EBE Chapter 98 King Cheoljong's Personal Rule
Chapter 98 King Cheoljong's Personal Rule
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty
Zhang Juzheng had just finished get off work and was on his way home in a sedan chair when he listened to Lin Ke's live broadcast.
What Miss Lin said means that the Ming Dynasty actually perished in His Majesty's hands!
I always restrain His Majesty, but it's all for his own good, for the good of the Ming Dynasty! Am I wrong?
……
During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and paced back and forth in the hall. Zhu Biao and several princes and senior officials looked at each other, not daring to speak.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Zhu Yuanzhang became even angrier and started cursing, "Wanli, what the hell happened? I, Zhu Yuanzhang, am really worried to death!"
Zhu Biao, carrying everyone's hopes, stepped forward and said, "Father, according to Miss Lin, the problem might lie with the Imperial Tutor, but we have no way of knowing the specifics. We can only hope for next time."
At this moment, Zhu Di stepped forward and echoed, "That's right, elder brother is right. I think maybe that kid was suppressed too much and rebelled later!? I think we should relax and focus on managing our Ming Dynasty well!"
Zhu Yuanzhang thought it made sense. Anyway, there were plenty of descendants who wouldn't get angry, which was better than the Qin and Sui dynasties, which only lasted two dynasties. If they wanted to get angry, they could only do it once!
If Qin Shi Huang and Yang Jian had known this, they would have been furious.
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
Lin Ke then slowly began, "Empress Dowager Gao and the Yuan You ministers will eventually grow old, and the era of the young emperor's personal rule will eventually arrive."
"In the seventh year of the Yuanyou era, Emperor Zhezong of Song was already seventeen years old and had reached the age where he could rule in his own right. Therefore, the minister Liang Tao wrote to Empress Dowager Gao, hoping that she could return power to Emperor Zhezong."
"Empress Dowager Gao did not agree to his request, but she promoted Liang Tao to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, which put him into the highest power circle of the Song Dynasty."
"Liang Tao was extremely anxious about Empress Dowager Gao's appointment and requested the court to withdraw the appointment. Finally, a year later, he was dismissed."
"The reason Liang Tao did this was not because he was so loyal to Emperor Zhezong, but because he was the official who persecuted Cai Que the most severely (the Chegaiting Poetry Case)."
"Now that King Cheoljong is about to assume full power, he has chosen to leave himself a way out in order to avoid being purged."
"I just didn't expect that Empress Dowager Gao wouldn't take the bait, but instead wanted to promote him. Isn't this a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead?!"
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: The old regime is about to be purged! The wheel of fortune really does turn!
A Han Dynasty official said: "We didn't leave people a way out before, and now we're afraid of being persecuted!"
A soldier from the Tang Dynasty: Every cause has its effect!
……
"However, Liang Tao's anxiety was not unique to him; even Empress Dowager Gao herself felt powerless about the political situation at the end of the Yuan You era."
"Although the New Party was ousted, the Yuanyou ministers were not so united. For example, Lü Dafang and Liu Zhi, who were hailed as the political leaders of the Yuanyou era, suppressed each other for most of the time."
"Liu Zhi, who persecuted the New Party the most, also showed no mercy in the infighting with the Old Party."
"For example, the official quota determination incident in the fifth year of Yuanyou was mainly due to the fact that after Emperor Shenzong of Song reformed the system in Yuanfeng, the court suddenly added many departments, which led to a significant increase in the number of officials, thus creating a financial burden."
"Therefore, in response to this situation, some officials proposed to establish a new agency—the Bureau of Personnel—to adjudicate and manage these people."
"And all matters concerning the Personnel Department, from its inception to its management, were overseen by the Left Chancellor, Lü Dafang."
A Ming Dynasty soldier: What? Liu Zhi is going to be mobilized again!
A young merchant from the Tang Dynasty: So he's not afraid of being retaliated against!
……
"The drawbacks of having the prime minister in charge of managing so many officials and institutions are obvious, so Liu Zhi came here after smelling the scent."
Liu Zhi of the Northern Song Dynasty: Please do not describe this old man as a cat!
"He instigated Liang Tao, Liu Anshi, Zhu Guangting and other close officials to attack Lü Dafang, accusing him of violating discipline, mismanagement, and even abusing his power."
"It's a pity that he really ran into a brick wall this time. He also underestimated Empress Dowager Gao's trust in Lü Dafang. Not only did it not have any effect, but it also made Empress Dowager Gao feel disgusted with this kind of political struggle among the censors."
"In fact, after the Chegaiting Poetry Case, Empress Dowager Gao tried to promote members of the New Party to ease tensions, but she was blocked by those censors. However, after giving Cai Que such a severe punishment, she still wants to ease tensions. Isn't that a bit too optimistic?"
"Later, Lü Dafang also took advantage of Empress Dowager Gao's annoyance to deal with Liu Zhi. However, it was Liu Zhi who took the initiative to cause trouble and let the censors stir up trouble. In the end, Empress Dowager Gao, who could no longer tolerate it, sentenced all the censors who caused trouble, except for Liu Zhi, to be sent to exile. As a result, Liu Zhi's power was greatly reduced, and he could no longer be compared with Lü Dafang."
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: All the infighting among the officials is ultimately harming the country!
A relative of an emperor in the Eastern Han Dynasty: Don't end up with nothing!
……
"This political struggle in the mid-to-late Northern Song Dynasty is often wrongly attributed to Wang Anshi's reforms, who is believed to have caused the downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty."
“I strongly disagree with this point. Although he was as stubborn as Sima Guang, he did not persecute the old officials. The political situation at that time was far from collapsing like it was during the Yuanyou era. Many times, Yuanyou ministers like Liu Zhi seemed to be opposing not the new laws themselves, but rather opposing for the sake of opposing!”
"Moreover, without the new party, the old party was also embroiled in internal strife. Therefore, the blame for the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty should not be placed on Wang Anshi. Instead, the two incompetent officials after Emperor Zhezong bear a great deal of responsibility."
Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty: !!!
Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty: ...
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: Is it going to split apart like the Han Dynasty?! Damn, another day I want to kill someone!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...Those few words aren't very important, I suggest you delete them!
……
Lin Ke sighed, for no one had expected that the Northern Song Dynasty after Emperor Zhezong would end up like that.
"In September of the eighth year of the Yuanyou era, Empress Dowager Gao passed away at the age of 61. Two months earlier, she had recalled Fan Chunren, who had maintained a neutral stance, to the court to serve as the Right Chancellor, hoping that he, along with ministers such as Lü Dafang and Su Zhe, could assist Emperor Zhezong in maintaining the stability of the court."
"However, in the 'Comprehensive Mirror of Tang and Song Dynasties: A Long Chronicle,' it is said that Empress Dowager Gao, on her deathbed, advised Emperor Zhezong not to listen to slander after he assumed power, and also advised Lü Dafang to retire early and make way for Zhezong's team."
"In fact, it was not unreasonable for Empress Dowager Gao to be worried about the future political situation. As can be seen from what happened later, Emperor Zhezong of Song, who had been suppressing his anger towards the Yuanyou ministers for many years, had reached his limit."
"There is no need for anyone to speak ill of Minister Yuan You to him; he had already decided to carry out a complete purge."
"To hell with the idea of a sage-king like Yao and Shun! Kill them all! He will never grow up to be what the Yuan You ministers hoped for! He will always be himself, and always his father's good son!"
Emperor Shenzong of Song, Zhao Xu: Hahaha, my good son!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: What are you laughing about?!
Judy, the General Who Conquers the North: You can tell from his ability to endure for nine years that this kid is no ordinary person!
Zhu Houzhao, the number one troublemaker of the Ming Dynasty: Support! Support!