Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 1: The First Snow of the Tenth Year of Wanli
Ming Dynasty, the ninth year of Wanli.

Lunar New Year's eve.

Cold weather!

It was midwinter, the sky was overcast and snowflakes were flying everywhere. The last chill of the ninth year of the Wanli reign swept across the Jingjiang River, carrying snowflakes into the Zhang Family Courtyard in Jiangling City.

Under a window frame in the courtyard, Zhang Yunxiu pressed the corner of the window with one hand, staring at the snow flying in the sky, and couldn't help muttering to himself: "The tenth year of Wanli. The tenth year of Wanli."

Today is the New Year's Eve of the ninth year of Wanli, and after today it will be the tenth year of Wanli!

Five days ago, he came here due to a car accident and possessed the body of a young man here.

After a few days of exploration and integration, he finally figured out the identity of the young man.

Zhang Yunxiu, 17 years old, male, Han nationality, from Jiangling, Huguang, was appointed as the Secretary of the Shangbao Division (sixth rank) by virtue of his father's influence in the third year of Wanli.

Of course, compared to his small position as an official, the Zhang family could be said to be extremely wealthy and prosperous before the tenth year of Wanli.

His father, Zhang Juzheng, was the Prince's Grand Tutor and Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Palace, and was nicknamed the "Executive Vice Emperor."

The eldest brother, Zhang Jingxiu, ranked ninth in the second class in the eighth year of Wanli, was selected as a scholar, and was transferred to the Ministry of Rites (sixth rank)
The second elder brother, Zhang Sixiu, was the second runner-up in the fifth year of the Wanli reign and was appointed as an editor of the Hanlin Academy (rank seven).

The third brother, Zhang Maoxiu, was the top scholar in the eighth year of the Wanli reign and was appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy (from the sixth rank).

The fourth elder brother, Zhang Jianxiu, married the daughter of Wang Zhigao, the governor-general of the three borders. At the age of twenty, he served as the Tongzhi (third rank) of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As long as you cover our names.

Everyone couldn't help but sigh: We are armed to the teeth and have never fought such a rich war!

It’s a pity that people and things are constantly changing, and the past and present are connected.

All of this will disappear with the death of Zhang Juzheng.

In June of the tenth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng passed away, along with the downfall of Pan Sheng, the Grand Secretary whom he recommended during his lifetime.

The emperor, nobles, eunuchs, and literati began a frantic purge of Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng's eldest son committed suicide at home.

The second and third sons were sentenced to exile, the fourth son was demoted to a commoner, and the fifth and sixth sons escaped with the help of Zhang Juzheng's good friends.

All the women in the family were sent to the Jiaofangsi to serve as slaves.

When he was in power, the whole court praised his achievements and dared not mention his faults. Now that he has been defeated, the whole court is trying to find his faults and dared not mention his achievements.

After defeating Zhang Juzheng, Emperor Wanli was like a child who had been controlled for more than ten years and then had no one to control him.

After the fifteenth year of the Wanli reign, due to a dispute over the foundation of the country, Emperor Wanli began a thirty-year career of inaction.

In one fell swoop, he broke the record of his grandfather, Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, on many occasions, he even refused to stamp his imperial seal on the promotion of officials, causing the official system to be semi-paralyzed.

You don't want me to change the crown prince, right?
Then stop playing and just put it together.

Even Zhang Tingyu, a Qing scholar, could not help but sigh when compiling the history of the Ming Dynasty: "The Ming Dynasty actually fell during the Wanli reign!"

The snow outside the window was getting heavier and heavier. The originally tiny snow particles turned into heavy snow. The cold wind was howling and hitting Zhang Yunxiu's cheeks.

He shuddered and took two steps back unconsciously.

Looking up into the distance, I saw that everything around me was white.

"Fifth brother, you're daydreaming here again!" A childish voice brought him back to reality, and he turned around to look.

A plump, fair-looking boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, stood by the door, peeking in.

It was Zhang Yunxiu’s sixth brother, Zhang Jingxiu.

The two looked at each other, and Zhang Jingxiu trotted in, staring at the fifth brother with wide eyes, and asked curiously: "Fifth brother, you are not missing daddy again, are you?"

think?
Of course I thought about it. If I didn’t think about it again, my family would be in danger of losing their lives.

Seeing that the fifth brother was silent, Zhang Jingxiu continued, "Actually, you don't have to worry. There are still ten months until the autumn exam. If you prepare well, you will definitely have time.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head. He glanced at his naive sixth brother and made up his mind to go to the capital to check it out.

After all, he remembered that Zhang Juzheng fell ill in April and had been in bed for more than two months. If it had been discovered earlier, he might have been able to be saved, and if he could be saved, that would have been the best.

If you can't rescue them, you can only run away.

At this time, the snow outside the window stopped at some point, and Zhang Yunxiu looked up again and gazed at the city of Beijing.

Thousands of miles away in Beijing, snow covered the roofs and few people walked on the streets. In Shamao Hutong, located on Dengshikou Street, the residence of Zhang Daxueshi was decorated with red and colorful decorations, and was filled with joy.

The small study in the living room on the east side of the mansion was filled with heat.

More than a dozen officials in scarlet robes bent over their desks, carefully processing the reports sent by the Ministry of Public Administration.

According to the Ming Dynasty system, only officials of the fourth rank and above could wear scarlet.

In other words, these people are all fourth-rank officials.

At this moment, he was in the Grand Secretary's mansion, busy with his head down like a minor clerk.

After a while, a man strode into the room, bowed and said with a smile: "Everyone, the Prime Minister is not feeling well today, so only Yao Yushi is here. I hope you can understand."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man among the officials stood up, gave the visitor a fist bump, and then, under the envious gazes of everyone, he hugged the memorial and walked out of the side hall with the visitor.

After leaving the side hall and passing the flower corridor, the two of them walked to a large study.

"Master Yao, we won't accompany you in. You go by yourself." The servant said, turning around and leaving.

Censor Yao nodded, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then straightened his clothes, leaned forward, and knocked gently on the door.

"Prime Minister, Yao Kuang requests to see you."

"come in!"

Hearing the sound, Yao Kuang pushed the door open and walked in.

A warm breeze blew over his face, melting the frost on his cheeks, making him feel warm and extremely toasty.

There is not much light in the house.

In the middle was a yellow pear wood rocking chair with a man lying on it, covered with a man-high black mink cloak, leaving only his face exposed.

The man was about fifty-six or fifty-seven years old, with slightly dark skin and a thin body. Only his slightly open eyes revealed an irresistible sharpness.

It was Zhang Juzheng, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.

On both sides of him, there was a pretty little maid squatting, massaging his feet and legs.

Seeing Yao Kuang coming in, Zhang Juzheng waved his hand. The two maids understood and stepped aside. They took out four octagonal palace lanterns and lit them.

In an instant, the study room of dozens of square meters became bright.

The two maids said "Hail!" and quietly left the room.

"Clap."

As soon as the door closed, Yao Kuang was about to salute, but Zhang Juzheng waved his hand to interrupt him, glanced at Yao Kuang and said, "Read me today's report from the Ministry of Public Administration."

Yao Kuang bowed, took two steps back, picked up a court newspaper and began to read.

"Huguang Supervisory Censor Li Zhi reported: On December 25, the ninth year of the Wanli reign, Jiangling County commoner Wang He went into the mountains to cut firewood. Suddenly, a thick fog rose and Wang He lost his way. Just as he was panicking, he suddenly saw a beast floating in the sky. It had horns on its head, dragon scales on its body, a deer head and a lion body, and a tail like an ox's. Wang He was very surprised and chased it. After a while, the fog dissipated and Wang He found that he had left the deep mountains."

"That night, Wang Heju told the elders in the village what he had seen. The elders replied: This beast is a Qilin. When a Qilin appears, a saint must appear."

Yao Kuang finished reading it in one breath and felt his mouth dry. He licked his lips and glanced at the Prime Minister.

Seeing that he was frowning and concentrating, with no expression like a wooden man, she was unsure of what to do, so she had to pick up the second memorial and read it.

"Li Wei, the Earl of Wuqing, is loyal to the country and has made great contributions in raising the empress dowager. Now he is old and has no one to rely on. I specially ask the emperor to allocate 3,000 acres of grain fields for his retirement."

"Hmm?" Zhang Juzheng stood up suddenly, frowned and interrupted, "From the Longqing period to now, the Earl of Wuqing has received more than ten thousand acres of land, but now he wants more land. What's the reason?"

Yao Kuang's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly said, "Prime Minister, this Li Wei is a money-hungry person, what if he is with the Queen Mother?"

"No!" Zhang Juzheng glared at Yao Kuang, picked up the brush and wrote a draft, then handed the memorial back and said, "After I go on duty, take it to the Qianqing Palace and send it to the emperor for review."

(End of this chapter)