The light flies, and the years go by.

On the second day of the seventh month of the sixth year of Wanli, a tragic event occurred in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng, a former scholar of Wenhuadian University, died in his hometown of Jiangling in early June this year, and his eldest son Zhang Jingxiu begged for shade.

Neglected to the cabinet, the first assistant Gao Gong saw the text, cried bitterly, and even fainted, the cabinet officials were in a hurry, it was passed that the imperial doctor arrived, and Yuan Fu had passed away.

Emperor Shi and Guan Zheng Gao were reading in the Wenhua Palace, and when they heard the news, they rushed to the cabinet, and saw that on the Yuan Fu case, the documents were full of documents, and they were several feet high.

The emperor mourned, tears could not be stopped, and pragmatic gestures said: "In the past, the emperor was about to collapse, and he entrusted Gu Yuanfu to say, 'Mr. is tired of the world', and now Mr. is driving a crane, like a ship losing its helmsman, the house lacks a beam, and I am extremely sad!" I don't know what to do in the future? ”

Not long after, the emperor wanted to issue an order to drop out of the dynasty for three days, and Guan Zheng Gao was pragmatic and immediately advised, saying: The funeral of the civil officials of this dynasty, the dropout ceremony is only one day, but Rong Guogong (Yao Guangxiao) enjoys the two-day ceremony of dropping out of the dynasty, and the ceremony cannot be abolished. Please stop.

The emperor replied: "In this way, change the dynasty for two days, and you must not be admonished again." ”

So the court dropped out of the court for two days for the death of Gao Gong.

On the third day, the emperor decreed: "...... The university scholar is high arch, Rui Zhi Kuang, and the grand talent praises. When the re-entry of the court is carried out, the shoulders are unyielding. is close to life, and he is really loyal to the country; The customs are like a roundabout, and the strategy of the palace is embraced. The curtain is painted to the essence of Qianghu, and the opportunity to plug the edge of the hole is appropriate. Turn the vertebral knot into a crown, and the soft dog sheep is in obedience. Li Tong Wei Jiang, Du Huaxia's deep worries; Ce than Zhong Yan, hold the odds of winning the royal Rong......

Broad and detailed, profound and dense, economic and great, social and famous. …… Generous and promising, loyal to the public. The strategy of the inner Ning, the honor of the outside of Yihong. The ridge table is in southern Yunnan, and the atmosphere is clean and the long snake is sealed; The east and the west are captured, and the heron is extinguished. Xun is known as the Weiwu scriptures, worthy of the emperor's ministers and Wang Zuo.

If you have an immortal strategy, you can build an immortal honor; However, it will be an extraordinary person, and it will be an extraordinary thing.

…… Presented to the pillar country, Zhen Wenzheng. The proclamation is at home and abroad, and the salty envoy hears it. Chin this. ”

As soon as the edict came out, the dynasty was full of envy, and Gao's protégés praised it one after another.

Wenzheng!

Since Sima Guang put forward that "the text is extremely beautiful, and it cannot be added", the posthumous honor that civil officials of all generations have dreamed of is extremely beautiful!

Wenzheng, how important is it? Just to illustrate the dynasty, there is an example.

At the time of Wuzong, the scholar Li Dongyang was dying, and the scholar Yang Yiqing came to see him, and when he saw that Li Dongyang was worried about the nickname, Yang Yiqing told him that the imperial court would give him the nickname of Wenzheng. After hearing this, the dying Li Dongyang actually kowtowed to Yang Yiqing on the bed. It can be seen that the status of "Wenzheng" in the hearts of scholars.

Zhang Juzheng died, and it is said that he died of depression, but this is understandable.

Gao Gong also died, but I don't know if he was tired to death, or he thought of the grievances with Zhang Juzheng for many years, and the accident under the agitation of the mood.

There are many people who are sad about Gao Gong's death, but the worst of them is probably Gao Pragmatic.

He felt that Gao Gong probably died of overwork, this old man who was over sixty years old, thinking of the emperor's entrustment, working day and night, even when Gao Pragmatic persuaded him to rest more countless times, he always replied: "The old and the young just sleep." ”

Li Shizhen, who was "poached" by Gao Pragmatic last year and came to Beijing last year and just compiled the "Compendium of Materia Medica" this year, also mentioned it to Gao Pragmatic several times, saying that Yuan Fu was overworked and it might not be able to last.

Unfortunately, no one could persuade him.

Historically, Gao Gong died in the sixth year of Wanli, and now he still dies in this year. Fate?

But in addition to this, Gao Pragmatic has more feelings, because Zhang Juzheng also died, and even died before Gao Gong.

The original history has undergone the biggest changes because of his high pragmatism.

Is it a good change? Gao pragmatic thinks so. To some extent, he has always believed that Zhang Juzheng is not a real reformer, only Gao Gong is.

Gao pragmatically believes that Zhang Juzheng should be a rectification faction.

In the original history, Zhang Juzheng's administration was basically based on rectification. His foothold was not reform, but the rectification of discipline and the restoration of the vitality of the ancestral system.

Reform is the innovation of the system, and rectification is the restoration of the ancestral system.

During the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi's reform was a real reform to break through the ancestral system and create a new law; Many of the contents of Zhang Juzheng's Wanli New Deal are the restoration and rectification of the ancestral system, and should not be included in the scope of reform.

The only two new ones are the examination method and the whip method. The examination law expanded and strengthened the power of the cabinet and improved the efficiency of administrative management, but it eliminated the supervision function of the section officials over the government and undermined the principle of checks and balances of the ancestral system.

However, Gao Gong also launched the "examination method", and even in this life, due to the influence of the idea of high pragmatism "quantification of political performance", Gao Gong's examination method went further and had deeper intentions. [No Wind Note: This is described in the first volume of this book.] ]

The "One Whip Method" is not Zhang Juzheng's invention. When Zhang Juzheng was still a five-year-old child, it was founded by Gui Cao and implemented by Fu Hanchen and others. During the Longqing and Wanli periods, some local officials such as Pang Shangpeng, Wang Zongmu, Liu Guangji, Hai Rui and many others implemented it in the areas under their jurisdiction and even throughout the province, and a whip law gradually prevailed.

It can be seen from this that Zhang Juzheng only has the work of promotion, and has no pioneering work, so he cannot be called a reformer.

In fact, some scholars in later generations believed that "Gao Gong's moral integrity, courage and ability, and sense of reform are all beyond Zhang Juzheng's reach." During the two and a half years he was in power, he initiated all-round reforms in the rule of officials, the judiciary, the military system, border defense, water conservancy, water transportation, and shipping.

He not only had a policy program of "eliminating the eight evils," but he also broke the policy of banning the sea, built ships, opened up shipping, and "practiced foreign trade." Gao Gong also "attaches special importance to the development of industry and commerce": "personally goes to the market to conduct research and research", "understands the facts". He also vigorously supported and implemented the reform of the enslavement system of the Zhangtian Uniform Grain and a whip law.

In the ten years of Zhang Juzheng's rule, "he did not completely inherit the reform direction of Gao Gong". In particular, he "secretly resisted Gaogong's proposition of opening up shipping and opening up foreign trade", reinstated the maritime ban, and implemented the basic national policy of closing the country to the outside world.

Therefore, the evaluation of this part of the scholars is: "Gao Gong is a politician, thinker, and reformer, and Zhang Ju is a bureaucrat, a politician, and a practical conservative", "Gao Gong is a real reformer, and Zhang Juzheng basically belongs to the rectification faction."

As for the effect of the reform, taking the economic reform as an example, in the five years of Longqing before Gao Gong's dismissal (1571, only the fifth year of Longqing was counted because he was dismissed in the sixth year of Longqing. The annual income of the Taicang treasury was 3.1 million taels, the annual income was 3.2 million taels, and the annual loss was only 100,000 taels, which was 1.966 million taels less than the average annual loss of 2.066 million taels from the first year of Longqing to the fourth year (1567-1570). This laid a good foundation for the surplus of the state treasury during the reign of Zhang Juzheng.

After Zhang Juzheng came to power, he inherited the situation of maintaining peace with Gao Gong and Alta, and he has his merits and contributions. "However, the peace 'dividends' he enjoyed outweighed his contributions." What Zhang Juzheng inherited was not a "mess", but "enjoyed the peace 'dividend' left by Gao Gong".

And without Zhang Juzheng's takeover in this life, what did Gao Gong do to make Wanli so sad about his death and posthumously give him "Wenzheng"?