets were opened in the border areas, allowing limited trade with the Tatars.
While the northern border has been temporarily stabilized, the situation in the south remains dire. The problem of pirate infestation remains a thorny national problem. The Japanese invaded the coastal areas many times, plundered property, and infringed on the common people, which seriously affected the coastal defense security and economic development of the Ming Dynasty. With their swift ships and fierce fighting methods, these pirates posed a great threat to the lives of the inhabitants of the southern coastal areas.
In this case, Zhang Juzheng once again showed his political skill. He pushed for the strengthening of coastal defenses, ordered coastal provinces to strengthen their city defenses, raised their vigilance, and organized a number of military operations against the Japanese to rid the area of instability.
Shoufu Zhang Juzheng's coping strategy
In the sixth year of Longqing, Zhang Juzheng officially became the first assistant, and after Gao Gong was deposed, the power structure of the imperial court changed dramatically, and Zhang Juzheng quickly took over the actual power of the cabinet. At this time, the Ming Dynasty was facing internal and external difficulties, economic, military, and political problems followed, and the state finances were particularly urgent. The treasury was empty, the government had difficulty maintaining its daily operations, and it was difficult to distribute the salaries of hundreds of officials, and the entire imperial court fell into a situation of being overstretched.
Faced with this dilemma, Zhang Juzheng decided to implement the policy of "pepper and sumu folding" after some consideration. Specifically, the imperial court no longer directly issued silver taels as a slu, but used the stock of pepper and sumu to offset the salaries of officials. These supplies were once a scarce commodity in the market, with relatively high prices, and Zhang Juzheng hoped that in this way he would reduce financial pressure and at the same time absorb the large accumulation of pepper and sumac.
The impact of the "pepper and sumac" policy
After the implementation of the policy, the imperial court released a large amount of pepper and sumac wood for a while, and these originally strong prices of goods suddenly flooded the market. Supply far outstripped demand, and market prices plummeted. The officials who had been given pepper and sumac as a slug found that their items could not be sold for the desired price, and even basic household expenses could not be afforded. Discontent among officials spread rapidly, and some officials' families were already poor, adding to the situation.
In this financial turmoil, the name of Tong Liben, the head of the Ministry of Rites, became a household name. Because of his family's financial difficulties, he could not support the family's daily expenses, and finally went to a dead end. Tong Liben's suicide became a trigger for opposition to Zhang Juzheng's policies. Accusations against Zhang Juzheng inside and outside the court became stronger, and many officials who were dissatisfied with him saw an opportunity to shake Zhang Juzheng's position.
Within the imperial court, Zhang Juzheng's political enemies moved quickly. They secretly connected with each other, found the old department of Gao Gong, who had political confrontation with Zhang Juzheng, and elected Gao Gong's old friends Wei Xuezeng and Wang Xilie as representatives, preparing to unite more officials to launch protest actions. Wei Xuezeng and Wang Xilie knew that Tong Liben's suicide provided them with an excellent opportunity. So, they devised a plan to launch a large-scale demonstration in the capital on the day of Tong Liben's burial, to pressure the imperial court and the emperor to force Zhang Juzheng to change his policy, and even let him lose his position as first assistant.
The date of the funeral came quickly, and Wei Xuezeng and Wang Xilie led a group of officials to gather in Tong Liben's mourning hall. The atmosphere in the crowd gradually became tense, and more and more officials and civilians gathered in the alleys, and the atmosphere was approaching the boiling point.
However, things suddenly spiraled out of control. Just as the parade was about to begin, the offerings piled up in the alley suddenly caught fire, and the fire was fierce and quickly spread to the surrounding houses. The crowd was chaotic, and officials and civilians at the scene fled in all directions. The fire quickly engulfed the buildings in the alley, and many people who did not have time to escape were trapped in the flames. In the fire, five officials were killed on the spot, as well as 24 people nearby, and more than 187 houses were burned down. With the rapid spread of the fire, the whole scene became a human purgatory, and many people were trampled and burned, and the scene was extremely tragic.
What is even more ironic is that Wei Xuezeng and Wang Xilie originally planned to overthrow Zhang Juzheng through this funeral incident, but Wang Xilie himself died in the fire. The sudden fire completely disrupted the opposition's plans, and what was supposed to be an organized protest turned into a disaster.
Zhang Juzheng's emergency measures and policy adjustments
Although the blame for the fire could not be directly attributed to Gao Gong due to insufficient evidence, the accident deepened the disgust of the emperor and Empress Dowager Li towards Gao Gong. Gao Gong was already open-mouthed in the court, and he offended many people, coupled with this incident, he had no chance to turn over. Many people in the DPRK and China secretly believed that this disaster provided Zhang Juzheng with an excellent opportunity to suppress Gao Gong.
Zhang Juzheng behaved extremely calmly in this turmoil. He was quick to announce the end of the much-criticized reform. In order to further calm the turmoil, Zhang Juzheng began to plan how to deal with the large amount of pepper and sumac caused by the policy in the market. As the first assistant, he directly came forward to persuade the wealthy merchants in the capital, hoping that they would be able to buy the mountains of pepper and sumu in the hands of officials.
Naturally, the wealthy merchants understood that Shousuke's personal plea was tantamount to giving them an opportunity to show their loyalty and get closer to the core of power. They responded to Zhang's call and quickly invested a lot of money to start buying pepper and sumac wood from officials.
Zhang Juzheng is familiar with history books, so he naturally understands the truth of "asking for directions and killing wood". This allusion tells the story of an ancient soldier who did not hesitate to kill the woodcutter who showed him the way in order to keep the route of his march secret. Zhang Juzheng regarded the wealthy merchants in the capital as those "woodcutters", and he knew that the financial resources of these wealthy merchants could quickly solve the immediate predicament, and the sacrifices they had to make were necessary.
Under Zhang Juzheng's planning, pepper and sumac in the market were gradually absorbed, and prices began to rise. This turmoil caused by the fold seems to be turbulent, but under Zhang Juzheng's careful layout, it was finally calmed down. The officials gradually fell silent, the market returned to normal functioning, and the opposition inside and outside the court gradually subsided because of this "sacrifice" of the wealthy merchants.
Zhang Juzheng's political methods and reforms
Some historians believe that Zhang Juzheng's policy of "pepper and sumu at the expense" was aimed at attacking his political opponents. Immediately afterwards, Zhang Juzheng's pace of reform did not stop. He introduced the far-reaching "One Whip Law" throughout the country. This system reform broke the traditional system of servitude and simplified the already complex tax system. In the past, taxes were apportioned according to the number of household registrations and d, and there were many miscellaneous taxes and labor items, and the burden on the people was heavy and uneven. Zhang Juzheng decided to reform this model, and he proposed that taxes and labor should be combined into the field endowment, and the tax payable should be calculated according to the land area, and the tax should be uniformly converted into silver taels for collection.
In practice, this reform has made it impossible for local officials to increase the burden on the people at will, and has reduced corruption in the bureaucracy. At the same time, the tax standard is clearer and more uniform, avoiding the public grievances caused by uneven tax burdens in the past.
The implementation of the "One Whip Law" was not all smooth sailing, and Zhang Juzheng encountered a lot of resistance when implementing the reform. Local officials, who have long enjoyed miscellaneous tax revenues, have shown resistance to the new policy. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the new law, Zhang Juzheng has sent competent officials to the local authorities to supervise the implementation through a strict supervision system, so as to ensure that the reform is not shelved due to local resistance.
Through the "One Whip Law", the efficiency of the imperial court's tax collection has been greatly improved, and it is difficult for local powerful and corrupt officials to enrich themselves through tax loopholes. At the same time, this policy also reduced the burden on the common people, especially the exemption of the labor part, which had a positive impact on the lives of the vast number of peasants. The way the tax burden is calculated according to the area of land makes the tax system fairer, with the richer landlords bearing more tax responsibilities and the burden on ordinary small farmers. In the process, the country's agricultural output has risen steadily, and the food supply is sufficient, which has also provided an economic foundation for the relative stability of the society.
References:[1]Qi Yue. Journal of Yangtze University(Social Sciences),2023,46(5):55-62