I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 229 A Rally from All Sides! Zhang Juzheng's Career Crisis (Seeking Monthly Tickets at the End of the Month)
In the afternoon, the first snow of winter cleared up.

In the Forbidden City, east of the Huiji Gate, the Cabinet Office.

The red charcoal in the corner was burning brightly.

Zhang Juzheng sat at the table, his face gloomy, quickly reading Gao Gong's "Last Words from His Sickbed".

Beside them, the two cabinet ministers, Yin Zhengmao and Shen Shixing, frowned, pondering how to handle the matter.

Less than half an hour ago.

The clerk in charge of collecting intelligence from the people in the cabinet received the "Last Words from His Sickbed" at almost the same time as Shen Nian, and then immediately handed the book over to Shen Shixing.

Shen Shixing was shocked after reading it. After Yin Zhengmao finished reading it, the two of them handed the book over to Zhang Juzheng.

After reviewing the content and writing style, the two were convinced that it was written by Gao Gong, but they could not rule out the possibility that someone had embellished the book during its printing.

The two felt that the contents were all Gao Gong's personal opinions and they disagreed with most of them.

After a short while, Zhang Juzheng finished reading it.

He gently placed the "Last Words from His Sickbed" on the desk, shook his head slightly, and murmured, "Why did Su Qing harm me? Why did Su Qing harm me? Why did Su Qing harm me?"

After reading the contents, Zhang Juzheng immediately concluded that it was written by Gao Gong.

Because many secrets concerning the period before and after Wanli's ascension to the throne were known only to a few people in the inner court, and some of these secrets were known only to Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.

However, Zhang Juzheng did not agree with Gao Gong's criticisms.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng once considered each other close friends because they shared common political ideals.

Later, although Gao Gong was expelled from Beijing, their relationship was not completely broken. When Zhang Juzheng was in mourning at home, Gao Gong even wrote a letter to mourn Zhang Juzheng's father.

Zhang Juzheng never expected that Gao Gong would suddenly deliver such a blow after his death.

“Playing both sorceress and ghost, playing the flute and pinching eyes, beating the drum and playing the pipa…” Zhang Juzheng muttered Gao Gong’s words of accusation against him for being two-faced, feeling extremely depressed.

He never expected that Gao Gong would use such obviously insulting words as "Jingren" and "Qu" to describe him.

He never imagined that his concern for the overall situation was seen by Gao Gong as colluding with eunuchs to seize power under the guise of the new policies.

He never expected that Gao Gong would use such a shameless method to try to ruin his reputation and even put him to death.

this moment.

Zhang Juzheng felt his vision go black and his head throb with pain.

The inspiration came from this last will and testament, and also from working late into the night in the cabinet due to the blizzard.

Seeing that Zhang Juzheng's expression was not right, Yin Zhengmao and Shen Shixing immediately came to his side.

“Uncle, Gao Gong is talking complete nonsense. He’s using this to recant his testimony and whitewash his reputation. Don’t take it to heart. Are you feeling unwell? Should we call the imperial physician?” Yin Zhengmao said.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head.

"I probably didn't get enough rest last night and caught a slight cold. I need to go home and rest. Please ask His Majesty for leave for me. As for this... this book will be presented to His Majesty immediately, and everything will be up to His Majesty to decide!"

Immediately, Zhang Juzheng waved his hand, and two clerks at the door draped a velvet cloak over him before he left the cabinet.

Yin Zhengmao and Shen Shixing, carrying "Last Words from His Sickbed," rushed towards the Wenhua Hall.

……

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

When Yin Zhengmao and Shen Shixing presented their "Last Words from the Sickbed" to the young Wanli Emperor.

Emperor Wanli had just finished reading the "Last Words from His Sickbed" presented by the Imperial Guard.

When the young Wanli Emperor learned that Zhang Juzheng had stayed up all night and then become so angry about the book that he had to go home to rest, he was furious.

boom!
He slammed his hand on the imperial desk, then stood up and shouted, "Gao Gong slanders the Grand Chancellor and Grand Chamberlain, disloyal to the Emperor and ungrateful; he deserves to die!"

Emperor Wanli paused for a moment, then looked at Yin Zhengmao and Shen Shixing.

"I will immediately order the Imperial Guard to investigate the authenticity and origin of this book, and clear the name of the Grand Secretary and Grand Eunuch as soon as possible. You all take care of the affairs of the Cabinet, and do not let the Grand Secretary be overworked these days!"

"Your subject obeys!" Yin Zhengmao and Shen Shixing bowed simultaneously.

Emperor Wanli already disliked Gao Gong, and now seeing him criticize Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao so harshly, he naturally didn't believe a single word of it.

……

After a while.

With tears in his eyes, Feng Bao approached the young Wanli Emperor and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Your Majesty, this old servant is innocent! Even if you gave me ten lives, I would never dare to collude with Grand Secretary Zhang to arbitrarily alter the late Emperor's edict. Furthermore... regarding the case of Minister Wang storming the palace, after the joint trial by the three judicial departments, it was not determined whether it was Gao Suqing who was behind it. How did it suddenly become that this old servant wanted to kill him? This old servant... this old servant... is truly innocent!"

In this "Last Words from His Sickbed," Gao Gong mainly accused Feng Bao of two crimes.

First, he conspired with Zhang Juzheng to forge an imperial edict and seize power, changing "the three cabinet ministers assisting in government" to "the three cabinet ministers and the Directorate of Ceremonial assisting each other wholeheartedly".

Secondly, the case of Wang Dachen breaking into the palace was used to frame Gao Gong for treason, causing him to lose his position as Grand Secretary and be banished back to his hometown.

Emperor Wanli also had his own understanding of these two crimes.

He thought the first possibility was possible.

Because Gao Gong was the late emperor's teacher at the time, and the late emperor almost always listened to him, the late emperor might have had such thoughts under Gao Gong's strong authority.

He felt that the second possibility was also possible.

If it weren't for the incident of Wang Dachen breaking into the palace, Gao Gong wouldn't have been directly expelled from the capital, and it's entirely possible that Feng Bao used the secret police to frame Gao Gong.

However, at this moment, the young Wanli Emperor didn't care about the truth at all.

Because he knew that since he ascended the throne, only three people in the inner court and the outer court had been kind to him: Empress Dowager Li, Feng Bao, and Zhang Juzheng.

His impression of Gao Gong was that he was autocratic, domineering, and that some people always claimed that he wanted to depose the young Wanli Emperor and install the Prince of Zhou of Henan.

The phrase "How can a ten-year-old crown prince govern the world?" could make the young Wanli Emperor hate him for a lifetime.

Gao Gong's biggest mistake was that he had no respect for the emperor.

Even if he had done nothing wrong, the young Wanli Emperor would definitely force him to retire.

Because every new emperor brings a new court.

Zhang Juzheng was the tutor of the young Wanli Emperor and one of his own men. He was able to consolidate imperial power and stabilize the situation of a young emperor and a country in peril.

The Ming Dynasty is now flourishing, which further proves that Zhang Juzheng's appointment as Grand Secretary was the right decision.

It's impossible for the young Wanli Emperor to harm Zhang Juzheng or Feng Bao because of this "Last Words from His Deathbed".

His grandfather, the Jiajing Emperor, once told him: "Right and wrong are determined by the emperor's words, and the interests of the country are far more important than right and wrong."

"Your Excellency, rise! I have a deep impression of what happened back then. I have personally read the late emperor's edict, and so has the Empress Dowager. Unless the Empress Dowager and I colluded to forge it, it would be impossible to forge an edict. As for the case of the ministers storming the palace, the Three Judicial Offices have already made a decision. How can these few pages of text of unknown origin overturn the Three Judicial Offices' decision?"

Feng Bao immediately let out a long sigh of relief.

His eyes darted around, and he said, “Your Majesty, Gao Gong’s ‘Last Words on His Deathbed’ is currently spreading like wildfire in the capital. Shouldn’t we order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to immediately ban it and prevent anyone from spreading it? Then, the Imperial Guard should take over the matter and dig out the person behind the rumors?”

Just as the young Wanli Emperor was about to nod, he suddenly remembered Shen Nian's warning to him.

"Suppressing the people's voices is the act of a foolish ruler. Suppression is not as good as guidance, and guidance is not as good as revealing the truth to the world!"

The young Wanli Emperor knew that if this matter were handed over to Feng Bao, the imperial prison in the capital would likely be overcrowded, but this would not completely solve the problem.

"I'll think about how to resolve this matter!" The young Wanli Emperor looked at the eunuch beside him and said, "Summon Minister Shen!"

There were many officials with the surname Shen in the imperial court, but the "Minister Shen" that the young Wanli Emperor spoke of specifically referred to Shen Nian.

Feng Bao immediately bowed and withdrew.

He planned to report this matter to Empress Dowager Li as soon as possible and have her whisper in the ear of the young Wanli Emperor.

Back then, the expulsion of Gao Gong would have been absolutely impossible without Empress Dowager Li's approval. Empress Dowager Li would certainly have sided with Feng Bao.

Feng Bao was so cautious because he was the primary executor of the order for Gao Gong to leave the court, and he also gained unprecedented power during his time as regent.

Zhang Juzheng's position was secure, but his own position was not.

He knew in his heart that if he could only protect one of Zhang Juzheng and himself, it would undoubtedly be Zhang Juzheng.

……

Half an hour later, Shen Nian hurried to the Wenhua Hall.

"Shen Qing, have you read Gao Gong's 'Last Words on His Deathbed'? What are your thoughts on it?"

Shen Nian cupped his hands and replied, "The authenticity of this last will and testament has not yet been verified. Even if it is true, it is only one person's opinion, without any evidence, and cannot be trusted."

The young Wanli Emperor nodded in approval.

"This will so slanders the Grand Secretary and the Grand Chamberlain that I have decided to ban it and order the people to refrain from discussing this matter. What do you think?"

Shen Nian pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, doing so is futile."

"This book is printed using woodblock printing. Even at the fastest pace, it would take at least half a month from engraving to completion. Moreover, the number of copies printed should be over six thousand. It is probably already circulating in the streets and among the people. Banning it would be useless; we can only try to guide it."

"How should we address this?" asked the young Wanli Emperor.

"Tomorrow morning, the court will issue a proclamation stating that the book's origin is unknown and it involves defamation of cabinet ministers, but there is no concrete evidence. The court is already investigating, and it is hoped that people will not spread rumors."

The young Wanli Emperor then asked, "Then how should we investigate?"

Shen Nian thought for a moment and said, "This book is well-printed and suddenly appeared in the capital. It is obviously the work of someone who conspired to do it. The first thing to do is to find the source of its spread, and then find out who the mastermind is and who can provide evidence. Otherwise, it is a frame-up!"

"Alright, I understand!" Little Wanli breathed a sigh of relief.

……

Night fell, and the winter wind howled.

As Shen Nian said, this "Last Words from My Sickbed" spread rapidly throughout the streets and alleys of the capital, just like the snowflakes that fell all night.

Everyone is talking about this.

Even if the Embroidered Uniform Guard filled the Imperial Prison, the Ministry of Justice's prison, and the Shuntian Prefecture's prison to capacity, it would still be difficult to silence the people's discontent.

Moreover, the literati in the capital were notoriously big mouths.

They may not excel in other areas, but their ability to summarize documents is first-rate.

Soon, scholars summarized the charges Gao Gong brought against Zhang Juzheng.

Firstly, the forged imperial edict involved Feng Bao forging an imperial edict to seize power as the regent.

Secondly, bribery, with the main bribe-givers being former Grand Secretary Xu Jie and the current General of Jizhou, Qi Jiguang.

Third, he used the case of Wang Dachen breaking into the palace to frame Zhongliang, who was Gao Gong himself.

Fourth, he was autocratic and domineering, appointed relatives and friends, and deceived the young emperor, using the name of new policies to carry out autocratic rule.

Each of these four points could have led to Zhang Juzheng's disgrace and ruin in his later years.

As the saying goes, "A dying man's words are good."

Many people believe that what Gao Gong said was the truth.

In their eyes, the struggle for power in the imperial court was so bloody. Zhang Juzheng's reputation for wielding absolute power had long been known among the people. In addition, his return to the court early after ten months of mourning had given him a very bad reputation and offended many people.

Therefore, he has many critics, and many people think he is about to fall from power.

In recent years, most of the Grand Secretaries of the Ming Dynasty have failed to maintain their integrity in their later years.

During the Jiajing reign, Grand Secretary Xia Yan was framed for treason and subsequently executed; Yan Song, on the other hand, had his property confiscated, was stripped of his official rank, and suffered a miserable end.

Gao Gong was directly expelled back to his hometown and died half a year later without even receiving a posthumous title.

Now, Zhang Juzheng is in trouble again.

……

The following morning, the news spread from the public to the officialdom.

Many censors and officials submitted memorials demanding that the court thoroughly investigate the matter.

Emperor Wanli first ordered the cabinet to issue a public notice informing the people that the court had begun a thorough investigation and that no one should spread rumors or maliciously exaggerate the matter.

then.

While ordering the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate where these "Last Words from His Sickbed" books came from, he also ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to go to Xinzheng, Henan, to arrest Gao Gong's wife, Zhang, and his adopted son, Gao Wuguan, and bring them to the capital.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng had caught a cold and developed a fever, and was bedridden. The young Wanli Emperor sent someone to visit him and instructed him to rest and recuperate at home.

……

Two days later, on November 16th.

The Imperial Guards discovered that the "Last Words on My Deathbed" was not printed within the territory of Shuntian Prefecture, but rather came from a merchant ship in Suzhou, and there were more than 5,000 copies.

Shen Nian found this news quite strange.

This "Last Words from His Deathbed" should have originated in Xinzheng, Henan, and then reached the capital.

The book originated in Suzhou and was most likely printed there, which means that "Last Words from My Sickbed" may have spread throughout the streets and alleys of Jiangnan.

This was clearly a deliberate act by someone.

soon.

Shen Nian also received news that while the book was widely circulated in Jiangnan, it had also spread throughout the streets and alleys of Nanjing.

Many vendors copied and printed it, and some tabloids even began publishing articles discussing "Last Words from His Deathbed".

Many officials in Nanjing had a grudge against Zhang Juzheng.

Even without any animosity, if Zhang Juzheng were to step down, the likelihood of them being transferred to the capital to serve as officials would increase.

In addition, there are some of Gao Gong's former students and acquaintances in Nanjing.

They certainly wouldn't let this opportunity to trip up Zhang Juzheng slip by.

Shen Nian guessed that Zhang Siwei would definitely participate in the dissemination of "Last Words from the Sickbed" this time.

With such a large volume of printing and dissemination of "Last Words from His Deathbed," finding the manipulators became only a matter of time.

Because this type of printing involves multiple processes such as engraving, lettering, proofreading, and printing, it is impossible to hide all traces.

……

Three days later, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's investigation made new progress.

Those who printed "Last Words from My Sickbed" all came from private academies in Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and other places.

Among them are Xuedao Academy and Heshan Academy in Suzhou, Tianzhen Academy in Hangzhou, and Xinquan Academy and Zhengxue Academy in Nanjing, etc.

Emperor Wanli was certain that someone was controlling these academies behind the scenes, and immediately ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest people and find the mastermind.

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Zhang Juzheng once strongly advocated banning and destroying academies and prohibiting scholars from speaking about politics.

It was only through the debate among various schools of thought and Shen Nian's efforts that these private academies were granted freedom. However, these scholars were still too young and were used as pawns, recklessly opposing Zhang Juzheng.

At this moment, Shen Nian was very curious about the identity of the mastermind behind instigating these academy students.

(End of this chapter)