I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 174 Deprivation of Mourning or Mourning for Parents? Zhang Juzheng's Greatest Crisis in His Career

Before we knew it, it was September 25th.

Yaodong Trading Company's reputation soared.

Although its model could not be replicated by many merchants, it greatly raised the moral standards of northern merchants.

In prefectures, counties, and townships where the Yaodong Trading Company had branches.

If a business owner is unwilling to even promise his employees a day of paid leave, he will have no one to hire.

Yaodong Trading Company is like a surging, clear, rapid current.

The impact was on the stagnant, murky northern trade, characterized by stinginess, greed, laziness, exploitation, cunning, harshness, and mercenary practices.

Based on the current situation.

Within five years, commerce north of the Yellow River will undergo tremendous changes.

……

late at night.

The capital city, which was under curfew, was quiet.

Only the soldiers and watchmen of the Five Cities Garrison were allowed to walk on the streets.

at this time.

A soldier on duty at Yongding Gate, the outer city of Beijing, rode a fast horse to Zhang Juzheng's residence.

boom! boom! boom!
He pounded on the gate of the mansion.

Not long after.

A gatekeeper from the Zhang residence came out and, seeing that it was just an ordinary soldier, angrily rebuked him: "Knocking on the door like that, do you have a death wish!"

The soldier took a letter out of his pocket.

"An urgent letter from the Zhang family in Jiangling, Jingzhou, was given to me by a messenger outside the city. He relayed the words of Zhang Jiu, the steward of the Zhang family: 'No matter when, this letter must be presented to the Grand Secretary immediately, without a moment's delay!'"

The gatekeeper's expression turned serious. He immediately took the letter and ran wildly into the house.

He did not know the contents.

However, the letter came from Jiangling, and Zhang Jiu, the steward of the Zhang family in Jiangling, gave instructions, so something big must have happened.

After a while.

Lights came on in Zhang Juzheng's bedroom, and a loud weeping could be heard from inside.

Half an hour later, it was almost midnight.

Several servants from the Zhang residence, carrying documents personally written by Zhang Juzheng, rode out to the residences of three cabinet ministers, Lü Tiaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, and Yin Zhengmao, as well as the Directorate of Ceremonial where Feng Bao was resting in the northeast of the palace.

These servants delivered Zhang Juzheng's letter.

The lights in the study of Lü Diaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, Yin Zhengmao, and Feng Bao were turned on and never went out. Just as the palace gates were about to open, the four of them put on their official robes and hurriedly rushed into the palace.

……

At dawn, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Lü Diaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, Yin Zhengmao, and Feng Bao appeared inside the Wenhua Hall.

at the same time.

The official on duty at the Court of State Ceremonial announced that the young Emperor Wanli would be exempt from court that day due to illness.

At this moment, inside the Wenhua Hall.

The young Wanli Emperor sat on the throne, Empress Dowager Li held a curtain behind her, and Feng Bao stood to one side.

Lü Diaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, and Yin Zhengmao stood on the lower side.

Although Yin Zhengmao was stripped of his right to participate in cabinet affairs, he still retains the status of a cabinet minister.

The letter from Jiangling last night stated that Zhang Juzheng's father, Zhang Wenming, had passed away on September 13th.

The young Wanli Emperor looked at the three of them with an anxious expression.

"The three Grand Secretaries must quickly devise a solution; I do not wish for the Grand Secretary to return home to observe mourning!"

Lu Diaoyang and the other two frowned slightly.

They've been thinking about how to handle this ever since they learned about it last night.

The so-called mourning period.

If an official is the son of his parents, he should immediately resign from his post and return home to observe mourning for twenty-seven months.

However, Zhang Juzheng returned to his hometown to observe the mourning period for twenty-seven months.

Not only would the new policies be difficult to implement, but normal government affairs would also be greatly affected.

After the incident involving the Earl of Wuqing's embezzlement, Empress Dowager Li and Emperor Wanli became increasingly aware of Zhang Juzheng's importance in the court.

They all did not want Zhang Juzheng to leave the court.

In addition, the young Wanli Emperor will be getting married next March, so Zhang Juzheng is indispensable.

Feng Bao also did not want Zhang Juzheng to leave the court.

Because if a new Grand Secretary is appointed, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs might be targeted for reform.

Lü Diaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, and Yin Zhengmao were even more unwilling for Zhang Juzheng to leave the court.

All three are in their sixties.

Yin Zhengmao could not immediately join the cabinet to participate in state affairs because of this matter.

They were well aware of the heavy burden on Zhang Juzheng's shoulders, and in terms of energy and ability, they were far inferior to Zhang Juzheng.

Lu Diaoyang cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the only option now is to forcibly reinstate him after his mourning period is over!"

Ma Ziqiang and Yin Zhengmao both nodded in agreement.

The so-called "reinstatement after being detained for a period of time".

The emperor issued an edict refusing his request to return to his hometown to observe mourning and filial piety, ordering him to remain in his official duties.

In the past, the "seizure of affection" was mostly applied to military generals fighting in the field.

However, similar incidents have occurred in the cabinet in recent years.

In the eighth year of the Xuande reign, Yang Pu, who was then serving as a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, was supposed to resign due to the death of his mother, but the emperor immediately reinstated him.

In March of the second year of the Chenghua reign, Li Xian, then the Grand Secretary, suffered the loss of his father. However, after two months of mourning, he was reinstated by the emperor.

Such practices, though criticized, are considered successful examples. However, in the current context...

This made it quite difficult to reinstate Zhang Juzheng after he had been released from prison.

During the Hongzhi era, Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe was in mourning for his father. The emperor repeatedly asked him to observe the mourning period, but he refused each time and eventually observed the mourning period for twenty-seven months. This earned him praise from countless officials, who regarded him as a model of a Grand Secretary observing the mourning period.

In this day and age, filial piety is of paramount importance.

To not observe mourning is worse than that of a beast.

If the young Wanli Emperor were to issue an edict to revoke mourning leave, countless officials would surely oppose it, some even to the point of suicide.

The key point of what Lü Diaoyang just said was not "reinstatement despite mourning," but the word "forced."

Emperor Wanli thought for a moment and looked at Feng Bao.

Feng Bao immediately understood; when it came to dealing with officials, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was the most adept.

Immediately afterward, the young Wanli Emperor discussed the details of the reinstatement with his ministers and then ordered them to make preparations.

……

soon.

News of Zhang Wenming's death spread throughout all the government offices in the capital.

An official buried his head in his hands and wept bitterly in the yamen, fainting several times from grief; his behavior was quite exaggerated.

He did this not out of sadness, but simply to let Zhang Juzheng know.

Some people secretly rejoiced behind closed doors.

Because once Zhang Juzheng enters mourning, twenty-seven months is enough for the court to be replaced, and enough for the new policies to take on a completely different flavor.

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian couldn't help but let out a long sigh of helplessness.

In his view, if it were considered from the perspective of the interests of the Ming Dynasty, it would be better for Zhang Juzheng to be stripped of his mourning period; but if he did not observe the mourning period, countless officials in the court would surely impeach him.

This would cause chaos in the court and create conflict among many officials.

Shen Nian was considering how to minimize the negative impact of this matter.

……

Near noon.

Ma Ziqiang, Lü Diaoyang, and Yin Zhengmao all submitted memorials.

They cited the examples of former Grand Secretaries Yang Pu and Li Xian of the Ming Dynasty, earnestly requesting the court to reinstate Zhang Juzheng despite his mourning period and exempt him from the mourning period.

at the same time.

Emperor Wanli and the two empress dowagers bestowed a great deal of wealth upon the Zhang family of Jiangling, Jingzhou, as a gesture of appeasement to Zhang Juzheng.

at this time.

Zhang Juzheng's tearful petition to return home for the mourning period was delivered to the young Wanli Emperor.

Emperor Wanli refused outright.

Zhang Juzheng was urged to prioritize the Ming Dynasty, remain in court to observe mourning, and serve the country with utmost loyalty, for this was the greatest act of filial piety.

When some officials saw that the young Wanli Emperor was going to disobey the mourning order, they immediately submitted memorials opposing it.

At this time, Feng Bao kept all the opposing memorials in the palace and did not send them out, so that even the Ministry of Justice did not keep a copy.

Day two.

Zhang Juzheng wrote another memorial requesting to resign and earnestly asked to return to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents.

The young Wanli Emperor refused again and wrote a long annotation.

"After reading your memorials, I have been deeply grieved. Grand Secretary Zhang is no ordinary minister. He was entrusted by the late Emperor to assist me in my youth and to stabilize the nation. His position is of utmost importance. Moreover, there are precedents. You should all urge me not to grieve excessively, but to think of me. This is the true way to show filial piety..."

Your Majesty, I earnestly request to observe the mourning period, but Your Majesty insists on disobeying my request.

Zhang Juzheng and the young Wanli Emperor began to argue over memorials.

Anyone with eyes can see that this was done to impress the officials and to make the "canceling of mourning" seem more reasonable.

however.

Many officials still insisted that filial piety was the most important virtue in the world and submitted memorials opposing it.

Some people even submitted three or four memorials a day to oppose Zhang Juzheng's decision to deprive someone of their leave.

The reasons are varied and numerous.

Some say that the court is full of talented pillars, and the young Wanli Emperor could summon them one by one to examine them. Without Zhang Juzheng in the court, there would be no negative impact.

Some officials said that Xu Jie, the former Grand Secretary, who is 75 years old, still has the power to govern and could be brought back to the capital to join the cabinet.

Some officials also claimed that Zhang Siwei, who was in Nanjing, had a family that had sacrificed for the dynasty, and that he himself had not committed any major wrongdoing, so he could be recalled to the cabinet.

……

Feng Bao dealt with these memorials in a very crude manner.

The memorial was sent to the emperor's desk and burned immediately.

October 6th.

After several days of back-and-forth between Zhang Juzheng and the young Wanli Emperor, Zhang Juzheng's memorial finally softened.

Zhang Juzheng proposed a compromise solution: "observing the mourning period while in office."

He observed mourning at home for forty-nine days, after which he did not attend court, receive a salary, or participate in sacrificial rites. He only went to the cabinet to handle official business, but did not neglect his duties for the public good. In private, he still wore mourning clothes. After the young Wanli Emperor's wedding, he returned home to bury his father.

Zhang Juzheng was an unconventional person.

He knew that if he were to observe the mourning period for twenty-seven months, the new policies might be rendered useless, and all sorts of unexpected events could happen in the court. Therefore, he was unwilling to observe the mourning period and preferred to remain in office to observe the mourning.

Just as the young Wanli was about to agree and end this tug-of-war.

Four more officials then stepped forward.

The four individuals are Wu Zhongxing, compiler of the Hanlin Academy; Zhao Yongxian, reviewer of the Hanlin Academy; Ai Mu, assistant director of the Ministry of Justice; and Shen Sixiao, principal of the Ministry of Justice.

They did not choose to continue submitting memorials to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

They boldly chose to hang their memorials in the corridors of the Six Ministries and outside the Cabinet, and read them aloud so that all officials would know about them.

This matter has suddenly blown up again!

(End of this chapter)