Zhang Cong was demonized, demonized. What does Yue Mingzhu, the author of The Ming Dynasty, want to say? I'm not interested in entertainment novels!

Fiction can't be as serious and true as official history. Novels and TV plays pay attention to how to attract readers, vilify or beautify the characters in the play, and dress up the characters at will, with the aim of making novels a best seller. In Things of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Cong was completely written as an uneducated, opportunistic and vicious person. At first, I also believed that Zhang Cong started the party and government in Jiajing Dynasty, and I hated him deeply. Later, after reading more historical materials, I found that Zhang Cong was not as miserable as I thought, and I also understood that novels and historical facts are two different things. Zhang Cong has been in the cabinet for ten years, and the reform has achieved remarkable results. He strongly advocated clean government, strengthened supervision power and reformed the imperial examination system. He has given rigorous examinations to Hanlin officials, Jishi Shu, scholars, officials of science, students and military commanders. And fired those incompetent people. In particular, he did a very good job in breaking the system of enlightening the public and guarding the middle officials. There were no famous eunuchs in Jiajing Dynasty. In addition, he is a minister but does not engage in nepotism. Zhang also praised him: "Jiangling praised Xu Yongjia (Zhang Cong) in Record of Sejong, and they are similar in talent, so they are amazed."

After comparing Zhang Cong and Zhang, historians in Qing Dynasty think that there were two loyal ministers in literature in the former Ming Dynasty, both of whom used power for personal gain. In fact, both of them are virtuous and worthy of criticism. If you put your heart into it, Yongjia (Zhang Cong) seems to be better than Jiangling (Zhang). Yongjia's ceremony is true, not for Ashi, and its prosperity is unexpected. And it is just bright, clean and firm, which Jiangling can't reach. The landlord can refer to the following article:

Reform of Zhang Cong in Ming Dynasty

After the Ming Dynasty, Wu Zong and his courtiers were in chaos and the country was in danger! Sejong/kloc-succeeded at the age of 0/4. The reason why the Ming Dynasty was able to continue its rule since Sejong 120 years was closely related to Zhang Cong's drastic reform of social ills, which eliminated the ills accumulated in the Ming Dynasty for more than a hundred years, stimulated the vitality of the ruling class in the Ming Dynasty, and curbed and reversed the decline trend of the country. Its influence spread from Qin Long to the early Wanli period, which provided sufficient theoretical and practical basis for the later "Longwan" reform and reduced the resistance. Many reform measures taken by Gao Gong Zhang Juzheng are extensions of "Zhang Cong Reform". They imitate it as much as possible. As a result, the "Jialong Wanda Reform" was pushed to a climax.

Zhang Cong, three cabinet records of the Ming Dynasty!

He hates corrupt officials! ..... Clean up the place of honor and inferiority, get rid of the eunuchs guarding the world, Cole Yan's graft, strict supervision system, strict functions and powers of branch factories, health centers and legal departments, reform the disadvantages of the imperial examination, correct Confucius' title and sacrifice, and rectify the legion, all of which are stumbling blocks to his reform measures! The reform process will inevitably touch the vital interests of the privileged class, and the thrilling degree is hard to describe in words. The following are some simple deeds of Zhang Cong's political reform in history:

First, Xun Qing Qi Zhuangtian

During the reign of Emperor Wudong of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of collapse. Bird, a famous minister, also said: "During the reign of Gai Yizheng, the state moved, the power used wisdom, the system of ancestors and the discipline of the court were abolished." (1) There is a situation of "the world is cold and almost chaotic" (2). Kings, officials and bureaucrats "demand and seize people's land" (3). Wu Zong neglected political affairs, indulged in pleasure, and indulged in luxury and extravagance, which led to the increasing corruption of state affairs. All kinds of privileged forces plundered the land to the point of madness, but on the other hand, they left the taxes on the occupied land to the original landowners, making the military and civilians accept the grain without local taxes, which led to the exile of the people and the flight of the sergeant. Refugees poured into the society and peasant uprisings spread all over the provinces. During the Wuzong period, the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty was full of troubles and crises.

After the death of Wu Zong, Yang Tinghe, the cabinet record, made the following excuses for the gap between the monarch and his subjects during Zheng De's period and the resulting dereliction of duty:

Fu Nianchen has served in the cabinet for many years, and has been raped by power one after another. So many things have happened, and he is bent on holding on. After the service was called up, the traitors were overexcited and the decrees were issued, which was unbearable. Ask for rest when you are ill, and you will be fine in ten days. Trying to cheat, forbearing the line. Qian Ning and Aring Zhang often threaten foreign courts with false orders, and they will do so to steal power. The Japanese ticket is to be entered, and the path is changed to Leopard House. I played with my college classmates Jiang Mian and Mao Ji, but I didn't follow them. (4)

When Zhang Cong was 50 years old, a poem said: "After a meal, three sighs make people hungry." (January Day) "If there is snow, it will be sad. A few vagrants beg, and a grain of rice is not cooked. " ("Xiang Xue") "Hungry in a year, it is difficult to enjoy yourself, and there are many redundant officials, so you can't steal time." (Jiang Shan Tour).

At that time, the problem of social land annexation was the source of refugee uprising. During the Ming Wuzong period, there were more than 6 million refugees in China, accounting for one tenth of the total population. Peasant uprisings followed, and the society was out of order and in jeopardy. After being granted by Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty, it laid a good foundation for Zhang Cong's political reform. The primary task of reform is to curb the further deterioration of land merger and stabilize farmers' land. At that time, Zhuangtian, Wang Mi and Xun Qi, which were occupied by the imperial court, were the most intense and numerous land mergers. Huang Zhuang was established by Emperor Renzong of Ming Dynasty, and by the time of Wuzong, it had increased to more than 200 places. In Zheng Dejiu's year (15 14), Huang Zhuang alone occupied 37,594 hectares. A captain, eunuch, bureaucrat, etc. Begging the emperor to seize private land. By the second year of Hongzhi (1489), there were 332 farmland with an area of more than 33,000 hectares. "No one is more diligent for the people than Huang Zhuang, kings, governors and officials." Its severity is halved in the world: "From Hongwu to Hongzhi in 140, the world's cultivated land was reduced by half, and Huguang, Henan and Guangdong suffered more losses. If it is not allocated to Wang Fu, it will deceive the people. " In other words, the land has decreased by about 4.27 million hectares. Sejong cleared the farmland in Gyeonggi twice after he ascended the throne, but the officials and relatives scraped each other, and Sejong hesitated, with little effect. Zhang Cong resolutely cleaned up Zhuangtian and expanded it from Jifu to all provinces, and from Zhuangtian to monk temple industry. Up to the 9th year of Jiajing (1530), there were 528 sites in Zhuangtian, Qiong Qi, Gyeonggi, covering an area of more than 57,400 hectares, of which more than 26,000 hectares were returned to the owners respectively. Withdraw from Guanzhuang Military Academy, strictly set up a ban on leather, and no longer occupy or offer private fields. Offenders will be expelled from the army, and Minister Xun Qi will also participate in the investigation and conviction. In this way, the conflict of land annexation and the centuries-old disadvantages were relatively alleviated and eliminated, which made the social order tend to be stable and played an important role in the continuation of Ming dynasty rule.

Huang Guangsheng, a native of Jinjiang in the Ming Dynasty, praised in Zhao's Canon: "(Zhang Cong) played a role in guarding the ministers in various provinces and clearing the royal family's farmland. Local officials should follow their wishes and sleep peacefully. If the world is encouraged, his achievements will be indelible. " (5)

Biography of Ming History praised Zhang Cong, saying, "If you are loyal to the farmland and stop guarding all the ministers in the world, it will be exhausted."

Wanli's Biography of National History praised Zhang Cong: "Xun Qing and Qi Zhuangtian stopped guarding the internal officials and used hundreds of officials to serve the law, save the road and govern the family."

Second, stop guarding the officials in the world.

By the Ming Dynasty, all provinces and towns in China had sent eunuchs to take charge of the military and political affairs, forming a nationwide eunuch network. Relying on imperial power, they formed a party for personal gain, framed ministers and killed people; Plunder, the whole country is restless. The eunuchs guarding the imperial court were not only in charge of military, administrative, supervisory, judicial and other powers, but also in the name of serving the imperial court, they cleverly established names such as "serving" and "filial piety" and brutally exploited the people. Eunuchs' arbitrary power and disorderly administration was a great disaster in the Ming Dynasty.

Yang Tinghe, Historical Records, holds that the establishment of eunuchs in the period is a kind of "ancestral law" to demonstrate the rationality of its existence. He said:

There are officials in the imperial court, each with his own duties. In the palace, ceremonies are not allowed; In foreign countries, the official department shall not be other departments; Foreign governors, in charge of military and political affairs, in charge of money and food, are not allowed to have both; In border towns, eunuchs specialize in guarding, such as the ancient army, the governor's horse, the governor's prime minister's army, the city, the money valley and all civil affairs. This is also the law. Ancestor laws and regulations, those who are in chaos will be beheaded, who dares to commit it! (6)

Yang Tinghe not only did not advocate the abolition of eunuchs, but insisted on this so-called ancestral system. He said to himself:

I secretly saw that I was guarding everywhere, with the company commanders leading the army and defending the war; The viceroy has advised the viceroy to obey the soldiers and civilians and prohibit political reform and treachery; The eunuch guarding the house entrusted his heart to him. Each has a certain job, which is also the law of Emperor Sejong. (7)

Cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty rarely blindly demonstrated that guarding eunuchs was "ancestral system" and "law" regardless of the facts, and repeatedly emphasized the legitimacy of their existence. There is no doubt that the all-round harm of eunuchs to politics in Wuzong period is closely related to the influence of Yang Tinghe's rigid conformity thought as an assistant minister.

After Wuzong's death, Yang Tinghe repeated the old tune and asked Shizong in the Ming Dynasty to accept the idea of guarding officials as "the ancestral law" like Wuzong, and wrote it into his letter of accession to the throne. From foreign vassals to the DPRK, Sejong, who was not dependent on the minister for the time being, had to treat eunuchs according to Yang Tinghe's intention. In the same year1February, Sejong ordered the recall of Fu Lun, the eunuch guarding Guangxi, and Niu Rong, the eunuch guarding Guangdong, and replaced Cheng, the eunuch guarding Tumaguan with the eunuch guarding Tumaguan. Sejong's move, this is in line with the provisions of the acceded to the throne letters, but also in line with Yang Tinghe's idea of only replacing people without removing people, but it was resolutely opposed by Yang Tinghe, saying:

Those who harm others are tired, and those who replace them are quiet and mature, things are different, and people's hearts are fixed. But if the order lasts longer than the agreed time, the place will be safe. I haven't been here long, and I haven't heard of my mistakes. The New Deal needs to be replaced again and again, and it is a burden to change the policy in vain. (8)

In Yang Tinghe's view, Sejong acceded to the throne only for half a year, and the problem of protecting officials and harming the government and disturbing the people has been solved by replacing personnel, so there is no need to continue to rectify it. However, contrary to what Yang Tinghe said, at the beginning of Sejong's accession to the throne, the disadvantages of guarding the middle officials were still very serious. For example, Li Neng, the eunuch guarding Jizhou, said, "Take fort repair as the word, please set mountain and sea tariffs" (9); Q.luv, the eunuch of Jianchang, was "greedy and violent, and the evil party relied on him" (10); Li Rui, the eunuch of Yanghe and Tiancheng, "reported the official grass, tired the army to collect and transport, invaded the fields, and cultivated in the army" (1 1) guarding Liu Jing, the eunuch of Zhejiang, which was illegal "; Buying a farmhouse was done by a company, and its participation was guilty. Two people guarded the border, while farmhouse and Jiing remained the same "(12). Zhang Yang, an official guarding Zhongdu, said: "Please obey the order to prohibit the new tea from being given back" (13); Huang Yu, the minister in charge of Tongguan, "seized tens of thousands of military and civilian property, plundered the people and killed many people" (14); Du Tang, the eunuch guarding Yunnan, and Mu Shaoxun, the duke of Guizhou, "compared with profiteering, the chief dare not ask, and thieves start from this" (15). Examples like this are numerous at the beginning of Sejong's accession to the throne.

The Ming dynasty guards eunuchs for about a hundred years, so it is not easy to get rid of this disadvantage in a short time. As an important official trusted by Sejong, Zhang Cong completely changed the rigid thinking of Yang Tinghe and others about keeping officials and adopted a bold and prudent attitude. In order to ensure the smooth recall, Zhang Cong and Sejong discussed separately, or made a secret statement, so that the court eunuchs who were closely related to the guards could not intervene. After summoning Zhang Cong alone, Sejong was still hesitant, and Zhang Cong confided again, urging Sejong to take drastic measures to get rid of him. Its sparse words:

Emperor Fumeng called the minister to the platform to negotiate alone, so the minister was close, attentive and sincere. Promised, but not implemented. Today, because of the secret order, I dare to go to Chen again, and I implore the sages to be firm, so that the pernicious influence of a hundred years can be eliminated and the people of the world will be happy from now on. ( 16)

Zhang Cong tried to shake off the evils of this century. Judging from the process of getting rid of it, Zhang Cong took a quiet and gradual way to get rid of it. In the tenth year of Jiajing (153 1), a large-scale campaign to dismiss officials was launched in an all-round way, and middle-level officials in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Dushi, Yongning and Wanquan were all dismissed for "corruption" (17). This was in step with the massive reduction of redundant staff at that time. Soon, the eunuchs guarding Shaanxi and Sichuan were also dismissed for "greed" (18). This time, the focus of layoffs is mainly on mainland guards. Put the officials guarding the border town last and get rid of them. In addition to guarding the officials of the central government, Zhang Cong really eliminated the long-term disadvantages of eunuchs guarding the people, and made the local politics disturbed by the officials guarding the central government tend to be orderly. Fan Shou once thought that Zhang Cong's move was "full of praise for a thousand years" (19); He thinks that Zhang Cong dares to shoulder the heavy responsibility of dismissing the chief official, which is unmatched by other officials with the most expertise. He said: Zhang Cong "took back the eunuchs who were in charge of the provinces, but others refused to do so, although they had the most expertise" (20); Shen Defu said: "During the nine or ten years of Jiajing, the reform of the minister of internal security was the fastest in the world. This is also the time when Zhang Yongjia (Zhang Cong) entered the phase (2 1). Bian, the editor of Yongjia, also thinks: "Yongjia's contribution to the country is enormous." (22)

It is a typical representative and one of the greatest achievements in the reform process to get rid of the central officials in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. This move completely reversed the situation that eunuchs intervened in politics and power for a long time, cleared the biggest cancer in the political field of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty entered a new historical period. Amin Li Le, with his own personal experience, comprehensively and objectively evaluated the positive role of abolishing the official in the early years of Jiajing, and thought:

Emperor Sejong succeeded to the throne. Although he was young, the British Sect broke off diplomatic relations and achieved great success, which gave him many excuses. Zhang Gongfu has great respect for him, and fully guards the ministers of various provinces, and is not allowed to be supervised. When I arrived in Jin, I met the ministers, but I didn't dare to resist, but I was very prostrate. Since Zhang Gong came to power, Li Si's various supervision bureaus have been in awe. When they saw Zhang Gong, they dared not sit side by side, and they all quietly called him "Zhang Ye", thus subduing their arrogance. Since the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, eunuchs have amassed and their morale has been stretched, and the dignity of the country is not as good as it is today. (23) Jiang also said at the end of Wanli: Zhang Cong "belongs to the public, and its economy is not as good as that of the public. After sixty-seven years of going to the public, there was no marten in all directions, and the public gave it silently. I didn't know that everyone in this apartment began to consider the public "(24).

Dong Qichang, a native of Huating in the Ming Dynasty, wrote "Preface to Rong Tai's Ji Sanhe's Comments on Jin's Vice-Presidents": "My husband, Longmen, was a veteran of the Four Dynasties, and he was handed over to the eunuch generation, while Wenzhong (Zhang Cong) suffered for several generations. Great! Social work is also good. "

In the Chronicle of Letters, Li Ming (now Jiaxing) branch said that "Zhang Yongjia (Zhang Cong) was the first to unveil Shuai Ye. In other words, it has been more than one hundred years since Jingtai was first set up. Although filial piety is a benevolent person, Li (Dongyang) and Xie (Qian) have long been experts. They have never heard of a rescuer, but Yongjia is able to save the world and rebuild the universe. "

It is no accident that Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, Feng Bao and Wei Zhongxian did not appear in Jiajing dynasty for nearly half a century!

(1): On Wang Qibian, A Brief Discussion on the History of Ming Dynasty (volume 19).

(2) "Cautious use of light prison and the New Deal", "Distinguishing between Ming Jing and Shi Wen" (volume 160).

(3) Zhang: "History of the Ming Dynasty" Volume 77 "Records of Food".

(4) "Three Stories of Yang Wenzhong" (Volume 8) "Declining Four Books".

(5) Huang Guangsheng: "Zhao Chaozheng Dian".

(6) "Three Stories of Yang Wenzhong" Volume III "See the Grass".

(7) Three Chapters of Yang Wenzhong 1 On the Two Difficulties of Keeping Officials.

(8) "Three Stories of Yang Wenzhong" Volume 4 "See the Grass".

(9) Ming History Volume 208 Biography of Zheng Zibi.

(10) "Mountain Hall Collection" Volume 97 "China Officials Test Eight".

(1 1) "Mountain Hall Collection" (Volume 98) "Examination of China Officials".

(12) "Mountain Hall Collection" (Volume 98) "Nine Grades Official Examination".

(13) History of Ming Dynasty 192 Biography of Zhang Xi 'an.

(14) "Mountain Hall Collection" (Volume 99) "Ten Tests for China Officials".

(15) The History of the Ming Dynasty (Volume 203) was re-transmitted to Ouyang.

(16) The Governor Garrison Nanjing, Urging Local Police, edited by Shi Wen (volume 178).

(17) Records of Ming Shizong Volume 127.

(18) Records of Ming Shizong Volume 129.

(19) unofficial history of the charter, volume 2.

(20)' Four Friends of Zhai Cong said' Volume 8.

(2 1) "Wanli Ye Bian", Volume 6 "Restoration of the Protector".

(22) "Distinguishing between Ming Jing and Shi Wen" Volume 177 "On the Guarding of Nanjing Garrison and Promoting Leather everywhere".

(23) Miscellaneous Notes 1 1.

(24)' Guangxu Yongjia County Records' Volume 26.