"Zhang Juzheng's reform measures have thoroughly exposed the adverse consequences of excessive centralization. Until there are many practical problems in the lower-level administrative units that cannot be solved, the improvement of administrative efficiency will inevitably be slow and limited. Forcing efficiency beyond a certain limit will only cause unrest within the administrative system, the entire bureaucracy will be divided or entangled by excessive pressure, and the practical problems will turn into moral problems. ”

"Looking at today's requisition policy, the central government has forcibly demanded to improve efficiency, while the lower-level administrative units have many problems, and it is difficult to achieve effective implementation of government decrees. As a result, the entire Chinese administrative system is difficult to adapt, and the pressure on the middle and grassroots bureaucrats is too high, and they can only bully the superiors and subordinates in a brutal way. For example, in Henan's requisition, in order to complete the task, officials chose to conceal the fact of the famine from the central government, and wantonly expropriated it regardless of the people's feelings. This has brought about a series of serious consequences, the prestige of the government has been greatly lost, and the people have suffered unspeakably. Then it was extended to the moral issue, the government exalted the righteousness of the War of Resistance, and asked the people to give everything they had to the country, and it would be unpatriotic if it did not support the requisition. The people felt that the government was extorting money and did not think about the people, and the private ethics of the leaders and officials were also questioned. ”

"There is a saying in the historiography circles, that is, 'the Ming Dynasty valued taxes and the people were poor'. It seems that it was because corrupt officials were rampant at that time, and the people were overtaxed, and the rich got richer and the poor got poorer, but in fact, this is very different from the truth. At the same time, Britain's tax revenue was comparable to that of the Ming Dynasty, but its population was only one-thirtieth of that of the Ming Dynasty, so how could Britain continue to grow and develop? The reason is not that the taxes are too heavy, but that the government and the law are inferior. Even if the state tax rate is low, it is not the peasants who benefit, but only the landlords' homes and the bureaucracy's additional exploitation. ”

"Morality is not omnipotent, and the government cannot rely on the simple righteousness of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and require the people to sacrifice their families to serve the country. It is all the more necessary to improve the legal system, improve the administrative system, curb corruption, encourage and support the advanced economy, and reduce the ...... of the exploitation of traditional agriculture."

These are all review articles written by Chen Yinke, and after he finished writing them, he burned them and did not take them out for publication.

Chen Yinke never talks about politics, but that doesn't mean he doesn't understand politics. Studying history has learned to his point, and many things can be seen more clearly than the bureaucracy, but that's all, and it can't change the status quo in China.

Anyone can sit and talk about it, but the difficult thing is how to solve the problem.

Can't fix it!

Of course, Chang Kaishen wants to improve the administrative system and improve the executive power of grassroots officials. But this is not possible, unless a fundamental reform is carried out in China, which the internal and external conditions of the special period of the War of Resistance do not allow him to do.

Therefore, Chen Yinke's burning of the article and publishing it will not be beneficial, but will offend those in power because of it.

After burning the article, Chen Yinke quickly rewrote another one, analyzing "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" purely from the method of governing history. He first criticized Zhou Hexuan's ignorance of certain historical materials, believing that some of Zhou Hexuan's ideas were slightly one-sided, and at the same time praised "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" for its unique style and novel viewpoint, which opened up a new form and direction for the study of Ming history.

……

Before Chen Yinke's second article was published, Wu Han had already begun to praise everyone for "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli".

Wu Han is also an expert in the study of Ming history, and although he belonged to the liberal faction earlier, he had a very radical personality. As early as more than ten years ago, Wu Han wrote to Hu Shih: "Looking at the history of any country and any dynasty, it is impossible to find such a despicable, shameless, and frenzied government (Nanjing Nationalist Government). ”

Wu Han asked Hu Shi to point out a clear way, and Hu Shi asked Wu Han to "save the country through science".

At that time, Wu Han respected Hu Shi very much, and specially wrote Hu Shi's famous words on the back of his graduation photo: "Bold assumptions, careful verification." Talk less and read more good books. ”

However, when Wu Han arrived at the Southwest Associated Congress, the corruption of the Kuomintang and his attitude of ignoring the lives of scholars, coupled with the death of his friend in poverty and illness, made Wu Han's thinking completely turn to the left. His behavior was more radical than Wen Yiduo's, not only devoting himself to various anti-Chiang activities, but also writing a book "From Monk's Bowl to Imperial Power".

The book was later renamed "The Biography of Zhu Yuanzhang", which was published almost at the same time as Zhou Hexuan's "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli", specifically to allude to Chang Kaishen.

After reading "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli", Wu Han felt that he had found a confidant. Although one of them wrote about Zhu Yuanzhang and the other about the Wanli Dynasty, they all took the path of "insinuating historiography", and they were all criticizing Chang Kaishen and the Nationalist Government.

Wu Han wrote several critical articles in succession, enshrined "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" as "a classic that cannot be found in modern Chinese history".

……

Zhang Xueliang, who was far away in Guizhou, also read "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" for the first time.

The young marshal has been studying the history of the Ming Dynasty all these years, and if he lacks any books, he wrote to Song Meiling to ask for it. By 1945, Zhang Xueliang even claimed to have become an expert on Ming history, and he asked to invite several experts in Ming history for face-to-face exchanges, which Dai Li said was very difficult.

When Zhang Xueliang finished reading "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli", he didn't think about insinuating Chang Kaishen. Instead, he substituted himself for the Wanli Emperor, and replaced his former capable subordinates with Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, Hai Rui and Qi Jiguang, and then reviewed and reflected on his mistakes when he was in charge of Northeast China and North China.

Then, Zhang Xueliang compared the Wanli Dynasty with China in the twenties and thirties, reflected on the governance of the Beiyang government and the Nanjing government, and wrote a 20,000-word reading experience, and asked the guards to pass it on to Chang Kaishen.

Chang Kaishen threw Zhang Xueliang's article away and put it in the corner to cover it with dust for decades, until he found it in the 80s when he was cleaning up garbage materials.

……

Xie Guozhen is undoubtedly the most popular expert in Ming history today, he followed Liang Qichao in his early years, and he and Zhou Hexuan were barely regarded as brothers. His "Examination of the Historical Books of the Late Ming Dynasty" was popular in the 30s, and it attracted attention again during the Anti-Japanese War, because China during the Anti-Japanese War was too similar to the late Ming Dynasty.

Xie Guozhen was stranded in the occupied area at this time, and when "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" was published, he had just read Zhou Hexuan's article discussing the death of Shen Wansan.

Zhou Hexuan's views on Shen Wansan's life experience come from Mr. Gu Cheng, an expert in Ming history.

Xie Guozhen disagreed, he believed that the historical materials of "Wu Jiangzhi" may be wrong, and took out a number of historical materials, believing that Shen Wansan may have died after Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne. Of course, Shen Wansan would never have been exiled by Zhu Yuanzhang, but he was just suppressed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Xie Guozhen immediately wrote a rebuttal article, which was sent for several months and finally sent to Chongqing for publication.

It was not until the end of 1944 that Xie Guozhen read "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" in the occupied area. He praised the book and wrote three analyses in one sitting after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, discussing the influence of the Wanli Dynasty on the fate of the Ming Dynasty.

……

As for most ordinary readers, they completely regard "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" as a purely historical reading. They lamented the failure of the Ming Dynasty's reforms, but at the same time hoped that the Nationalist Government would learn a lesson and called for strengthening the legal system and punishing corrupt officials.

Chang Kaishen also likes "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" very much, he did not substitute himself into Emperor Wanli and Zhang Juzheng, but into Shen Shixing. He felt that he had devoted himself to developing the country, but in exchange for all kinds of betrayals and suspicions, and at the same time, he was constrained by the terrible situation in China, and he could not really use his talents and abilities.

At the same time, Chang Kaishen also sighed that there is no perfect person in the world, even Qi Jiguang is corrupt and deductible, pat horses, and like women, and who is the general of the Republic of China who is comparable to Qi Jiguang? The employment of people should be informal, as long as the ability is outstanding, those generals who can really fight should be tolerated for the time being, such as Tang Enbo, who made a mess in Henan.

In the eyes of each reader, "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" has a different interpretation.

This book was very popular, not only popular all over China, but even Fairbank brought back a copy and had people translate it and recommend it to the American historiography community.