Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 244 Faith
Seeing that Tian Ergeng did not continue to talk after drinking, but sat there blankly, not knowing what he was thinking about. Wei Liangqing was curious and raised his hand to touch him gently. Tian Ergeng came back to his senses, and Wei Liangqing asked him what he was thinking about with a smile.

"Haha, I was distracted just now. I'll drink a glass of wine as punishment." Tian Ergeng shook his head and smiled to apologize. He poured a glass of wine and drank it. He put down the glass and glanced at Zhang Xijun. Then he smiled and said, "Talking to Master Zhang earlier reminded me of someone for a moment."

"Oh, who?" Wei Liangqing asked curiously.

"Wang Wenyan."

"Wang Wenyan? Who is this person?" Wei Liangqing asked doubtfully. He had never heard of this name before.

Instead, Zhang Xijun was slightly stunned. He didn't know why Tian Ergeng would actually connect him with Wang Wenyan. However, after thinking carefully about Wang Wenyan's situation and his own personality, he suddenly laughed. Not to mention, he and Wang Wenyan are indeed somewhat similar now. It's a pity that Tian Ergeng would think in that direction.

Speaking of Wang Wenyan, this person is not simple. At first, Wang Wenyan was just a jailer in a local county government office, in other words, a prison guard.

This position was just a white-collar job and there was not even a formal official establishment. However, Wang Wenyan was very good at scheming. He came from a good family and had many friends. He was generous and loyal, and was very good to his friends. He always helped people in need with his money and was very famous in the local area, and was somewhat like the Song Jiang of the modern era.

One day, while handling a case, Wang Wenyan met Yu Li, a deputy director of the Ministry of Justice. After getting to know Wang Wenyan, Yu Li felt that Wang Wenyan was an important figure, so he suggested that Wang Wenyan should not stay in the local area and that with his ability, it would be better for him to go to the capital to look for opportunities.

At Yu Li's suggestion, Wang Wenyan resigned from his job in the prison and came to the capital. After arriving in the capital, he found a way and spent some money to obtain the status of a student in the Imperial Academy, thus officially gaining a foothold in the capital.

After sneaking into the Imperial College, Wang Wenyan's business skills were put to good use. In just less than half a year, Wang Wenyan, as a student, became friends with the officials of the Imperial College and the six ministries. Since he had no shortage of money and was always generous, his reputation began to grow, and many people in the capital had heard of Wang Wenyan's reputation for being charitable and generous.

Later, Wang Wenyan used his connections to get to know Wang An, the eunuch who had tutored in the Eastern Palace. After getting in touch with Wang An, Wang Wenyan did not let the then Crown Prince Zhu Changluo fall out of favor with Emperor Wanli. Instead, he put a lot of effort into Wang An and waited patiently for the opportunity.

After waiting for several years, the opportunity finally came. In the 48th year of the Wanli reign, the Wanli Emperor was critically ill. Yang Lian, a core member of the Donglin Party, found Wang An and told him about this. He also suggested that Wang An cooperate with the Donglin Party, take advantage of the impending death of the Wanli Emperor, place heavy bets on the prince, and let the prince enter the palace to serve as soon as possible to ensure the throne.

At that time, Wang An was hesitant because he had never thought of cooperating with the Donglin Party. Moreover, as a trusted eunuch of Zhu Changluo, he felt that there seemed to be some problems with the inner court and the outer court, especially with the cooperation with the Donglin Party. Especially now that the emperor did not allow the prince to enter the palace, it would be a serious crime to enter the palace privately. If Emperor Wanli came back to life, the prince's position would be in danger.

But under the persuasion of Wang Wenyan, Wang An finally agreed to Yang Lian's suggestion, and together with the Donglin Party, he brought Crown Prince Zhu Changluo directly into the palace without the emperor's edict. In the end, he took the initiative, suppressed the restless Concubine Zheng, and successfully became Emperor Taichang.

After Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, Wang Wenyan took the opportunity to collude with the Donglin Party. He then took the opportunity to give advice to the Donglin Party and Wang An, and cleverly used the new emperor's ascension to the throne to place Donglin Party members in the court. At the same time, he divided and disintegrated the Zhejiang Party, Chu Party and Qi Party, and assisted the Donglin Party in defeating its political opponents, thus becoming the only dominant party.

It can be said that Wang Wenyan contributed a lot to the Donglin Party's rapid rise to power after the death of Emperor Wanli and its control of the government. Without Wang Wenyan's mediation and advice, the Donglin Party would not have become so powerful so easily.

Unfortunately, Emperor Taichang died after being emperor for less than a month. After Emperor Taichang's death, Wang Wenyan was also behind the palace relocation case. Then, when Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, Wang Wenyan helped the Donglin Party to go further and completely became the spokesperson of the court.

But not long after Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, he came to his senses and found that the Donglin Party was unreliable, and that the imperial power had fallen into the hands of others and he had become a puppet. In order to reverse the situation, Emperor Tianqi began to use Wei Zhongxian to fight for imperial power. The first person he attacked was the inner court, and Wang An, who had colluded with the Donglin Party in the past and now blocked Wei Zhongxian's way to advancement, was the first to be hit.

Wei Zhongxian quickly got rid of Wang An with the help of Emperor Tianqi. Once Wang An fell, Wang Wenyan lost his backing and turned to the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party naturally agreed with Wang Wenyan's surrender. Not only did they accept Wang Wenyan, they also arranged for Wang Wenyan to become a secretary of the Secretariat. Although the position of the Secretary of the Secretariat was not high, it was an unusual position. In modern times, it would be the position of secretary of the secretariat. As a member of the emperor's secretariat, the emperor could not do anything without the Secretary of the Secretariat. The emperor's every move was under the eyes of the Secretary of the Secretariat.

Although Wang Wenyan held a low official position, he had considerable power. Moreover, since Wang An left Beijing, he became an important figure in the Donglin Party. He hung around the emperor every day and privately reported the emperor's every move to the Donglin Party. Emperor Tianqi did not notice it at first, but soon discovered the problem.

After Wei Zhongxian came to power, he took action against Wang Wenyan immediately. He asked Shuntian Prefecture Prime Minister Shao Fuzhong to impeach Wang Wenyan, thereby removing him from his official position and title of student. He then instructed Liang Menghuan to impeach Wang Wenyan, causing him to be arrested and imprisoned. However, because the Donglin Party tried hard to protect Wang Wenyan, Wang Wenyan was released after a few days in prison.

He had intended to completely destroy Wang Wenyan, but he failed. However, making him lose his official position was also a step forward for Wei Zhongxian. However, after Wang Wenyan was released from prison, he continued to act recklessly and helped the Donglin Party target Wei Zhongxian, which made Wei Zhongxian furious.

Last year, due to the defeat in Liaodong, Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen were arrested and brought back to Beijing, which gave Wei Zhongxian another chance to deal with Wang Wenyan. Taking advantage of this case, Wei Zhongxian directly sent people from the East Factory to arrest Wang Wenyan, accusing him of bribing Xiong Tingbi and others to cause the defeat in Liaodong. The intention was not only to deal with Wang Wenyan, but also to drag the Donglin Party into the water.

But no one expected that Wang Wenyan, who was imprisoned, was so stubborn that he refused to confess no matter how he was interrogated and tortured. He kept saying that nothing had happened and it was a complete frame-up.

Wang Wenyan's toughness made Wei Zhongxian hit a snag. He was unable to make any breakthrough from Wang Wenyan for a while, and had no way to throw dirty water on the Donglin Party. He had no choice but to continue to detain Wang Wenyan. Now Wang Wenyan is in prison, and the Donglin Party outside has been trying to find a way to get him out, but Wei Zhongxian refused to give in and refused to release him.

Wang Wenyan was a commoner, but he was able to stir up the political situation and become an important figure from the time when Emperor Taichang ascended the throne to the present when the Donglin Party controlled the government. No one dared to underestimate this person. It had to be admitted that Wang Wenyan was very capable. It was incredible that someone like him could achieve this.

Tian Ergeng suddenly thought of Wang Wenyan from Zhang Xijun, and found that they were quite similar, which was not bad. However, compared with Wang Wenyan, although they were both from commoner backgrounds, Zhang Xijun did not have the swagger of Wang Wenyan, and Zhang Xijun had no intention of entering the officialdom, which was fundamentally different from Wang Wenyan who was keen on official career, which made Tian Ergeng value Zhang Xijun a little more.

"I remember that Wang Wenyan is still in prison, right? Why? He hasn't confessed yet?" Zhang Xijun picked up a piece of pork kidney with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, chewing it, and said in a normal tone.

"This guy is as stinky and hard as a stone in a toilet. I don't know what he is thinking. If he could have found out about Yang Lian and others, he wouldn't have to suffer so much." Tian Ergeng shook his head. After Wang Wenyan was imprisoned, Tian Ergeng, as Wei Zhongxian's godson, naturally had to contribute. He went to the prison to meet Wang Wenyan in person on behalf of Wei Zhongxian, but no matter how he threatened or tempted Wang Wenyan, he refused to give in.

"This man naturally refuses to give in. Brother Tian, ​​don't forget how Wang Wenyan became famous back then. If he gave in in prison and gave out the Donglin Party, then all the reputation he had accumulated throughout his life would be gone. A commoner like him is different from you nobles, and he is not an ordinary scholar. The reason he has survived until today is nothing more than to preserve his reputation. To him, reputation is more important than life. Even if he dies, it is worth it as long as his reputation is there."

Zhang Xijun's words made Tian Ergeng concentrate and think carefully. After thinking about it, he nodded silently. Zhang Xijun's words made sense. Wang Wenyan spent decades to build his own character. This person is the thing he is most proud of in his life. This character has become something that Wang Wenyan thinks is more important than his life.

If his character collapses at this time, then what is the point of Wang Wenyan's life? People are different. The heroes in ancient times were often like this, and they valued reputation more than fate. Wang Wenyan can also be said to be such a person. This is what he has always insisted on.

"In that case, let's just ignore him for now. He can't do anything in prison anyway. After I take over the Jinyiwei, I will teach him a lesson. I want to see if Wang Wenyan can continue to survive like this with the capabilities of the Jinyiwei." Tian Ergeng sneered, with a plan in mind.

But Zhang Xijun on the side disagreed. He certainly knew the methods of the Jinyiwei, but could someone like Wang Wenyan be made to submit by torture? Who were Zhang Xijun's ancestors? Others didn't know, but he didn't understand it? Sometimes, once something is deeply rooted in the bone marrow, it is difficult to peel it off. Zhang Xijun was very clear about the fanaticism of the White Lotus Sect. Some fanatics didn't even care about life and death, and their minds were full of those insistences.

Although Wang Wenyan is not a member of the White Lotus Sect, his essence is the same. Tough measures are useless against such a person. Zhang Xijun can assert that if Tian Ergeng's plan fails, it will be a waste of effort to spend energy on Wang Wenyan.

(End of this chapter)