Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1404 Rigid and Soft

"Emperor Zheng?"

Shen Shixing was only seven points surprised and three points puzzled, but Wang Xijue couldn't help asking back, and then laughed: "I don't see that Mr. Zhang has such a good tongue, he can persuade Concubine Zheng to support the emperor The eldest son is sitting in the East Palace? It’s a big deal, disrespect, disrespect.”

There is no doubt that Wang Xijue is not really "disrespectful", because his tone is still sarcasm, and these words are obviously ironic.

Zhang Cheng's smile froze as expected, and his face darkened a little: "Old Wang Ge, our family is very sincere about this matter. Forgive our family's bluntness, whether the imperial concubine can send the third son of the emperor to the East Palace is up to her Does the prosperity and wealth in this life matter? Even if the third son of the emperor himself, even if he can't be the prince in the future, he will at least be the vassal king of a country, and the difference is not far behind."

"However, what can the two old elders do to suppress Gao Situ and even the faction of practical learning? Although our family doesn't study much, we also know that the officialdom is like a battlefield. It's either you or me. Since the mind can't suppress the real learning, then Inevitably, only the practical learning will be used to suppress the learning of the mind... At that time, many officials of the science of mind in the world will look back and say, why did my learning of the mind fall into such a state, and who will be responsible for it in the end?"

What Zhang Cheng said was really leisurely, after all, it is impossible to settle the blame on him no matter what.In the end, the officials of Xinxue would only scold Shen Shixing for his lack of wisdom and Wang Xijue for his incompetence, and he, Zhang Bingbi, would definitely not be responsible.

At this moment, Shen Shixing really frowned, but Wang Xijue's expression was normal, and he said indifferently: "I have good intentions, even though I died nine times, I still haven't regretted it."

Zhang Cheng really didn't expect Wang Xijue to react like this, and he was a little numb at the moment.

Speaking of it, Zhang Cheng's understanding of politics is still too superficial, and he doesn't understand that different cabinet ministers actually have different considerations when facing these things.Zhang Cheng hadn't thought about these issues, but Gao Yushi had thought about them carefully a long time ago, and those thoughts are also the basis for his current official style.

Gao Yushi once thought that since the mid-Ming Dynasty, there have been many cases of serious political differences between the officials and the emperor, such as Wu Zong's southern tour, the Dali Conference, and the dispute over the country.The cabinet ministers Liu Jian, Yang Tinghe, and Wang Jiaping led the group of ministers to remonstrate with Yan Yan. Their integrity was praised by many scholars at that time, and later generations also praised them.

While noticing those cabinet ministers who fought fiercely against the monarch, he also noticed Li Dongyang who was a contemporary of Liu Jian, Fei Hong and Yang Yiqing who were contemporaries of Yang Tinghe, and Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue who were contemporaries of Wang Jiaping.Generally speaking, although these people have remonstrance, their attitudes are relatively gentle, and they focus on regulating and protecting.

At that time, Gao Yushi carefully considered, in what sense the behavior orientation of Li Dongyang was different from Liu Jian, or from the more intense resistance behavior of the scholar-bureaucrat group in the Ming Dynasty. Is there any principle in this?How did the Ming people evaluate the behavior orientation of the cabinet ministers, and what rationale did the cabinet ministers use to explain the rationality of their behavior to themselves and others?Even putting this kind of behavioral orientation in the context of political experience in the Ming Dynasty to examine, does it have any special meaning at the level of political roles?

As early as when he was the prince's companion, he felt that it was necessary to clarify these issues, because it would not only help to re-understand the connotation of Li Dongyang's behavior orientation, but also have a deeper understanding of the complexity of the political ecology of the Ming Dynasty. understand.And this is also the basis for his own "future" to survive in the officialdom of Daming.

In the conflicts between monarchs and ministers in the Ming Dynasty, such as the great ceremony discussion and the dispute over the country, the scholar-bureaucrat group often went up and down repeatedly, asking the emperor to adopt suggestions, and exerting pressure on the emperor in various ways such as "begging for a rest" and "fuque". .On the contrary, the emperor often suppressed the resistance of his ministers by means of court staff and demotion, and the conflict between the monarch and his ministers was fierce.

In August of the first year of Zhengde, cabinet ministers Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Li Dongyang remonstrated Wu Zong to kill his servant Ma Yong and others, and persuaded Wu Zong to manage politics, but Wu Zong refused to listen.Han Wen, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, led the officials "Fu Que" to cry and remonstrate, and Wu Zong used the old court staff to "Fu Que" all the officials.Liu Jian and Xie Qian begged to rest, but Wu Zong did not stay, and "remove the Korean civil servants with events, and ask Liu Jian and those who moved to Shi Zhong Lu Chong, Liu Yu, and Nanjing to Shi Zhong Dai Mian and other six people, Yushi Bo Yanhui and other 15 people."

In this case, although Li Dongyang begged for rest, Wu Zong refused, so he stayed as the chief assistant.After Wuzong's death, Sejong was succeeded by a foreign vassal. Sejong wanted to respect his biological father Xingxian King as Huang Kao, and renamed Xiaozong as Huang Bo Kao. Most officials in the court, led by cabinet ministers Yang Tinghe, Mao Ji, Jiang Mian and others, believed that The emperor's system was disrupted, and the etiquette was inconsistent. He repeatedly opposed it, but Sejong refused to listen.

On July [-]th of the third year of Jiajing, the ministers "knelt down at the Zuoshun gate, or shouted 'Emperor Taizu Gao' or 'Emperor Xiaozong', and the sound resounded inside... and in the afternoon, the Shang ordered to record all The names of the ministers, those who hold the head are the scholar Fengxi, Zhang Chong, the censor Yu Ao, the doctor Yu Kuan, Huang Shixian, Tao Zi, Xiang Shifang, Sizheng Wudechun, and all eight people were sent to prison.

So Yang Shen, who wrote Yang Shen and reviewed Wang Yuanzheng, shook the door and burst into tears. All the officials cried for a while, and the sound shook the court.In a rage, he ordered the arrest of 130 people including Wailang Mali, a member of the fifth rank and below, and issued an imperial edict for torture.

The situation in the "Great Ceremony" was tense, and Yang Tinghe, Mao Ji, and Jiang Mian successively resigned because of the competition for the Ceremony, and Fei Hong succeeded him as the chief assistant.

However, in the middle Wanli period in the original history, the officials of the government and the opposition Lianshu asked Shenzong to establish the "national foundation" early, and made Zhu Changluo, the eldest son of the emperor, as the crown prince.At that time, "those who make every effort to invite people are attracted by the hearts of the whole world."Zhu Yijun strongly suppressed the officials, "The officials persuaded Yujiao, and Gai was punished, saving a little time."

Wang Xijue also remonstrated Zhu Yijun as early as the 19th year of Wanli, demanding that the eldest son of the emperor be established as the prince.Zhu Yijun also refused to listen, so Wang Xijue left Beijing in the name of visiting relatives.

In the 20th year of Wanli, Li Xianke undertook the affairs of the Rites to make a few remarks on the "national foundation", Zhu Yijun surrendered Xianke to serve as an outsider, and Wang Jiaping, who was the chief assistant of the cabinet at the time, was also very stubborn. In order to go to Mingzhi, Zhu Yijun will not stay.Then Wang Xijue was recalled and succeeded as chief assistant.

From this moment, we can see the fierce conflict between the monarch and his ministers in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, many officials took the end of their official careers as the price for their political opinions.

Liu Jian and Xie Qian said "begging for a rest", and they were allowed to retire.In just a few months of the third year of Jiajing, Yang Tinghe, Mao Ji, and Jiang Mian, the three chief assistants, successively resigned due to disputes with Sejong for "big gifts".

Several cabinet ministers in the Wanli Dynasty, such as Wang Jiaping, etc., all disobeyed the emperor because of the "national foundation" and asked to leave with few words, but Zhu Yijun did not stay.From this, Gao Pragmatism can see that the active resistance of the scholar-bureaucrat group did exert enormous political pressure on the emperor, but in the process, the relationship between the monarch and his ministers inevitably tended to deteriorate.

Yang Tinghe once said in the past: "When comparing great gifts, the fish and water are thrown into the water, and the water and charcoal are separated."

At the beginning of the conflict between the emperor and his ministers, the cabinet ministers were in the center, close to the heads of the officials, and it was difficult for them to stay out of the matter. In fact, Liu Jian, Yang Tinghe and others led the rebellion against the emperor by the ministers at that time.

And when there is a situation where the relationship between the monarch and his ministers is tense due to conflicts, it is difficult for the cabinet ministers to stay out of the matter. They are bound to make political choices. Is it a continuous confrontation with the monarch?Or subservient to the king?
If the cabinet ministers took the straight way to remonstrate, or even went to show their ambitions, this kind of behavior was obvious, and it also made the emperor feel his adherence to political principles.But such a decisiveness means to a certain extent that the scholar-bureaucrats negate their self-worth. This is not only a matter of personal official fame and fortune, but also means that the parties involved have lost the conventional way to exert continuous political influence in an already anxious situation. .

If the cabinet ministers remain silent until they submissively submit to the emperor, this will help the parties involved gain the trust of the emperor, and then take possible measures to ease the tension.However, in this way, in the political atmosphere where strong admonishment to those who are willing to go forward, it is inevitable to bear the accusations of public opinion about the loss of reputation, and the subsequent psychological anxiety.

Generally speaking, large-scale conflicts between monarchs and ministers are not only political events, but also constitute a political situation where the relationship between monarchs and ministers is tense.The cabinet ministers are very important, and they cannot avoid expressing their views.After large-scale protests, whether to continue to resist the emperor directly or to submit to the emperor, both behavior orientations have their rational assumptions and limitations, which constitutes a dilemma in the political situation of cabinet ministers.

In this political situation, cabinet ministers such as Liu Jian follow "straightness", while others like Li Dongyang follow "qu".

Gao Yushi thinks it is not very good to take the straightness completely, especially since he is a person who knows the political direction of the Ming Dynasty. If he also takes the "straightness" in the "future" and is dismissed from office, then this Ming Dynasty will almost be declared "rescue invalid". "Are.Therefore, although Gao Yushi personally created the "Southern Xinjiang retreat route", he psychologically does not want to use this retreat route one day.

Then, what are the characteristics of the political practice of the cabinet ministers who took the path of reluctance to establish the dynasty?Adjectives such as "moderate" are just a simplified description of a style of behavior. Combined with the political practice of Li Dongyang, Fei Hong and Wang Xijue during their tenure as chief assistant, Gao Yushi summed up three behavioral characteristics in those years.

One is to obey the emperor's claim.In the first year of Zhengde, Li Dongyang, along with Liu Jian and Xie Qian, asked the emperor to kill the eunuchs who served him. From August of the first year of Zhengde to the seventh year of Zhengde, Li Dongyang served as the chief assistant of the cabinet, and had contacts with Liu Jin during his tenure.According to the "Records of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty", before Liu Jin was convicted, there was no memorial of Li Dongyang's impeachment of eunuchs.

In the early years of Jiajing, Fei Hong, along with Yang Tinghe and other cabinet ministers, competed with Sejong for "big gifts", and "signed his name as a public official, which is not a special admonition".Fei Hong served as the chief assistant of the cabinet from the fifth year of Jiajing to the sixth year of Jiajing, and served as the chief executive officer of "Records of the Emperor Xiandi".According to "Records of Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty", the cabinet minister Shi Ping continued to discuss rituals after the "Fuque" crying and admonishing incident of the Zuoshunmen group of officials. There is no public criticism of Sejong's promotion of his own parents.

Wang Xijue was called back as the chief assistant in the 21st year of Wanli. After that, he once supported Zhu Yijun's proposal of "combining the three kings".Zhu Yijun asked Wang Xijue whether the proposal of "conferring the three kings together" was feasible in a letter. Wang Xijue said to him: "Speaking of emotion and reason, it seems that there is nothing impossible." .”

All three of them had publicly supported the protesting opinions of the scholar-bureaucrat group. However, when remonstrance methods such as "Fu Que" and "Sealing Refutation" failed to move the king's heart, Li Dongyang and Fei Hong stayed on as the king, and Wang Xijue returned to the post. and all of them acted in obedience to the emperor on the focus of the conflict between the monarch and his ministers.

The second is to oppose the strong admonition of colleagues.When the "Great Ritual Discussion" in the Jiajing Dynasty was in turmoil, many ministers resigned due to disagreements between the monarch and his ministers, and the Zuoshunmen incident caused the literati to suffer terribly. All these made Fei Hong doubt the effectiveness of the fierce protest measures of the ministers.

Fei Hong said: "If it's not beneficial to the world, but you just want to get a name with straightness, experience difficulties with your body, and let the poison flow to the gentry, such as Chen Fan and Dou Wu, such as Li Xun and Zheng Zhu, such as Bing Yin's hasty move, If you don’t, you can’t, and you don’t dare.” In fact, this view is highly understandable and pragmatic, and even his own view is very similar to it.

Since Wang Xijue served as the chief assistant of the cabinet for the second time, he has paid great attention to the strategy of remonstrance, words and deeds. Secretly advise, wait less for the foreign court to seal and refute the entry, and then protect it from it. To teach the so-called moving with loyalty and mediating with Momo, I will win my heart first."

Li Dongyang, Fei Hong, and Wang Xijue turned to be careful about what is wrong with the monarch, but this does not mean that their political values ​​have undergone fundamental changes due to the strong monarchy. My heart said: "After I sent to Guazhou unscrupulously, I entered the capital on the [-]th day of the first lunar month. The most urgent thing is to store things."

Li Dongyang said: "Stealing that people and ministers serve the emperor, you should exhaust your strength of life and death, and you should especially be cautious about advancing and retreating."

Although Fei Hong presided over the important thing, he also said: "Dun upholds the wind festival to boost morale a little. In the prosperous age, there must be no one."

The above remarks actually show that Li Dongyang's people have changed their political attitudes from participating in admonishment in person to opposing forceful admonition from their colleagues, but this change is only a strategic adjustment.

As for the third, it is to actively rescue officials who have been convicted of admonishment.Under the strong pressure of the emperor, Li Dongyang and his colleagues adjusted their strategy of admonishment, but when they submissively obeyed the emperor, they actively rescued officials who were offended by the conflict between the emperor and his ministers. "Liu Jian, Xie Qian, Liu Daxia, Yang Yiqing, and Ping Jiangbo Chen Xiong's generation were almost in danger, and they all depended on Dongyang to solve them."

Wang Xijue took it as his duty to recommend officials who had previously been dismissed due to his speeches. "First, the day after returning to the court, he secretly consulted with the election king to recommend a plan to restore all gentlemen."

Although Fei Hong adopted a more prudent political attitude towards "Great Gifts" due to the power of the monarch, this line of thinking could not be completely transferred to the relationship management with Zhang Cong and others. "Cong (Zhang Cong) and calyx (gui calyx) entered Hanlin from Lang's department, and then suddenly went to Zhan Shi, and the court hated him. Every time Hong showed restraint, Cong and Calyx were also furious."

When Wang Bangqi attacked Yang Tinghe and implicated Fei Hong, it was difficult for Fei Hong to understand himself, and he refused to appoint others to protect his position, so he went to show his ambition.

Through the analysis of the words and deeds of these cabinet ministers, Gao Yushi came to the conclusion that the behavioral orientation characteristics of Li Dongyang's people are the way of serving the king as Fei Hong said, "Back and obedience will be obedient."

The so-called "obedience and obedience" means that although Li Dongyang agrees with the opinions of the scholar-bureaucrat group, there are many helpless expedient measures in the situation of the conflict between the monarch and his ministers.
The so-called "Nai Ke will help you" is actually the purpose of "restraining and obeying". What is the benefit?It is difficult to make a definite theory on current affairs and caring in the world, but it is definitely not a simple way of flattering the emperor.Li Dongyang's actions still have their bottom line of principle, which can be clearly seen from his refusal to obey the king's will to pursue the crime of admonishing his ministers.

In the situation of the conflict between the monarch and his ministers, Li Dongyang's people served the monarch with the way of "restraint and obedience", and adjusted the current situation in specific political practice.

However, the scholar-bureaucrats made such a behavior orientation, which ultimately took compromise as an action, and it involved personal honor and favor, and was implicated in the moral integrity, fame and fortune concepts in traditional political culture, which caused mixed opinions in the public opinion.

In the situation of the conflict between the monarch and his ministers, Li Dongyang and Fei Hong were both unsuccessful because of the emperor's retention.Wang Xijue was called to join the cabinet. Compared with the former cabinet minister Wang Jiaping, Wang Xijue's admonishment attitude was much more moderate, and he once supported Zhu Yijun's proposal of "three kings conferring together". Criticized by public opinion.

In fact, public opinion has mixed evaluations of Li Dongyang and others.The derogatory remark on his inability to resign is to show the minister's integrity, and what Li Dongyang and others are worried about is also on the integrity; the praise focuses on his ability to stay in office to protect the current situation, and Li Dongyang's interpretation of the rationality of their own behavior also points to the matter of reconciliation.

In fact, how to evaluate this kind of behavioral orientation, according to the consistent dichotomy of high pragmatism, still needs to fully consider the complex situation of traditional political culture and avoid extremes on one side.

If the praise is too much, it will be too biased towards merit, and it will inevitably be shameless, and it will be close to utilitarianism;

It is the traditional political culture that provides a variety of rational paths for judging practical behaviors. They integrate and restrict each other, and finally reflect the behavior orientation of Li Dongyang and others in the complex political ecology.

After all, because of the existence of this behavior orientation, the scholar-bureaucrat politics within the framework of the imperial system gained the necessary flexibility. In this sense, the behavior of Li Dongyang and others has a certain degree of rationality.

Of course, it is also necessary to note that Li Dongyang and others are obsessed with obedience, and they will inevitably give up some principles after all.If the cabinet ministers do this, they will lose the confidence to restrain their fellow officials.For example, Jiao Fang's stream was in full swing, and Li Dongyang was also to blame.

There are also reasons why Gao Yushi has always cared about reputation and cherished feathers before.Originally, the cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty were not "true prime ministers". If they blindly used the emperor's favor to overwhelm their colleagues, but did not set an example so that people have nothing to say, it is inevitable that some people will be obedient and contradictory, and even opponents will continue to emerge.

Wasn't Yan Song like this in the past?When Shizong's favor was the deepest, the Daoyan faction had always existed.It’s nothing more than that Xu Jie is secretly a Strict Sect, and Gao Gong is a Strict Sect on the surface (Note: Do you remember Gao Gong using Han Yu’s words of “big chickens come boldly, small chickens wait for you” to mock strict party gatherings? I remember before I wrote about it in the article.) That’s all, in short, the Strict School has never been broken.

Of course, if you have to let Gao Yushi make a choice, his consistent view is that 'whether it is hard or soft, it depends on whether the goal is achieved'.

It's just that Wang Xijue has not yet experienced the setback of being unable to succeed despite the strong advice of the officials, so his personality is obviously tough, and he doesn't pay much attention to Zhang Cheng's "sincerity". Xi, even though he died nine times, he still has no regrets" in response.

Seeing that the talks between Zhang Cheng and Wang Xijue were about to collapse, after all, it was Shen Shixing, the well-known chief assistant who knew more about "closing the gaps" and inserted a sentence just right.

Shen Yuanfu didn't seem to notice any smell of gunpowder, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhang, if you come here with the sincerity of the imperial concubine Zheng, and you are a courtier, you should always listen to it." Then Shi Shiran Stretch out your hand and make a "please" gesture: "Let me invite Mr. Zhang to come."
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(End of this chapter)