Shen Shixing, the first assistant of the cabinet during the Ming Dynasty. When it comes to Shin Shixing, many people are not too familiar with him, because his sense of existence in history is too low. Later generations of him were inclined to "first rats at both ends" and "to avoid the world", as if he were a first assistant who had no achievements.
When we study a historical figure, we must not only look at his behavior, but also look at the purpose behind his behavior. Because thought determines action, every person in history presents a historical image, and all behaviors are actually the inevitable result of the character's own position and the specific historical environment in which he is located, and we should look at his deep purpose from behind to study these characters.
Shen Shixing
After gaining an in-depth understanding of Shin's political career, behind his seemingly swaying left and right and achieving nothing is his profound political wisdom and ultimate moderation. In the case of the difficulties of the Ming Dynasty during the Wanli Dynasty, it was still possible to get the approval of the Wanli Emperor, and to sort out the civilian official group in an orderly manner, while making up for the many holes left by Zhang Juzheng and letting the state apparatus advance in an orderly manner, it has to be said that it is a great wisdom.
According to relevant historical records, when Shen Shixing obtained the Title of Zhongzhuang during the Jiajing period, he was called Xu Shixing at that time, and the reason for this was what happened to him in his childhood. Shen Shixing's ancestors were originally surnamed Shen, and his grandfather's family was very poor when he was young, and in order to survive, he endured the pain of passing on his son to the relatively wealthy maternal uncle Xu family, so Shen Shixing's father and Shen Shixing changed their surname to Xu.
Shen Shixing's father "worked hard to learn" since he was a child, but due to family circumstances and poor health, he died early, and Shen Shixing's mother, a fairly strict housewife, placed deep expectations on Shen Shixing, and in a difficult life, took care of housework, educated children, and often "did not pretend to resign, slack off a little and held a stick and chased away.". Years later, Shin recalls his mother as "more than Yan Shiye!" "
"I am poor and sick, and I am strange, and I am no longer able to stand on my own, and I am a widow." --- Shen shi carried out his father's last words
Read hard
The poor family situation, the life under the fence, and the mother's ardent expectations created Shen Shixing's mission to revitalize the family business and change his destiny since he was a child, and this responsibility prompted him to study hard when he was a teenager, and finally won the middle title at the age of 27.
The young and ambitious Shen Shixing, but not proud and complacent, from childhood to send people under the fence, so that he has a strong sense of self-protection, so we see a cautious and careful, everywhere with people, not easy to offend people Shen Shixing. For him to be lenient, the tune is the motivation to pursue honor in his bones, using his own arrangements and arrangements to make things satisfactorily resolved, while constantly adjusting his behavior, so that he meets the expectations of the emperor and his colleagues, in order to expect their praise, support and respect, so as to reduce his deep feeling of inferiority, it is this motivation that makes Shen Shixing go farther and farther in the official arena.
The position of the head of the cabinet is not easy to do, how many influential figures have been planted in this position, far from saying, let's say that from the Jiajing period to the Wanli period, there have been Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Wei, Zhang Juzheng and other people, who must figure out the holy will at the top and cooperate and confront the civilian official clique at the bottom. And only a few people can really retreat.
Zhang Juzheng
In the situation where the ministers Zhang Siwei, Ma Ziqiang, and Lü Qiuyang died of illness one after another, in this way, fate pushed the most unqualified Shen Shixing to the forefront, and in the power dispute since Zhang Juzheng's death, unexpectedly, Shen Shixing came to the end. Although he was in danger, Shen Shixing did a good job.
"His karma is blameless and unprofessional, just like his own." This is the evaluation of him by Shen Shixing's colleagues, which means that Shen Shixing has no merit or fault, and like him as a person, there is no outstanding point. For this kind of evaluation, Shen Shixing seems to have turned a deaf ear and insisted on carrying out the "mixed" work to the end. In Shen Shixing's view, the fundamental key to governance lies in preventing problems from occurring continuously, rather than frequently solving some trivial problems. He believes that there is no vigorous and drastic reform and transformation like Zhang Juzheng, so that everything is formalized and the institutions operate normally.
Facts have proved that Shen Shixing still has many achievements on the road of entering politics. And his achievements are often timely personnel transfers, delicate personnel arrangements. For example, the timely appointment of Pan Ji to control the Yellow River and the regulation of border defense.
Schematic diagram of the Yellow River system
1. The governance of the Yellow River is cleverly tamed by the degraded Pan Ji
The Yellow River is the mother river and has always been an inland river with great hidden dangers in ancient times, and Pan Jitao was a famous river management expert during the Zhang Juzheng period. However, because he interceded for Zhang Juzheng, he was angered by the Wanli Emperor and dismissed from his post. In the sixteenth year of the Wanli Calendar, the Yellow River was plagued, and Shen Shixing was in line with the principle of "professional people doing professional things" and prepared to use Pan Jitao. To this end, he adopted a "roundabout policy", first let the directly subordinate inspector Qiao Huixing on the Wanli Calendar, pointed out the urgency of the current Yellow River flood, and hoped to choose the meritocracy to manage. At the same time, the Ministry of Works arranged to recommend Pan Jitao to Mei Guo upstairs, and also stated the benefits of using Pan Jitao himself. ShenZong Wanli "the reward of the edict is immediate", the matter was successfully passed, Shen Shixing was afraid that someone would discuss it afterwards, so when discussing other political affairs with Wanli, he added these words, "The emperor pays attention to the river, allocates the old people, and is in office for a while, all of them are called proficient in practice", so that Pan Jitao's use is out of the holy will, and those who oppose him have nothing to say, and at the same time take care of Wanli's face. Since then, during Shin Shixing's tenure as the first assistant, Pan Jitao has been in charge of the river channel, and his achievements have been remarkable.
Pan Ji tamed the Yellow River
For Shen Shixing, the key to solving the problem is not to make a bold move, but to achieve the desired purpose through a few clever arrangements in the dark, just like the Pan Jitao mentioned above, if it is directly neglected, the Wanli Emperor may directly reject it, because Shen Shixing knows this boss too well. The front is hard, there will be no results, through several arrangements on the side, so that the emperor understands the strong relationship, naturally will get the result.
2. The regulation and control of border defense, seemingly incapable of seeking peace, is actually of far-reaching significance
In the 9 years that Shen Shixing served as the first assistant, the boundless troubles in the northern frontiers have always been his proud political achievements. Although this achievement has been accused of flattery and peace.
Around the eighteenth year of the Wanli Calendar, the borders of Shaanxi and Gansu, which had always been peaceful and mutually urban, were repeatedly harassed by Liukou, and the border guards and Liukou had frequent skirmishes and repeated interferences, and even after a victory, they were ready to unite several small tribes to fight against Daming. When the news reached the capital, many people advocated the cancellation of the mutual market and the dispatch of troops to meet the battle. Even the Wanli Emperor believed that a tough stance should be taken.
"The leader of the king of the thieves has not yet arrived, and it is not yet known whether he will betray his alliance and commit a disobedience." Although the first and second small chiefs are already rampant, while the big chiefs are all still in bondage, Shunyi is still in the west chieftain, and the Bu chieftain is still listening to the tune... The most urgent one is to select the elite, take measures to deal with the food of the troops, and make sure to extend china's prestige and break the courage of the Yiyi, and join forces with the Fan clan to secure the territory. "--- Shen Shixing's "Alienation"
Alien invasion
In this regard, Shen Shixing had a different view, in his opinion, only two of the small tribes came to invade, and the large tribes were still willing to cooperate with the imperial court, "The tribes are large and small, the situation is favorable, and the alliance of the various tribes cannot be abolished because of the misdeeds of one tribe, nor can the war between the nine sides because of a border riot." He also proposed to Wanli that if a war broke out, the troops, food, and generals could still support the first prisoner, and the second prisoner could also win the victory, if the sides were four, why should they be restrained?" The most urgent task at the moment is not war, but to consolidate internal forces and make two-handed preparations, one is to contact the leaders of large tribes and give admonition to the small leaders who invade, and the other is to concentrate the elite, to give a hard blow to the small forces, and to jointly guard the peace of the border with the Fan people.
Shen Shixing's suggestion, in the eyes of the civilian officials, was to flatter and seek peace, and even some people impeached him for accepting bribes. However, Shen Shixing finally received the support of Wanli, and it was his long-term strategic vision that enabled him to overcome public opinion and rational deployment, enabling the Ming Dynasty to avoid a war with national fortunes as a bet.
In the Ming Dynasty, the upper dynasty discussed politics
Throughout Shen Shixing's political career, he has been circling between Wanli and Yanguan, and he is well aware of the way of being a vassal, and in his view, flattery and consolation may not be a means to achieve an end. It is this kind of skillful maneuvering, undertaking the emperor's wishes, acting as a peacemaker, trying to reconcile the contradictions between Wanli and his courtiers, gaining Wanli's trust, and further influencing Wanli's decision-making, and ultimately assisting the imperial power to develop in the direction of political stability.
This way of being regarded as "peace and thin mud" is the helplessness and inevitability of a traditional feudal Confucian official to engage in politics under the chaotic history of the Wanli Dynasty of "kings are not kings and subjects are not subjects".
A view of the Forbidden City
1. After Zhang Juzheng's chaotic era, the order of the court was quickly restored
In the Ming Dynasty, the civilian officials collectively became an unprecedented powerful faction in history, and the emperor could be accused of being ruthless, and the subordinates could be impeached. When there was a wise emperor and a strong first assistant, it was still possible to maintain a balance, but unfortunately, Wanli was not a wise emperor, and Shen Shixing was not a strong first assistant, especially when this group of officials had been suppressed by Zhang Juzheng for a long time.
After Zhang Juzheng's death, for the lazy government of the Wanli Emperor, the prince who did not stand, the favor of Zheng Guifei, and so on, the officials were as fierce as chicken blood, and the accusations against Wanli were like snowflakes. At first, Wanli also replied, and after a long time, not only did he not reply, but even the dynasty did not go up.
Shen Shixing, as the first assistant, plays a dual role, on the one hand, as a minister, he must abide by the way of a subject, which determines that when there is a contradiction between the civil official group and the emperor, he must firmly stand on the side of the emperor and respect the king. On the other hand, as the first assistant of the cabinet, he must also perform the duties of the first assistant, actively listen to the opinions of his colleagues, and give the emperor the right influence, and at the same time use a relatively gentle way to guide the civilian bureaucracy to play administrative functions in a relatively gentle way, without intensifying contradictions and passive strikes. This in turn determined that he had to stand with his courtiers and play against the monarch.
Forbidden city
Therefore, Shen Shixing could only adopt the image of "peacemaker" in his role play, and in the face of the passionate group of civil officials and the ignoring Wanli Emperor, he worked hard to reconcile the contradictions between the two, and through his own way, won the trust of Wanli and the support of civilian officials, and quickly stabilized the situation in the increasingly fierce party struggle after Zhang Juzheng's death, so that the order of the court could be maintained.
2. The harmonious coexistence of civil officials and imperial power, and the smooth operation of the state apparatus
Shen Shixing was born as a first assistant and was a representative of the literati group. While maintaining imperial power, it was also necessary to embody the moral norms borne by the head of the literati clique. In the context of the post-Zhang Juzheng era, Shen Shixing adopted a "step-by-step" approach to influencing the emperor and the clique of civil officials. The towering Ming Shen Sect and the crowd of agitated courtiers forced Shen Shixing to find a balance in the jade fragment or the tile to change the status quo.
Facts have proved that Shen Shixing's policy of acting in a broad and harmonious manner and his skill of being a vassal of the emperor in everything he does have achieved a lot of results. As the first assistant to the cabinet, Shen Shixing has always been in the clampdown of Wanli and the contest with the civilian official clique, and has always been in a relatively awkward situation, but because of Shen Shixing's policies and tactics, the civilian clique and the emperor have not stopped the state apparatus because of the conflict, and the two sides have not come to the real opposite side. During Shen Shixing's tenure as the first assistant, the country was basically in stability, the frontier was peaceful, and various administrative organs operated normally.
Wanli Emperor
In fact, Shen Shixing does not have many political achievements to speak of, but this does not mean that Shen Shixing has achieved nothing, on the contrary, in a sense, Shen Shixing's "inaction" is the most stable way of governance since Zhang Juzheng's storm. Relatively speaking, Shen Shixing's "power phase" contrasts with Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli, and his way of doing politics is moderate and moderate, which is inseparable from various complex factors such as his living environment, political experience, and personal pursuits. History is complex, and history is diverse. Therefore, for the evaluation of historical figures, it is very important to restore the truth behind history.