The short videos I watched from all dynasties

When Li Ranran was reading a novel, she suddenly saw a supporting character described like this: a young genius, later became the prime minister, reformed the bad government, and was liquidated after his death...

As someone who has finished reading "Things About the Ming Dynasty", Li Ranran immediately realized that this supporting role was written based on Zhang Juzheng!

For some unknown reason, he exited the novel software and opened the 13-station video. Coincidentally, the first video on the video push homepage was about Zhang Juzheng, so Li Ranran clicked on it without hesitation.

[Good at planning for the country, but poor at planning for oneself]

(The video begins with a majestic palace. As the narration progresses, the picture gradually focuses on a man in Ming Dynasty official uniform)

In the first year of Longqing, Zhang Juzheng was 43 years old. He was appointed as the Minister of Rites and the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, and was promoted to the position of Junior Guardian and Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince, and entered the cabinet. In the sixth year of Longqing, Longqing passed away. Zhang Juzheng conspired to expel Gao Gong and became the chief minister of the cabinet.

Power is only a tool to realize his ideals. What he wants to do is to be a powerful minister who can benefit the world. After the reigns of Jiajing and Longqing, Zhang Juzheng finally reached the peak of his career as a minister, and his era as the Prime Minister began.

In the first year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng was in power and implemented the performance evaluation system to rectify officials. Once the government order was passed, it was carried out in the evening even if it was thousands of miles away. In the sixth year of the Wanli reign, the land of the country was measured and the one-whip system was implemented. The grain in Taicang could support more than ten years, and the Zhou Temple accumulated more than 4 million gold.

Before the Wanli Reform, the Ming Dynasty was plagued by Japanese pirates in the south, ethnic minorities in the southwest were rioting, and the northwest and northeast were facing the trampling of Mongolian cavalry. After Zhang Juzheng came to power, the Wanli Reform changed the Ming Dynasty, which was riddled with holes, full of crises, and in a precarious situation. Zhang Juzheng's reforms provided a rich foundation for the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang Juzheng pulled the dying Ming Dynasty out of its predicament.

In June of the tenth year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng died at the age of 58. His family property was confiscated. His eldest son committed suicide, and his second son was exiled.

＜When a person dies, his government ceases to exist＞

＜ Ming actually died in Wanli＞

＜I reiterate once again that the statement that the Ming Dynasty actually fell during the reign of Emperor Wanli is not a joke, this is the fact [OK? ]＞

＜ Wanli, this bastard, wants to open the coffin and whip the corpse, bah! ＞

＜ So Wanli’s coffin was opened and his bones were crushed to ashes in our place hahahaha [cool]＞

＜The 20 years of decadence were also the 20 years of self-destruction. After Wanli, the Ming Dynasty was in a state of despair and could not be saved unless there was a monarch with courage and ability.＞

＜In fact, I can somewhat understand Wanli. He had been under the high-pressure education of Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng, and his mind must have been distorted as he grew up. He did not think that Zhang Juzheng was doing good for him. He just thought that Zhang Juzheng was a powerful official who seriously threatened his position.＞

＜Zhang Juzheng himself said: "I am not a prime minister, but a sheriff."＞

＜ This is really a ruthless move. This liquidation directly led to the fact that no civil servant dared to do anything after him. After all, everyone saw what the consequences were for the previous person who did something.＞

＜ Every time I read about Zhang Juzheng, I can't help crying. How can people be loyal to the Ming Dynasty? Zhang Juzheng worked day and night to save the Ming Dynasty, and died of overwork in his fifties. After his death, not only did he lose his family, but also his reputation. There are always people who dig up Zhang Juzheng's black material, saying that he lives a luxurious life and is arbitrary and tyrannical, but judging a person is not just one side. Because he is complicated, the more I understand him, the more I like to appreciate Zhang Juzheng. ＞

＜ The entire Zhang family’s confiscated property was less than one twentieth of Yan Song’s property＞

＜When I was young, my favorite character in “Those Things About the Ming Dynasty” was Zhang Juzheng [crying] ＞

＜“There is no Zhang Juzheng in the world anymore” ＞

……

[Ming Yongle Emperor Zhu Di: @Ming Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun You are a jerk! I wish I could beat you to pieces myself!]

Although Guangmu had briefly mentioned Zhang Juzheng before, when Zhu Di actually watched the video about Zhang Juzheng, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

Every word Guangmu said hit his heart. Zhu Di realized that this bastard Zhu Yijun was determined to achieve his goals at all costs because of personal grudges.

As an emperor, he was unqualified. Even if Zhang Juzheng had many faults, he was loyal and patriotic, and devoted his life to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yijun's actions were too hurtful and cruel.

Zhu Di put his hand on his chest, his eyes full of anger. The prince and others beside him did not dare to make a sound, even the Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu, whose expression was the most difficult to read, lowered his head in silence.

But the light curtain revealed everyone's thoughts.

[Ming Yongle Prince Zhu Gaochi: You Wanli xxxx (full of dirty words)]

[Ming Yongle Emperor's grandson Zhu Zhanji: What a shame! Grandfather Emperor is right! I wish I could beat Zhu Yijun with my own hands.]

[Ming Yongle Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu: If I were the king, I would not let Zhang down!]

[Zhu Gaosui, Prince of Zhao during the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty: Can anyone become the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?]

When the Ming officials saw that their gentle and amiable Crown Prince was swearing, they also discovered that the arrogant and domineering Prince of Han seemed more reliable than the later Emperor Wanli (which was not the case).

---

Ming Dynasty, the 26th year of Jiajing

The 22-year-old Zhang Juzheng, who had already passed the imperial examination, was not yet the prime minister of the cabinet who later became well-versed in the officialdom.

He looked at the light curtain, his mouth curled up. He knew what the consequences would be if he reformed the bad policies of the Ming Dynasty.

The young Zhang Juzheng was a little impatient and although he had great ambitions, he was still immature.

Emperor Jiajing Zhu Houcong rubbed his forehead. His son died after six years in office. His grandson didn't look very good from the perspective of the light curtain. He sighed:

"It is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to have Zhang Juzheng."

All the cabinet ministers bowed their heads in agreement.

Yan Song, who was pulled out by the light curtain for comparison, had his eyelids twitching.

After meeting the younger version of Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Houcong changed the title of Shujishi to Hanlin Editor, so that the young man could gain more experience.

Although it was a pity that Zhang Juzheng was still too young at that time, Zhang Juzheng's calm answers to various questions raised by the emperor made Zhu Houcong begin to look forward to his future.

Xu Jie and others of the same dynasty also highly regarded Zhang Juzheng.

---

Ming Dynasty Wanli 7th year

Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun had watched the light screen so many times, but this was the first time he was silent.

Perhaps he felt ashamed for what he would do in the future, or perhaps the light curtain spoke through his secret thoughts...

In short, Zhu Yijun no longer had the face to see Mr. Zhang, who had taught him since childhood.

Elsewhere, Zhang Juzheng and several officials were working. They only occasionally looked up to see what was said on the screen. After the screen had the function of playback, everyone was no longer keen on dragging friends and colleagues to watch the screen as soon as it appeared.

After seeing the Ming Palace appear at the beginning of the light curtain video, everyone became curious and wondered if the light curtain was going to talk about the Ming Dynasty again this time?

Only after the narration and subtitles appeared on the screen did they begin to quietly observe Zhang Juzheng, the serious and earnest Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, who was sitting in the middle.

After the video ended, no one in the room dared to speak. What did they say? Did they say that our Emperor Wanli was really a scoundrel? Was he mean and ungrateful? Was he really cruel? Was it because the emperor was already dissatisfied with his family property that they started to confiscate his property soon after his death? Or did they say that the Ming Dynasty deserved to perish because of such an emperor?

Zhang Juzheng's political enemies were very happy. They felt relieved when they saw Zhang Juzheng's future fate! Humph, this year is already the seventh year of Wanli. How many years do you, Zhang Juzheng, have left to live?

Those who were close to Zhang Juzheng felt sad. Qi Jiguang himself followed Zhang Juzheng's path. If Zhang Juzheng lost power, what would happen to those who had been promoted and favored by him?

Only Zhang Juzheng remained seated, undisturbed.

Zhang Juzheng asked himself in his heart: Do I really not regret such an ending?

After pinching his wrist which was sore from writing, Zhang Juzheng straightened his mind: I have chosen this path, and I will not regret it no matter what the future holds. I am only sad that the Ming Dynasty has finally fallen...

---

The introduction to Zhang Juzheng in this article comes from the documentary "China" and the book "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty"