The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Chapter 199 I am not a phaser, but a photographer

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's series of reforms, ancient people from all dynasties expressed their sincere admiration.

These reform measures not only greatly reduced the burden on the people, but also increased the finances of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the landlord class in various dynasties naturally did not like to see Zhang Juzheng.

After Su Chen focused on Zhang Juzheng's reforms, he continued.

"In the tenth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng died of illness at the age of fifty-eight. Wanli gave it to Shangzhu Kingdom, with the posthumous title Wenzhong."

When Zhang Juzheng learned about his death date, he was filled with emotions and felt an indescribable discomfort.

Calculating the time, there are still eight years left before his death.

In other words, he will use these eight years to reorganize the layout and ensure that the reform in this life can be successful.

More importantly, the reform must be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the situation of people and government must not happen again.

Eight years is too rushed. If the time could be longer, he would have more time to prepare.

Zhang Juzheng: Anchor, what disease did I die of? Is there any way to cure it?

Since he died of illness, it is possible to be cured, and maybe he can be cured and live a few more years.

"As for the cause of Zhang Shoufu's death, the anchor is not sure. The academic community still has different opinions."

"Wang Shizhen, a later scholar, recorded in his compilation of "The First Assistant Biography since Jiajing" that Zhang Juzheng believed that taking traditional Chinese medicine caused dryness and heat in the body, and drinking cold medicine caused diarrhea and hemorrhoids. As a result, the spleen and stomach were weak and unable to eat. Shortly after the hemorrhoids were removed, he had difficulty defecating in the anus. And if you drink cold medicine again, the diarrhea will be difficult to stop and the large intestine will be excreted from the body."

"The Ming Dynasty writer Shen Defu recorded in Wanli Yehuobian that Zhang Juzheng died of excessive heat caused by taking too much fur seal kidney."

"Modern historian Zhu Dongrun recorded in "The Biography of Zhang Juzheng" that the cause of Zhang Juzheng's death was that the spleen and stomach were weakened after hemorrhoidectomy, and he finally died of overwork."

Zhang Juzheng:......

As soon as the anchor finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng's face turned red and he was extremely embarrassed. He wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

He deeply regretted it and wished he could slap himself. He shouldn't have said anything just now.

Now he is fine, the whole world knows about his scandal, and he is too embarrassed to see anyone.

Xiao Wanli glanced at Zhang Juzheng's butt with interest and nodded meaningfully.

He hadn't noticed this before. It seemed that Mr. Zhang had concealed it too well.

Zhang Juzheng was so uncomfortable being stared at by the little emperor that he almost fled the scene.

For such a private matter to be made public, especially in front of the little emperor, he immediately lost face.

But the only good thing is that now that he knows the cause of his death, he can avoid this in advance.

Based on the judgment of the causes of death of the three people, the most likely cause is that he took too many Chinese medicines after suffering from hemorrhoids.

It seems that he should take good care of his health in the future and try to have as little sexual intercourse as possible.

As long as he pays more attention, he believes that he will not die so early and can live at least a few more years.

"After Zhang Juzheng died of illness, the anchor continued to talk about what happened to Zhang Juzheng after his death."

"On the fourth day after Zhang Juzheng's death, the imperial censor Lei Shiji and other seven famous officials impeached Pan Sheng, who was recommended by Zhang Juzheng during his lifetime."

"Wanli's dismissal of Pan Sheng from his official position showed Zhang Juzheng's fall from grace."

"On the eighth day of December of the same year, Li Zhi, the censor of Jiangxi Province, impeached Feng Bao for twelve major crimes, so Wanli confiscated Feng Bao's family property and sent Feng Bao to Xiaoling, Nanjing, to grow vegetables."

"In the eleventh year of Wanli, the Nanjing Criminal Division reported that Ruan Zixiao impeached Zhang Juzheng, and Yunnan Dao Yushi Yang Keli impeached Zhang Juzheng to frame the king of Liao."

"At the same time, the concubine of Liao wrote a letter to defend the king of Liao, so Wanli ordered the deprivation of the seals and imperial edicts of the fourth generation given during his lifetime, and showed his guilt to the world, and searched Zhang Juzheng's residence."

"Zhang Juzheng's eldest son Zhang Jingxiu hanged himself after being beaten. His second son Zhang Sixiu attempted suicide by throwing himself into a well and was sent to the frontier. His third son Zhang Maoxiu was sent to a smog-stricken area and died."

"Family members starved to death or were exiled. Later Wanli stopped further persecution under pressure from public opinion."

"At the end of the Wanli Dynasty, no one dared to mention Zhang Juzheng again."

"Some of the officials employed by Zhang Juzheng during his lifetime had their posts reduced, and some abandoned the market."

"Zou Yuanbiao, the imperial censor of the later capital, and others proposed to rehabilitate Zhang Juzheng during the Tianqi period. It was not until Chongzhen ascended the throne that Zhang Juzheng was completely rehabilitated."

Feng Bao: Well, Li Zhi, I didn’t cause any trouble for you. If you still dare to file a lawsuit against me, just wait for me.

King Liao: Why does this involve my king? I am not familiar with Zhang Shoufu, so you don’t want to pour any dirty water on me.

Zou Yuanbiao: Zhang Juzheng was the first assistant of his generation. His painstaking reforms made the situation in the Ming Dynasty improve, but he never expected to be liquidated after his death. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I ran around to vindicate Zhang Juzheng.

Ancient people from all dynasties had different thoughts when they heard Zhang Juzheng's tragic ending.

People in various dynasties complained about Zhang Juzheng one after another, and most of them felt that Wanli was a foolish king.

Zhang Juzheng did so much for the Ming Dynasty and helped the Ming court solve its difficulties, but in the end he had to be liquidated by Emperor Wanli.

As for the civil and military ministers of each dynasty, they were all alert.

Since ancient times, reformers have not ended well, and Zhang Juzheng's experience made them even more convinced of this.

Zhang Juzheng sighed deeply, his expression extremely lonely.

Although he had already known the ending of being liquidated after his death, hearing the tragic experience of his family from the anchor again still made his heart wrenching and painful.

In order to save the Ming Dynasty, he did not hesitate to offend the landlord class and implement reforms, but in the end he ended up in this situation.

Zhang Juzheng: Anchor, I would like to ask, the relationship between me and the emperor is quite harmonious, but why is it still liquidated by the emperor?

Su Chen could feel how lonely Zhang Juzheng was at this moment from the barrage sent by Zhang Juzheng. He could understand Zhang Juzheng's feelings at this moment.

After all, from the perspective of the relationship between monarch and minister, Zhang Juzheng was a very competent minister and alleviated the crisis of the Ming Dynasty.

In terms of teacher-student relationship, Zhang Juzheng taught Wanli very carefully, and even the teaching materials were compiled by him himself.

Now that we know that Wanli went through a lot of liquidation after Zhang Juzheng's death, it's no wonder that Zhang Juzheng couldn't accept it for a while.

"Zhang Juzheng was favored and trusted by Emperor Wanli during his lifetime. He can be said to be a model of harmonious relationship between emperor and ministers."

"The relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Emperor Wanli was that of monarch and minister, as well as teacher-student."

"But soon after Zhang Juzheng's death, Emperor Wanli began to liquidate Zhang Juzheng and ransack his home."

"Actually, Emperor Wanli's trust in Zhang Juzheng, his obedience, and constant courtesy were all just appearances."

"Below the surface is Emperor Wanli's growing dissatisfaction with Zhang Juzheng deep in his heart."

"And Zhang Juzheng himself has repeatedly encountered the king's taboos."

"The reason why Zhang Juzheng was liquidated by Emperor Wanli after his death was mainly due to six reasons."

Zhang Juzheng was stunned when he heard this and thought he had heard wrongly.

What did he just hear?

The emperor's obedience and courtesy to him were all superficial?

In fact, the emperor's true feelings towards him were that he was increasingly dissatisfied?

He looked at the emperor beside him in disbelief, his eyes filled with incomprehension.

He really wanted to ask in front of the emperor, was everything the anchor said true?

He didn't understand why the emperor was dissatisfied with him. Was it because his discipline was too harsh?

But since ancient times, strict teachers have produced great disciples, and everything he did was for the emperor to become talented as soon as possible.

What surprised him even more was that there were six reasons why the emperor liquidated him, which puzzled him greatly.

Wan Li nodded subconsciously. Indeed, as the anchor said, he had long been very dissatisfied with Mr. Zhang.

The reason why he apparently obeyed Mr. Zhang was mainly because of the other party's power.

Some of Mr. Zhang's actions made him dissatisfied again and again, and he had already had enough.

"First, Zhang Juzheng advised Emperor Wanli to practice frugality, but he did not set an example himself."

"Zhang Juzheng often used the excuse that the national treasury was in short supply and people's livelihood was in decline, and he advised Emperor Wanli to live frugally."

"This is the first Lantern Festival that Wanli has just succeeded to the throne. Since Wanli is still young and children like to be lively, he plans to hold a lantern festival during the Lantern Festival."

"For the king of a country, holding a lantern festival during the Lantern Festival is not a big deal."

"However, Zhang Juzheng still advised Xiao Wanli on the grounds of frugality."

"Little Wanli still has a childlike innocence, so he reluctantly said that he could lower the standards of the lantern festival."

"In the end, Zhang Juzheng was still stubborn, and Xiao Wanli had to cancel the lantern festival. However, his inner dissatisfaction was foreseeable."

"Wanli has some plans, such as building palaces, making new clothes, etc."

"Zhang Juzheng always saves money when he can. Even the lighting costs for the palace at night have been waived."

"This is really very harsh for an emperor. After all, the emperor's food and clothing expenses are different from ordinary people."

"It's like feeling like you have a fancy for a piece of clothing and you obviously have the ability to buy it but your family refuses to let you buy it. This feeling is actually pretty much the same."

Wanli: That's how it is. I have just ascended the throne. It's no big deal to hold a Lantern Festival Lantern Festival, but Mr. Zhang just blocks it.

Naturally, he also knows that the treasury does not have much money, but no matter how small the treasury is, he can always come up with the money to hold the Lantern Festival!

How much money can be spent on a Lantern Festival? Why can't it satisfy his wish?

Zhang Juzheng: Has the emperor started to hold grudges from now on?

He was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say and feeling very uncomfortable.

The reason why he did not agree with the emperor's opinion was that firstly, the treasury did not have much money, and secondly, he hoped that the emperor could be frugal to avoid developing the habit of spending money lavishly.

After he rejected the emperor, he naturally saw that the emperor was unhappy.

But he didn't take it seriously. After all, it was normal for a child to be unhappy after being rejected.

But now after the anchor said this, he suddenly realized and understood the key.

The king is the king, and the minister is the minister.

No matter how much he teaches the emperor as a student, he cannot forget the student's original identity.

In this case, you should appropriately meet the emperor's requirements and be stern but also amiable.

Only in this way can the emperor feel his goodness and avoid being liquidated after his death.

Zhang Juzheng: Your Majesty, the Lantern Festival will be in less than two months. How about I hold a Lantern Festival then?

Wanli: Mr. Zhang, is this true? Great, I will also participate in the lantern festival then.

Seeing the bright smile on the little emperor's face, Zhang Juzheng seemed to understand.

He had been so strict with the emperor before that he hadn't seen the emperor smile so happily for a long time.

"Zhang Juzheng made Wanli live a frugal life, but he himself lived a luxurious life and took bribes."

"Historical records record that Zhang Juzheng lived a luxurious life, all of which came from his experience of returning to his hometown."

"When Zhang Juzheng returned to his hometown for funeral, officials along the way made a large sedan for Zhang Juzheng that could only be lifted by thirty-two people."

"You can not only sit in the sedan, but you can also sleep, and you can even go to the toilet. There are also dedicated servants to take care of you. The tea reception along the way is not so luxurious even for the emperor."

"Because the ancient road was too narrow and the sedan chair was too big, it was necessary to allow the sedan chair to pass."

“A large amount of construction work was carried out along the way from Beijing to Jiangling, Hubei Province, farmland was destroyed, and a particularly spacious road was built.”

"Every time he arrived at a place or city, officials along the way would wait by the road early, kneel down to greet Zhang Juzheng, and see this sedan carried by thirty-two people."

"Zhang Juzheng is also very particular about his food along the way. He especially loves chicken tongue soup. He often has to take the tongues of hundreds of chickens to make this dish."

"Later, these things reached the ears of Emperor Wanli. Zhang Juzheng asked him to live frugally, but it was better for him to go back to his hometown and be in such a big battle."

"This kind of duplicity made Emperor Wanli very angry."

The common people of all dynasties who had praised Zhang Juzheng before were all stunned at this moment.

They thought Zhang Juzheng was a good official who would not hesitate to offend the powerful for the sake of the Ming Dynasty.

But now they heard what the anchor said about Zhang Juzheng's luxurious life, which made them instantly break their filter on Zhang Juzheng.

Riding on a large sedan carried by thirty-two people, eating a bowl of chicken tongue soup requires killing hundreds of chickens.

In everyone's opinion, Zhang Juzheng's extravagant behavior is simply a corrupt official.

At this time, ordinary people in various dynasties were completely confused about Zhang Juzheng's position.

Call him a good official, but he did things only corrupt officials do.

It can be said that he is a bad official. He resisted pressure and implemented reforms to reduce the burden on the people.

At this moment, everyone's attitude towards Zhang Juzheng is extremely complicated, and they don't know how to judge Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng: Thirty-two people carrying a sedan have not happened yet. I will just avoid it in the future. I will also not eat my favorite chicken tongue soup in the future.

He was a bit extravagant in his life, but he didn't expect that this would be one of the reasons why he was liquidated after his death.

Now that he knows this now, he will pay attention to this aspect in the future.

After all, he still had to know which one was more important.

"The second point is that as the imperial tutor of Emperor Wanli, Zhang Juzheng was unreasonably strict."

"Zhang Juzheng also has another identity, that is, he is the teacher of Emperor Wanli and is responsible for giving lectures to Emperor Wanli."

"Sometimes, when Xiao Wanli was reciting an article, some words were mispronounced. Zhang Juzheng, as a teacher, yelled at Xiao Wanli, without any concern for the presence of eunuchs and maids."

"Little Wanli was shocked and had a deep shadow in his heart."

"We believe that Zhang Juzheng's scolding was due to the teacher's deep love and responsibility for his students." "However, Zhang Juzheng forgot that the most fundamental relationship between him and Emperor Wanli was that of monarch and minister."

"As a minister, it is very taboo to scold an emperor in such a tone."

Sima Guang: We are both emperor's masters, but you, Zhang Juzheng, are so powerful that you dare to scold the emperor loudly.

Now he finally understood why Emperor Wanli liquidated his affairs after Zhang Juzheng's death.

Speaking at a young age, Zhang Juzheng taught the emperor more strictly.

To put it more seriously, Zhang Juzheng forgot the way of a monarch and his ministers, and even forgot how he should treat the young emperor.

Zhang Juzheng: I originally thought that a strict master will produce a good disciple. If the anchor hadn't reminded me, I almost forgot that the master-student relationship is only superficial, and the deeper relationship is the relationship between monarch and minister.

He used to treat the emperor harshly and didn't think it was a problem. After all, he was doing it for the emperor's good.

But now that he thought about it carefully, he found that he was distracted and did not care about the emperor's identity, so that he subconsciously ignored it.

Now after being reminded by the anchor, he wants to re-examine his relationship with the emperor.

The so-called emperor and master, the emperor is in front and the master is behind.

The relationship between him and the emperor is first and foremost a monarch-subject relationship, and then a teacher-student relationship. He needs to keep this in mind.

"When Wanli was seventeen years old, he went crazy while drinking. He summoned two palace ladies to sing a new song, but the palace ladies couldn't do it."

"Wanli was so angry that he had a handful of hair cut off from the two palace maids, symbolically punishing them for disobeying the imperial edict."

"When Feng Bao, the eunuch beside Wanli, found out, he told Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng the news."

"Empress Dowager Li made Chang Wanli kneel on the ground and threatened to discuss with Zhang Juzheng to depose him as emperor if he continued to behave like this."

"Zhang Juzheng asked Wanli to issue an edict to punish oneself, which means a nationwide review."

"Wanli was unwilling, so Zhang Juzheng did it directly for him, wrote an edict of sin, and directly stamped it and sent it out."

"These actions planted the seeds of hatred in young Wanli's heart."

Liu Che: Wanli just cut off the hair of the palace maid, punished the long kneeling, and issued an edict for sinning. Is this necessary? Those who don’t know better think that Wanli killed the two palace maids. Even if he killed them, there would be no need for such punishment!

He couldn't help but shook his head, and he strongly disagreed with the education methods of Queen Mother Li and Zhang Juzheng.

It’s not a big deal at all, not even a small matter, so why bother putting it on the line like this!

You must know that Wanli was only seventeen years old at that time, which was when his self-esteem was at its strongest.

Such a severe punishment for something that is not a trivial matter.

What's even more outrageous is that just because of this, he actually threatened to depose the emperor. This is simply outrageous.

Just through this little thing, he finally saw how harsh Zhang Juzheng was to Wanli. No wonder Wanli would hold a grudge against Zhang Juzheng.

Ancient people from various dynasties couldn't help but shake their heads. This sounded a bit outrageous to them.

Just because Emperor Wanli cut off a lock of hair of a palace maid, it is somewhat absurd to ask Emperor Wanli to issue a criminal edict to all the subjects in the world.

"The third point is that Zhang Juzheng likes to appoint his own people and form cliques for personal gain."

"Zhang Juzheng has been in power for ten years, and the power in his hands is close to that of a prime minister."

"So Zhang Juzheng also took advantage of his position to vigorously promote his sons, disciples, friends, and fellow villagers."

"The most egregious thing is that Zhang Juzheng's eldest son Zhang Jingxiu failed in the scientific examination in the second year of Wanli. Zhang Juzheng was so angry that he wanted to stop the examination for five years."

"Because there was too much opposition, and his second son Zhang Sixiu also had to take the imperial examination, he gave up."

"In the scientific examination in the fifth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng's second son Zhang Sixiu and third son Zhang Maoxiu were both on the list, and Zhang Maoxiu was also selected as the number one scholar."

"The two examiners at that time, Shen Shixing and Yu Youding, were both promoted by Zhang Juzheng. You can imagine the intrigues involved."

Zhang Juzheng: It’s not that I like to appoint my own people, but in order to smoothly promote the reform, I have to use my own people.

Once his reform measures were announced, they attracted much criticism from the opposition.

Reform measures also need to be promoted by officials. In this case, he cannot implement reforms without using his own people.

He didn't feel that he had done anything wrong in appointing his own people.

As for forming cliques for personal gain, he does not recognize this.

There are many members of the opposition. If he does not form a party and get together, how can he fight against those opponents and how can he successfully implement reform measures.

It's okay to say that he formed a party, but he formed a party for reform, not for any selfish gain.

"The fourth point is that you have too much power and act too arrogantly."

"The extent of Zhang Juzheng's power is recorded in detail in history books."

"In the sixth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng returned to his hometown to bury his father, and then headed north to return to Beijing."

"Wherever he passed, the local governor personally greeted him and bowed down."

"When passing through Xiangyang, King Xiang also held a banquet for Zhang Juzheng to welcome him."

"According to the etiquette system at that time, no matter how high the official rank was, ministers in the court must also observe court etiquette when meeting the vassal king."

"When Zhang Juzheng met with King Xiang, he only held the courtesy of guest and host and bowed briefly."

"When King Xiang hosted a banquet, Zhang Juzheng was still at the top of the table."

"Even the vassal king dared not neglect Zhang Juzheng, which shows the great power of Zhang Juzheng."

"Big trees easily attract wind. Over the past dynasties, ministers who were too powerful often ended up with bad consequences."

King Xiang: There is no other way. Zhang Juzheng’s power is overwhelming, so I have no choice but to compromise.

Although he is a vassal king and seems to have unlimited glory, it also depends on who is in front of him.

In front of others, he is naturally the majestic King Xiang.

But in front of the powerful Zhang Juzheng, even if he was King Xiang, he had to stay away to avoid offending Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng: Okay, I understand. When passing by Xiangyang in the future, just don’t let King Xiang catch the wind and wash away the dust.

Although this incident has not happened yet, he can probably guess why he was so rude to Prince Xiang.

King Xiang's reputation has always been bad, and the common people are doing whatever they want.

With Prince Xiang's morally corrupt character, as the majestic chief minister of the Ming Dynasty, he naturally would not really respect the other party.

"The fifth point is making too many enemies."

"Zhang Juzheng himself ascended to the position of chief minister of the cabinet through a series of power struggles. During his tenure as chief minister, he still squeezed out all kinds of officials."

"On the one hand, Zhang Juzheng is not a very moral person."

"Zhang Juzheng will try to exclude anyone who has offended Zhang Juzheng or disagrees with him."

"On the other hand, Zhang Juzheng is a man with lofty ideals. If he wants to implement reforms, he will never tolerate officials who are vegetarians or who oppose his reforms."

"Due to making too many enemies, officials continued to impeach Zhang Juzheng during his tenure as chief minister."

"Although Emperor Wanli defended Zhang Juzheng, the number of impeachments has increased, and Emperor Wanli's trust in Zhang Juzheng will inevitably be in crisis."

"After Zhang Juzheng's death, before his bones were cold, the number of impeachers increased exponentially, and impeachment papers floated like snowflakes in front of Emperor Wanli's case."

"Emperor Wanli himself wanted to liquidate Zhang Juzheng. With the help of these impeachment papers, it seems justifiable to change his name."

Zhang Juzheng: Since we want to reform, we will inevitably offend people. There is no way to make too many enemies.

It's not that he wants to crowd out other officials, but that those officials don't support his reforms.

In this case, he must kick out the opposition and replace him with like-minded reformers.

In this process, it is inevitable to make enemies.

But he has no regrets. In order to realize his lofty ideals and ambitions, no matter how many enemies he makes, he can't stop him from reforming.

"The sixth point is that power conflicts with imperial power. This is the most fundamental reason."

"Zhang Juzheng has been in power for ten years, and the power he has assumed is that of Wanli."

"Of course, Zhang Juzheng had no intention of despising imperial power."

"He takes power to realize his ideals and ambitions and to serve the country."

"However, for Emperor Wanli, Zhang Juzheng's great power had imperceptibly posed a threat to his imperial power."

"In terms of power, Zhang Juzheng and Emperor Wanli became opposites."

"Zhang Juzheng's loyalty to state affairs and sole control of power was a sign of contempt for the monarch in the heart of Emperor Wanli."

Zhang Juzheng: The most fundamental reason is the conflict of power. I knew it would be this result.

He had been worried about this issue for a long time, but unexpectedly a conflict occurred, which aroused the emperor's grudge.

As the little emperor grew up, he naturally stood on the opposite side of the emperor as he held great power.

Strictly speaking, the reason why he now has all the power in the government and the public is because the emperor is still young and he needs to monopolize the power to intimidate the officials.

But once the emperor grows up, he will naturally slowly return the power in his hands to the emperor.

Now after being reminded by the anchor, he is more aware of the seriousness of the problem.

Regardless of whether he wanted to or not, for himself and his family, he could not hold on to power and stand on the opposite side of the emperor.

"Zhang Juzheng had a profound influence on the Ming Dynasty, but he was arbitrary and powerful."

"Zhang Juzheng once said to people, I am not a prime minister, but a photographer."

"It means that I am not the prime minister, I am the regent."

"There is a couplet made of gold hanging in Zhang Juzheng's home. The sun and the moon are bright together, and all nations look up to the great emperor of tomorrow; the mountains are mountains, and the four sides look up to Taiyue Xianggong."

"Speaking of this couplet, I have to talk about Zhang Juzheng's birthday that year."

"At that time, Zhang Juzheng had become the chief minister of the cabinet. Not only was the Chief of Ceremonies his ally, but he also controlled the power of all civil servant groups."

"When Zhang Juzheng was celebrating his birthday, officials came to congratulate him."

"Of course it's a trivial matter for these people to come to celebrate their birthdays. The key is to take the opportunity to give gifts to gain their own benefits."

"Some of the people who came to give gifts gave away valuable jewelry, and some gave away beautiful women."

"At that time, these gifts were still reasonable. I never expected that someone would give something out of the ordinary. This thing was a pair of couplets made of gold."

"The sun and the moon are the bright lights, and all the nations look up to the Great Son of Heaven; the hills and mountains are the mountains, and the four directions praise the Lord Taiyue."

"A few simple words were astonishing, and everyone present was secretly shocked."

"As we all know, the second line of a couplet is higher than the first line. This couplet is a metaphor for Zhang Juzheng, the father of Emperor Wanli."

"This couplet was given by someone else, but Zhang Juzheng accepted it without any hesitation. This has publicly declared his control of the political power."

"This not only challenged the emperor's authority, but also challenged the entire structure of feudal power."

"How could a loyal minister accept such a couplet, and how could he compare himself with such a couplet?"

"Zhang Juzheng did not reject all this at that time, which shows that Zhang Juzheng had already left the traditional Confucian concepts behind."

"What he has to do at this time is to take control of everything and become a being who is not an emperor but is above the emperor."

Ancient people from various dynasties all took a breath when they heard Zhang Juzheng nakedly say that I am not a prime minister but a photographer.

These six simple words are enough to show Zhang Juzheng's overwhelming power.

If someone dared to say this in other dynasties, they would definitely be punished.

Since ancient times, the most taboo thing for emperors is for ministers to monopolize power, let alone say such arrogant words as "I am not the prime minister but the minister."

Everyone now deeply understands why Emperor Wanli liquidated Zhang Juzheng.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng openly accepted the treasonous couplet, which was a blatant provocation to Emperor Wanli.

"Emperor Wanli has been dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng for a long time in his heart. However, Zhang Juzheng's ability is too strong and he still needs to take care of the affairs of the court, so he has been tolerating it."

"As soon as Zhang Juzheng died, Emperor Wanli's long-suppressed dissatisfaction completely exploded."

"We believe that Zhang Juzheng was dedicated to the Ming Dynasty and loyal to Emperor Wanli."

"However, Zhang Juzheng failed to strictly regulate his behavior, and many of his actions exceeded the scope of a minister. In addition, he made too many enemies, which ultimately led to this tragedy."

"Hai Rui's evaluation of Zhang Juzheng is very appropriate because he worked hard for the country and was incompetent for his own life."

Zhang Juzheng: I understand. There is indeed no good behavior. I will pay strict attention to it in the future.

Now that he thinks about it carefully, he did ignore the little emperor's feelings before.

Rather than ignoring it, it is better to say that he was blinded by power and subconsciously did not take the little emperor into consideration.

It was also his pride and complacency that caused him to ignore the most basic principles of a monarch and his ministers, which ultimately led to catastrophe.

Now that he knows the reason now, he will definitely be cautious in the future and always keep the principles of king and minister in mind.

No matter how young the little emperor is, he is still an emperor.

No matter how powerful he is, he is still a minister.

He knew exactly how ministers should treat the emperor.

After thinking about this, he couldn't help feeling relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his mind.

(End of this chapter)