The civil servant in Ming Dynasty was the first official in the cabinet, and he made great historical achievements because he helped the emperor to govern the country effectively.
After more than 200 years of ups and downs in the Ming Dynasty, Jiajing was riddled with diseases and crises. In the Forbidden City, altars are being built every day, filled with smoke. Emperor Jiajing, who dreamed of immortality, was intoxicated by the flowery words in Ode to Qingyun, and entrusted the state affairs to the traitor Yan Song with his eyes closed. Yan Song and his son took the opportunity to do evil, take bribes and pervert the law. In this context, Zhang, a cabinet official with a civilian background, was pushed to the front of history. With extraordinary courage and wisdom, he brought order out of chaos, consolidated national defense, and practiced whipping to revive the dying Ming Dynasty.
[Edit this paragraph] The life of the character
"Phoenix's feathers are very strong and grow to the extreme."
In the fourth year of Jiajing (1525), Zhang was born in Jingzhou (now Jingzhou), a scholar's family in jiangling county. The shadow of his ancestors could no longer take care of him, and he was greeted by a white turtle dream of his great-grandfather. In my dream, the moon falls in the water tank and shines around, and then a white turtle floats leisurely from the water. Great-grandfather decided that the white turtle was the great-great-grandson, so he casually named him "Bai Gui", hoping that he would honor his ancestors in the future.
Bai Gui was so talented that he became a wizard in Jingzhou at an early age. In the fifteenth year of Jiajing, Bai Gui, a examinee who was only 12 years old, won the love of Shi Li 'ao, the magistrate of Jingzhou. He told Xiaobaigui that he should aim high from childhood and serve the country faithfully when he grew up, and renamed him Juzheng. This year, students in Juzheng Bufu. A year later, he took part in the provincial examination and was banned by Gu Lin, the governor of Huguang. But Gu Lin is not selfish, but hopes to sharpen him more to achieve great things. Three years later, Jackie Zhang, who was passive in Nuo Nuo, passed the provincial examination and became a juvenile juren. Gu Lin appreciates him very much. He once told others that "this son will be talented" and took off his rhinoceros ribbon and gave it to Juzheng, saying, "I hope you will set up lofty aspirations and be a Yi Yin and a Yan Yuan, not just a teenager's celebrity." In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, 23-year-old Zhang won dimethyl in the ninth Jinshi and was awarded.
Jishi Shu is a trainee official. According to the rules, he will study in imperial academy for three years, and then he can make it up. Zhang was elected, and Cabinet Minister Xu Jie was included in his teaching. Xu Jie attaches great importance to practical knowledge. Under his guidance, Zhang studied hard on the cultural background, which laid a solid foundation for him to step onto the political stage in the future.
In the early Ming Dynasty, in order to strengthen centralization, the prime minister was abolished and the cabinet was established, which was equivalent to the emperor's secretarial office. The official bachelor's degree is called the record, which is actually the prime minister. When Zhang entered the Imperial Academy to study, there was a fierce political struggle in the cabinet. At that time, only Xia Yan and Yan Song were cabinet college students, and they competed for the position of records. As a result, Xia Yan was the records, then Yan Song was killed, and Yan Song was the cabinet records.
As a new scholar, Zhang naturally has no say in the cabinet struggle. However, through several years of cold-eyed observation, he had an intuitive understanding of the political corruption and lax border defense in the imperial court. Therefore, in the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing (1549), Zhang systematically expounded his ideas of political reform in the fifteenth volume of the Complete Works. And these naturally did not attract the attention of Ming Shizong and Yan Song. From then on, when I arrived at Jiajing Dynasty, Zhang never played except for the routine chapter.
In the thirty-third year of Jiajing, Zhang took an excuse to leave Beijing and returned to his hometown of Jiangling. During the three-year holiday, he was still obsessed with state affairs and personally contacted farmers. My family is poor and honest. I have experienced the hardships, hunger and pain of rural people. He said in Jingzhou Fu Ming (the ninth volume of Complete Works of Zhang Wenzhong): "The land tax is uneven, the poor are unemployed, and the people suffer from mergers." All this can't help but make him feel excited, and the sense of responsibility makes him return to politics.
In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing, Reng Zhang returned to imperial academy. At this time, he gradually matured in repressed thinking. In the political storm, he imitated his teacher, Xu Jie, "don't hold the group inside, but be confused outside" and moved with the camera. In the forty-third year of Jiajing, Juzheng entered the palace, and Youchunfang, Youyude and imperial academy Branch recommended Juzheng as a lecturer in Zhu Zaihou, Yu Wang. Yue De is just a hollow title, but because Yu Wang is likely to inherit the throne, it is not an idle job to attend Yu's lectures and reading. During the period, "Wang is very good at his things, and there is no one in the palace who is not good at his things" ("Ming Zhang Chuan"). While imperial academy Company has mastered many people who may enter the officialdom in the future, and opened up contacts for Zhang. For forty-five years, Juzheng was in charge of imperial academy.
This year, Sejong died, and Yu Wang succeeded to the throne, becoming Ming Muzong. Zhang's opportunity has come. In the first year of Qin Long (1567), as an old minister of Yu Wang, he was released as a left assistant minister of the official department and a college student of Wenyuange, and joined the cabinet to participate in politics. In April of the same year, he was appointed as a minister of rites and a university student in Wuyingdian. Zhang is 43 years old this year. At this time, he probably won't forget the song "Maofeng Congjin Street to the Extreme" he wrote when he was thirteen years old. Thirty years later, he finally got to the point in the secret contest.
"Take photos of barbarian riots and use hoes as Lu Lanzhi."
After joining the cabinet, Zhang was not complacent because of his personal promotion. At this time, in the Ming Dynasty, the land was annexed, the refugees were scattered, the grass translation was in trouble, the treasury was empty and the expenses were scarce; Externally, the northern Tatar invaded the Central Plains, creating a "change of the boxer", while the southern Tusi fought for power and profit, especially the rebellion was fierce, "Two Rivers were shocked", and pirates from the southeast harassed the coast, making people miserable. Faced with these, Zhang dare not relax.
What worries Zhang more is the increasingly fierce political struggle within the cabinet. Since the forty-first year of Jiajing (1562), Yan Song fell and Xu Jie succeeded to the throne. Together with Zhang, he drafted Sejong's testamentary edict, corrected the shortcomings of repairing temples and building large-scale buildings during Sejong's period, and restored the court duties to diligent courtiers who were convicted of unjust cases, which was widely welcomed by the ruling and opposition parties. But soon, in the second year of Qin Long (1568), in July, Xu Jie was finally forced to return to the field because of his old age and illness. The following year, Xu Jie's old rival Gao Gong returned to the cabinet, took charge of the official department and took control of the cabinet power. During Gao Gong's administration, a group of talents were appointed, and the road to success was a little clearer.
Zhang used to be Gao Gong's confidant, but later he also had bad blood. The high arch is at odds with the right Feng Bao. In the sixth year of Qin Long, Mu Zong was critically ill, and Zongshen, who was only in his teens, succeeded to the throne. Gao Gong touched the queen mother's nerves because of her outspoken, and Feng Bao fanned a jack-o'-lantern, so the queen mother sent Gao Gong back to his original place for the crime of "autocracy". (It was Zhang who got in the way.) In this way, Zhang became a record and has been in charge of state affairs for ten years.
To be fair, Xu Jie and Gao Gong are both very capable records. They made many concrete and partial efforts to consolidate the rule of the Ming Dynasty. However, due to the lack of far-sighted strategic vision and the ability and courage to reform the shortcomings, when Zhang succeeded to the throne, the Ming Dynasty was still in crisis. Zhang clearly realized that minor repairs and minor repairs could not save the Qing Dynasty. Only by carrying out drastic and comprehensive reforms can the country really get out of the predicament. As early as August of the second year of Qin Long, he put forward a reform plan with the core of rectifying official administration and making Qiang Bing a rich country from six aspects: discussing the province, strengthening discipline, emphasizing fame and reality, consolidating the country and preparing for war. He criticized those who argued for Wang Ba as "I don't know Wang Ba's argument, but the relationship between righteousness and benefit is absent", and mistakenly thought that "benevolence and righteousness are king, and prosperity and strength are hegemony" (Answer to Fujian Governor Geng Chudong's argument about Wang Ba in Complete Works of Zhang Wenzhong, Volume 31). Clearly take solving the country's "financial shortage" as its own goal of governing the country. To achieve this goal, we must first consolidate national defense and rectify official management.
During the period, Zhang, who just entered the cabinet, presided over the border defense work of Gugong with the support of Xu Jie and Gao Gong, an important cabinet minister.
In the fourth year of Qin Long, Tatar leader Anda Khan attacked Datong and planned to claim the title of emperor. Juzheng heard that Anda's grandson asked Han Naji, his wife Brigitte and the wet nurse's husband Aliji for a dozen favors, and Shi Feng, the governor of Fang Datong, and Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda, decided to surrender. In view of the seriousness of this matter, Zhang wrote a letter asking Chonggu to "disclose" the details to him immediately. It turned out that Anda's third son left a child when he died, that is, Han Naji. When Han Naji grew up, she married Brigitte, then fell in love with her aunt's daughter Sannianzi and remarried. However, as a grandfather, Anda also fell in love with Sannianzi. So between the grandparents and grandchildren, they held a grudge against a little girl and staged a drama in which a lovelorn young man left home to go to Korea.
After receiving the report, Juzheng wrote to Chonggu again, asking him to properly arrange the transfer of Hanna Temple, and sent someone to inform Anda: "According to the law of China, if the chief is the first of the descendants, he will be rewarded with 10,000 US dollars, and the title will be passed on to the Marquis. I can't break your grandson's head for a reward, but he came because he wants justice, and since you are your own grandson, you can't bear to kill him. " (The Complete Works of Zhang Wenzhong, Volume 22, The Beginning of Answering Jianchuan and Answering Anda) Then, he instructed the master planner to cherish the ancient times and beat the emperor every time. Many people in North Korea strongly oppose it and think that the enemy's situation is unpredictable. Sure enough, Anda's cavalry, like a dark cloud, pushed the city to the northern border. Chonggu was ready for war at the instigation of Juzheng and threatened his grandson, but Anda was finally forced to compromise. Ju Zheng pushed the boat forward at the request of Anda, and sent Shuangnaji back to his hometown as a gift, while Anda tied Zhao Quan and other traitors to the Ming room.
Wearing a red silk robe given by the emperor, he took Hannaji back to the Tartars' tent. I was very moved when I read it, and said that I would never infringe Datong again. I decided to ask for tribute and mutual exchange and get along well with Ming.
In the fifth year of Qin Long, under the urging of Juzheng and others, Mu Zong made Anda the king of Shunyi, and opened a horse market in three border towns to trade with the Tatars. The consolidation of the northern border enabled Zhang to turn his attention to domestic issues.
"Serve the dust brake with your heart, not for your own benefit."
As a talented politician, Zhang had a profound understanding of the problems faced by the Ming Dynasty. He believes that the lack of national strength and rampant thieves at that time were all caused by unclear official management. The corruption of officials and the annexation of landlords led to "the richer the private individuals, the poorer the public officials" (The Complete Works of Zhang Wenzhong, Volume 26, "Song Yangshan, Governor of Xu Tianchao, had enough to feed the people"), and the extravagant desire of the emperor made the people hungry and cold, becoming outlaws. Because Zhang objectively analyzed the social contradictions at that time and correctly grasped the essence and key of the problem, his reform was able to conform to the historical trend and was widely welcomed.
Based on the above point of view, Zhang decided to start with the reform of official management. In November of the first year of Wanli (1573), Zhang Shangshu carried out the "examination method" to clarify its responsibilities. He controls six subjects with six subjects, and then controls six subjects with the cabinet. For the things to be done, from the cabinet to the six subjects, from the six subjects to the yamen, we should be aware of the exam. It has changed the procrastination in the past, that is, "the Lord is eager, and the listener is often reserved" (Complete Works of Zhang Wenzhong, Volume 38, Please check the chapter and test with the situation to improve the truth). The implementation of the assessment method has improved the work efficiency of departments at all levels, clarified the responsibilities and rewards and punishments, and thus made the government decree "though thousands of miles away, it was chased sooner or later" (Biography of Ming Zhang).
The main purpose of Zhang's rectification of bureaucracy is to "enrich". This red line runs through his reform, and the biggest gain of implementing the examination method is here.
When Zhang carried out the assessment method, he took posthumous title as the assessment standard. In the four years of Wanli, it was stipulated that all local officials who did not try to levy were punished. In the same year1February, according to the report given by the Ministry of Housing, there were 7 local officials in Shandong/KLOC-0 and 2 in Henan. Two people in Shandong were dismissed, and nine people in Henan were dismissed. This makes officials at all levels afraid of reducing punishment and dare not slack off, supervising the heads of households to pay the taxes and grains of the year. As a result of changing the situation of owing taxes and food, the national treasury is increasingly abundant. According to the statistics of the household department in the five years of Wanli, the annual income is more than 4.35 million, and the annual income is more than 2.5 million (including money, food and salt, stolen goods, redemption cases, etc.). ) In Qin Long, it increased by 74% (Tong Mingjian, Volume 67). The fiscal revenue and expenditure were balanced, with a balance of more than 852,000, which reversed the long-term fiscal deficit. As Zhang himself said in April, 2009, "In recent years, the government has made no deficit, and the treasury has been enriched, all of which were conducted in the middle of the exam, and the results were solved as scheduled." (Volume 45 of the Complete Works of Zhang Wenzhong) It can be seen that although the implementation of the examination method is a political reform, it has played a great role in rectifying the land tax and increasing the national fiscal revenue.
However, the income increased by examination alone is still limited, which is far from satisfying the infinite profligacy of princes and nobles. Zhang believes that people are "ancient financial managers, who save money without indulging in it, and save money without making profits". Financial management should still focus on saving money. Almost all the reforms he made revolved around this center.
For example, by strengthening the assessment of officials, he reduced redundant staff and saved the salary expenses of the court. According to the regulation of "two big, one small, nine ladies and their families, those who abuse them severely will be cut off", the competition is "Redundant 23". Similarly, Zhang also cut the military expenditure of the imperial court through various channels. On the one hand, it was repaired with the Tatars, exchanged tributes, stabilized the border and reduced the cost of war. On the other hand, it has also been greatly reduced. By the second year of Wanli, in the north, "in the three towns and two years old, the cost was only more than 10,000 yuan, and the province was more than one million yuan." It also reduces expenses by reducing foreign soldiers and clearing grain. "If you save a year, you will get tens of millions of dollars."
At the same time, Zhang also asked the emperor, the supreme ruler of feudal society, to tighten his belt and live a tight life with everyone. He not only repeatedly proposed to Zongshen to "save money and love the people" and "protect the country and defend the country", but also always paid attention to the luxury expenses of the royal family. In the seventh year of Wanli, Zongshen asked the Ministry of Finance for 100,000 gold to prepare the royal meal of Guanglu Temple. He believes that the revenue and expenditure of the Ministry of Finance have been insufficient. "At present, it is difficult to sustain. If there are floods and droughts in all directions and the battlefield changes unexpectedly, how can we give it? " He asked Zongshen to save "all useless expenses". As a result, the expenses of100000 taels of silver were not only exempted, but also the expenses of lanterns and lanterns in the palace were cancelled. Thanks to Zhang's efforts, the reconstruction of Ciqing Palace, Cining Palace and Wuying Hall was stopped, and the loss of money for reward was stopped, which saved the service cost and reduced the weaving in Su Song, thus restraining the extravagant consumption of feudal rulers. Even for fear of wasting lights and candles, Wan Li's evening classes were changed to daytime.
For his own expenses, Zhang also tries to avoid extravagance. Make up A Record of the First Emperor, and have a banquet. Zhang participated in the restoration of the seal of his memoirs and offered his resignation to avoid the banquet. He said: "A banquet costs hundreds of dollars, so it is not necessarily a way to save money." He also requested that Ming Shenzong Day be held in the morning to avoid the cost of lighting at night.
In the process of rectifying official management and practicing economy, Zhang is not only incorruptible [1], but also strict with his family. When my son returned to Jiangling for the exam, he told him to rent a car. On his father's birthday, he ordered his servant to take a birthday present and ride a donkey back to the village to celebrate his father's birthday. In the eighth year of Wanli, my second brother, Zhang, was seriously ill and returned to his hometown to recuperate. Zhang Lu, the governor of Baoding, made an exception and issued a "survey" (proof of using the post office). Ju Zheng immediately returned it with a letter saying that if he wanted to enforce the law for the court, he could not set an example. For the Ming Dynasty, Zhang was indeed a rare talent for governing the country. As early as when the cabinet was in chaos and political life was in jeopardy, he wrote: "I would like to serve the dust brake with the deepest heart and not seek personal gain." He did.