However, although Jiajing has been in office for a long time, his political achievements are lacking. In February of the 45th year of Jiajing (A.D. 1566), Hai Rui, then director of Yunnan Department of the Ministry of Housing, presented "Telling the Truth the Best in the World" to Emperor Jiajing, which caused a sensation in the ruling and opposition circles. Director of family department
The price is six products, which is equivalent to the current bureau-level cadres. At that time, this was a moderate position. In the Ming dynasty, there was a minister of the Ministry of Housing, who was a second-rate official and equivalent to a minister. Two assistant ministers, both good, equivalent to deputy ministers. These three men, all called "Tang Guan", were directly led by the emperor. Below the Ministry, there are divisions (thirteen divisions within the Ministry). Officials in our company are all called "department officials", such as a doctor (top five), a foreign minister (bottom five) and a headmaster (top six). There are a large group of clerks below, eight grades and nine grades, polishing and proofreading, all of whom are "officials". Working in the Ministry, major issues are decided by the hall officials, and minor issues are arranged by the officials. The task of the department officer is not heavy. What's more, since Hongzhi (uncle of Jiajing) of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, there has been only one doctor in charge of affairs, and Yuan Wailang and the principal only attended on the day of awarding the official position. In fact, it was a leisure trip. However, although Harry's rank is not high, his responsibilities are not heavy, and there are not many things, he is "humble and dare not forget to worry about the country" and is full of worries about the fate and future of the country. In fact, he has nothing to do, so he thinks about national affairs. It doesn't matter. Harry found that Jiajing's politics can be summed up in sixteen words: "Officials and corrupt officials are rampant, the people are in trouble, floods and droughts are frequent, and thieves are rampant", which is a mess. Moreover, the subjects in the world are extremely dissatisfied with Emperor Jiajing (the people in the world have not been direct to your majesty for a long time), and even use his title to dig at him, saying that "Jiajing Jiajing, every family is clean" is a boiling public resentment.
So, why did things come to this? The reason is that Jiajing is a bad king. What's the matter? Groggy and suspicious (confused), willful and cruel (harsh), selfish and vain (sentimental). Just one example: In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing (A.D. 1565), the old man was seriously ill, and Xu Wei, a doctor too much, ordered him to make a diagnosis and treatment. At that time, Jiajing sat on a small bed with his robe hanging down. Xu Wei hesitated and dared not move forward. Jiajing asked him why he didn't come. Xu Wei said, the emperor's robe is on the ground, and I dare not go in. After the consultation, Jiajing wrote a letter to the Cabinet, praising Xu Wei. Jiajing said that Xu Wei's words can best reflect his loyalty and love for your father. Because he said "the emperor's robe is on the ground", not "the emperor's robe is underground". What is the difference? Jiajing said that there is a big difference-on the ground, people are also; Underground, ghosts also. Xu Wei broke out in a cold sweat when he heard the news. On the ground and underground, ordinary people are no different. When you talk at ordinary times, you don't distinguish between the ground and the ground. How can you be so particular? According to Jiajing's logic, a careless word from my liegeman will bring disaster.
Jiajing is extremely demanding of his liegeman, but extremely indulgent of himself. He was emperor for forty-five years, but he didn't go to court for half a year. Since the 18th year of Jiajing (A.D. 1439), he has not looked at the DPRK, and since the 21st year of Jiajing (A.D. 1542), he has not entered the palace. What are you doing? Hiding in the West Garden, building temples and fooling around with Taoist priests all day. Moreover, he listened to the story of Taoism and didn't see the queen and the prince, because it was said that their father and son lived in peace. Therefore, Harry believes that Jiajing is not only a bad emperor from a political point of view, but also a bad father and husband from an ethical point of view. If we measure the "three cardinal guides" of the monarch, father and son, and husband and wife, we will find that the emperor, who should have been a moral model for all his subjects, can't even tell a basic principle: it is immoral to doubt, insult and slaughter his own officials at will (people think that insulting them with suspicion is thinner than the monarch and his officials); It is unpatriotic to raise your own son without teaching or even meeting him face to face (the two kings don't meet each other, and people think he is thinner than his father and son); Separated from the queen, hiding in Xiyuan for alchemy, not her husband (I like Xiyuan and don't return, people think it is thinner than the couple). It is strange that such a person can manage the country well!
In fact, Jiajing has no intention of governing the country. He is most concerned about only two things, or two problems. One is how to live as long as possible, the other is how to play with women as much as possible. As long as he can achieve these two goals, he will bet the whole empire at all costs.
Taoist priests are said to help Jiajing realize his "ideal". Because Taoism advocates immortality, even soaring, and "one person gets the Tao, and chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." Even better, an organic and important part of Taoism's "way of keeping in good health" is the so-called "house art". According to Shao, Tao and others, the Taoist priests favored by Emperor Jiajing, there is no need for abstinence in keeping in good health. On the contrary, if you master the indoor occult arts and have sex with virgins many times, you can also nourish yin and yang and prolong life. This is really too appetizing for Jiajing. For him, longevity is important, but if you must abstain from sex, what's the point of living for so long? It's okay now. Indulgence and health preservation can go hand in hand and complement each other, which really makes the emperor be elated.
However, this kind of "taking yin to replenish yang", which takes a girl as an alchemist, is tantamount to physical and mental destruction for women. Besides, the ladies-in-waiting have to get up at dawn to collect nectar for Jiajing to drink at sunrise. It is also necessary to provide Jiajing with menstrual blood at menarche for her alchemy. This "Hongdan Pill" made of menstrual blood, Chinese herbal medicine and minerals is actually an aphrodisiac, which contains sex hormones extracted from human urine (of course, the urine of boys and girls). After Jiajing took it, he would vent his animal desires on these girls. This was the last straw, and finally in the twenty-first year of Jiajing (AD 1542), the "Renyin Palace Change" took place. 1On the evening of October 20th, more than ten maids-in-waiting, led by Yang and Xing Cuilian, decided to murder Jiajing and strangle him alive in bed with yellow silk. We know that the rebellion is to destroy the nine clans. Killing a king is also a punishment. Therefore, even if many officials or generals are in power, they dare not move this idea easily, let alone unarmed weak women? It is not difficult to imagine that if Jiajing was not too dissolute and violent, they would certainly not take risks.
The ladies-in-waiting who murdered the emperor were all executed that year, but Jiajing also had an excuse and never returned to ouchi. The emperor doesn't live in the palace, so he naturally doesn't go to court. So he set up camp in Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan, built a temple and became a Taoist.
Jian Zhai is also called Zhai. What is fasting? It is to build altars, fast and bathe, and pray for the gods. At this time, we must present a commemorative message to God. This kind of eulogy is generally written on green paper with a brush, which is called "green word" or "green chapter". Taoist priests can't do this, but they have to rely on ci ministers. The best ci minister is naturally a cabinet college student. We know that there was no prime minister in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Emperor is the head of state and government and directly leads six departments. Of course, too busy. Someone has to help. The auxiliary department is called the "cabinet", but it is actually the secretariat; The assistant is called a "college student", but he is actually a senior secretary. But with the passage of time, the six departments are farther and farther away from the emperor, and the cabinet is closer and closer to the emperor. However, when something important happens, the emperor often asks the cabinet for advice and gives it to six ministries for implementation, so the university student becomes the actual prime minister from the secretary of the system, and can also be quoted as the "prime minister".
Because the cabinet university was originally a secretary, his main job was to read the throne and draft documents for the emperor, so his writing ability was no problem. Since they can draft letters for the emperor, they can naturally write green letters for the emperor. So, around Jiajing's life goal, Taoist priests and cabinet ministers began to work together in Qi Xin. Taoist priests concoct aphrodisiacs, and cabinet ministers concoct green words; Taoist priests fan the fire, and cabinet ministers dance with ink. In this way, how can Jiajing's politics not be malodorous?
However, the cabinet university is willing. These guys know better than anyone: if you want to be promoted, you have to please the emperor; If you want to be rich, you have to please the emperor; If you want to keep peace forever, you must please the emperor. Since the emperor is good at this, and we have enough time, energy and intelligence, why not give some? Therefore, many cabinet ministers in Jiajing are good at writing green words, and even they can't write anything but green words. For example, Wei Yuan and Li Chunfang were later called "Prime Ministers of Qing Dynasty". In short, under Jiajing's rule, if you want to think of a person who will be in phase and is a very important person, you must be a green poet.
Yan Song is no exception.
Yan Song's green ci is also excellent, which was once unparalleled. Green words are not easy to write. It is a kind of prose, which demands the emperor's respect and sincerity for the gods in the sky and can be expressed in extremely gorgeous words. Jiajing is anxious to seek immortality, so the green word is always in short supply, and often suffocates those cabinet ministers. And Yan Song is responsive, the mistresses. This is not surprising. Yan Song was originally a famous poet, with a high literary accomplishment, and was naturally good at dancing with long sleeves. Yan Ge is dedicated, tries his best, and tries his best to figure out extravagance. Results In the long run, Yan Song was the only one who wrote Qing Ci to satisfy Jiajing.
So Yan Song "entered the cabinet to pay homage to the Prime Minister" and became the "Prime Minister" in August of the twenty-first year of Jiajing (AD 1542) (that is, two months before the "Renyin Palace Change"). At this time, Yan Song was over 60 years old, but he was "pure and cool, just like a young man". After joining the cabinet, Yan Song will certainly write green words, but it is more important to "ponder the sacred meaning". Although Jiajing is an asshole, he is not a bad king. Although hiding in Xiyuan, there is no power to drop; Although he begged the immortal for medicine all day, he never relaxed his control over the court for a moment. On many important political issues, Jiajing consulted cabinet ministers because of preconceived ideas. Therefore, the cabinet minister's skill lies in being able to find out Jiajing's mind and say what the emperor wants to say, even what the emperor wants to say but is inconvenient to say. Yan Song just has such a skill. He and his son, Yan Shifan, can guess Jiajing's mind almost every time, and naturally they play "to my liking". In Jiajing's view, Yan Song and his son were loyal and diligent to the affairs of the king; In others' eyes, the emperor was believed to obey Yan Song. As for Yan Song, of course I won't let the cat out of the bag. Their father and son just took the opportunity to deceive their superiors and confuse the traitors at lower levels.
However, even smart people sometimes nod their heads. Traitors are worried and will lose. Yan Song never dreamed that in his life, he became a green word and lost another green word; Try to understand success, try to understand failure. Of course, he didn't expect that he would meet a stronger opponent, a man who could "deal with a man as he deals with you", deal with him as he deals with you, and finally kill him.
Excerpt from The Melancholy of Empire. Author: Yi Zhongtian Press: Wen Hui Press.