Wang Shizhen and the One-Eyed Dragon Yan Shifan of "Golden Plum Bottle" (I)

After Xia Yan's death, Yan Song won the throne and took sole control of the imperial government. But at this time, he was more than old, his eyes were dizzy, his physical strength was weak, and he had to be on duty day and night in the cabinet, and many government affairs seemed to be inadequate, and there was no time to deal with it, and the cunning Yan Song simply pushed the affairs of the dynasty to his son, and every time his subordinates inquired, Yan Song said: "Go and ask the East Building." In this way, a generation of ghost talents Yan Shifan began to appear on the stage of history.

Yan Shifan, No. 1 East Building, Nickname Qing. This man has a fat head and big ears, a fat waist, a short neck, and a blind eye. On this look, walking on the street can be frightening, very affecting the appearance of the city, but the facts have proved that this person is very unusual, is an extremely powerful figure, this is the last word.

It is only said that in the early years of Yan Shifan, in addition to the identity of the second generation of officials, there was nothing special, his talent was not high, and he was born with a disability, and he was also very fat, and he looked like he was not a reading material.

Looking at this precious son, Yan Song's heart was full of mixed tastes, very unpleasant, he felt how he had born such a thing, not like himself at all, but the child's qualifications were mediocre, scolding could not solve the problem, he could only go with nature, with him tossing and turning, so his heart was horizontal, and he sent him to the Guozijian to study, and his eyes were not pure.

Speaking of Guozijian, many people will feel that this is a very sacred place, thinking that this highest school of learning in the Ming Dynasty should be like the current Tsinghua Peking University, so that the students of the world will yearn for it incomparably, in fact, it depends on when.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Guozijian was indeed very powerful, and once became a training base for state cadres, and Zhu Yuanzhang had high hopes for it, and promulgated a system for this purpose: All those who participated in the examination must be school students, and school students who are officials do not have to go through the examination. That is to say, officials do not have to participate in the imperial examination, but they must be school students, so that the school is the only way to become an official, and it is naturally valued by the government and society.

However, since Ming Chengzu, Jinshi has monopolized the way to become an official, and it is difficult for the inmates (students of the Guozijian) to get ahead. When emperor Ming Jingdi arrived, it was even more the door of the great opener Nasu Nama to be imprisoned, and for a time, the Guozijian became the residence of the rich family's children, and it was gradually abandoned.

After Emperor Mingwuzong, it was even more outrageous, as long as he took money, he could be a student who could become a prisoner, and even did not have to enroll, just hang a name, at this point, the Guozijian completely lost its original significance, and simply became a gathering place for wine bags and rice bags.

Yan Song let his son go to such a place, that is, he did not give up any hope for him and completely gave up.

In this way, Yan Shifan stayed in guozi prison for several years, and did not make a name for himself, and went home again. Looking at this indisputable son, Yan Song also felt very angry, but as a father, the responsibility was on his shoulders, and he could not leave it alone, so he had to rely on his own power and casually find an errand for him.

Strange to say, after Yan Shifan, who had mediocre qualifications, his appearance and no diploma, stepped into his career, he seemed to have changed as a person, and his spirit was instantly refreshed, like a fish in the water. Within a few years, he was promoted from Qipin Dushi to Shuntianfu Zhizhong (正五品), and later successively served as Shangbaosi Shaoqing, Taichangsi Qing, and left and right attendants of the Ministry of Works.

Such a speed of promotion, outsiders will feel that all this is based on the fight for the father, in fact, it is not the same, although Yan Song is the first assistant, he does not have the power to arbitrarily promote people, to some extent, the Jiajing Emperor did not.

You know, the Ming Dynasty was a society ruled by law, and although the emperor's power was great, it was not unfettered, let alone promoting whoever he wanted.

The Wanli Emperor wanted his third son Zhu Changxun to inherit the throne, and he dreamed of deposing Chang Liyou, so he also caused a dispute over the foundation of the country, during which he changed four first assistants, handled a number of ministers, and made a fuss for more than ten years.

It can be seen that in many cases, the emperor cannot even influence his own family affairs, let alone other things.

Therefore, it can be said that Yan Shifan can climb to such a high position, or has the ability that ordinary people can't reach.

In fact, this is also true, Yan Shifan is fierce by nature, incomparable thieves, very good at drilling camps, when he was still a petty official, he often asked for advice between various ministries and commissions, and engaged in various relationships.

Moreover, he also has a unique skill, in his limited reading career, he has an in-depth study of the country's canonical system, and his memory is excellent, often unexpected, and he also has amazing insight into current politics.

(To be continued)