Chapter 5: The Martial Arts Assembly

  To describe the politics of the Chenghua era, one word can perfectly summarize and describe it - a mess.

  It's not surprising at all. Comrade Zhu Jianshen's leadership level is really unworthy of others, he can't even control his own wife, how can he control the secretaries around him?

  In this case, the politics of the Chenghua period suddenly became colorful and dark, with various political factions emerging in a hundred flowers blooming together, gathering in this chaotic world to hold a martial arts conference that was full of tricks and repeatedly violated the rules.

  Here we introduce the various major sects participating in the Martial Arts Conference (in no particular order).

  Spring full name: Research Group.

  Master: Liang Fang.

  The composition of disciples: Taoist priests, Buddhist monks.

  Exclusive skills: Research on chemical products (commonly known as Viagra), research on physiological hygiene knowledge.

  Xianpai full name: Xiudao Chengxianpai.

  Leader: Li Zisheng.

  The composition of disciples: monks and Taoist priests.

  Exclusive skills: Alchemy (belonging to chemistry), Cultivation.

  Eunuch faction of the Imperial Bodyguards

  Successors: Wang Zhi, Shang Ming.

  The composition of the disciples under the gate: eunuchs.

  Exclusive skill: Underground work (espionage), reporting small matters.

  Hou Pai full name: Hou Gong Lao Po Pai.

  The leader: Empress Wan.

  The composition of the harem: palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial relatives.

  Special skill: One cry two make a scene three hang oneself (this special skill has evolved over time and is now widely used).

  Mixed rice party: Mixed day party.

  Gatekeeper: Wan An.

  The composition of the disciples: civil servant group.

  Special skills: muddle through life, play the lute (inform on others).

  This is the story of the five major sects that roamed the land at that time. If you want to know their origins and entanglements, please sit back and listen as I tell it slowly:

  What is Jianghu? Where there are people, there is Jianghu.

  It's said that over two thousand years ago, the unparalleled master Ying Zheng unified the martial world and became the first leader of the Martial Alliance. After that, the Jianghu fell into a glorious era with various sects standing out and bloody storms raging.

  Among many schools, the two oldest and highest-level schools are Jianpai and Houpa.

  The two factions are roughly equivalent to Shaolin and Wudang. The historical academic name of the latter faction is called Outer Kin, and the historical academic name of the former faction is called Eunuch Power.

  Although the two factions obeyed the command of the Wulin Alliance (Emperor), from the day they were established, they have been sworn enemies who cannot coexist. One side's prosperity means the other side's decline; one side's life means the other side's death. For thousands of years, this struggle has never ceased, and both factions have produced numerous masters.

  For example, the monitoring faction's Zhao Gao, Shan Chao, Li Fuguo, Yu Chaoyin, and the later faction's Empress Lü, Yang Jian, Wei Zifu, etc., were all masters of their time, bringing great honor to their respective factions. After the struggle between the two factions subsided, they would occasionally join hands and cooperate. Whenever this happened, the leader of the Wulin Alliance would take advantage of the situation to stir up trouble between the two factions, in order to maintain his own position as leader.

  Of course, sometimes if the leader's martial arts skills are not high, it is also possible to be replaced by the masters of these two factions. For example, Yang Jian successfully broke away from the Hou faction and became the new Wulin Alliance leader.

  By the time of Chenghua, this situation had not changed. The Hou and Jian schools were still at odds with each other, while other schools took advantage of the opportunity to expand and grow, which are the other three schools we introduced earlier.

  Chun Pai is a subordinate school of Hou Pai, the leader of Chun Pai, Liang Fang was originally the procurement officer of Wan Guifei, the leader of Hou Pai. Due to his bold and ruthless nature, he dared to embezzle public funds and did an excellent job, so he was promoted to be the leader of Chun Pai and established his own school.

  Here, I would also like to commend Comrade Liang Fang for his diligent and serious attitude. Everyone knows that he is a eunuch researcher, but it's really not easy for him to do this job, because as a eunuch, he can see but cannot eat, and in the situation where theory is divorced from reality, he can still work so hard, which truly embodies his outstanding research spirit and professional ethics.

  This is Chun Pai, next we will talk about Xian Pai.

  The Xianpai is also an ancient school, the most famous person in this school should be Xu Fu who was said to have gone to Japan for further study during the Qin Dynasty. By the time of the Chenghua Emperor, the Xianpai had also produced some notable figures. The leader of the school, Li Zisheng, originally worked as a minor official in Jiangxi government office, later he changed his career and went to Beijing to drift north, meanwhile doing some swindling business.

  Later, he met Liang Fang, the leader of Chunpai, during his swindling process and became Liang's follower. Liang appreciated him very much and supported him to establish his own sect, playing to his strengths, to help Zhu Jiandao refine elixirs and cultivate Taoism, thus making a name for the Xianpai sect.

  Next is the famous Monitoring Division, which was extremely prosperous in the Ming Dynasty. There were Zheng He and Wang Zhen before, and Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian later, and it can be said that there were many talents. However, during the Chenghua period, this division appeared to split.

  Just like the Hua Shan sect has the Qi Sect and the Sword Sect, the Jian Pai also split into the Eastern Jian Pai and the Western Jian Pai. The two major leaders went their separate ways, with intense struggles between them. The leader of the Eastern Jian Pai, Shang Ming, had a deep foundation, adhered to tradition, and continuously expanded the traditional affiliated enterprise of the sect - the Dong Chang, conscientiously doing the special agent work of espionage and framing loyal officials.

  Wang Zhi, the leader of the Western Depot, had been taken to the capital by Han Yong's army and castrated. After that, he worked hard to gain the trust of Zhu Xizhen, the leader of the alliance, and opened a new factory in Xi'an with the innovative spirit of "no one has it, I have it; someone has it, I have a better one". His management philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: "There is no worst, only worse."

  Later generations don't need to be introduced much, Wan Guifei in the Chenghua years can be said to be a woman who holds the pass alone, and no one can match her. She is not only the leader of the imperial harem, but also the wife and nanny of Zhu Zhen, the master of the Wulin Alliance. Her unique skills, "Pillow Wind" and "Pillow Shape Sweeping", swept through Jianghu, and no one could stop her.

  Finally, there is the Hun School. This school was originally called the Chen School and was once a major school on par with the Jian School and the Hou School, producing countless top-notch experts like Li Si, Huo Guang, Fang Xuanling, Wang Anshi, and the three Yangs. However, under the leadership of its current leader, Wan An, the school's gate has become desolate, and Wan's martial arts skills are lacking. Except for persisting in practicing kowtowing and flattering, he has no other abilities. Gradually, it became a subordinate to the Hou School and the Jian School until this situation improved more than a decade later.

  In summary, the situation in Wulin during the Chenghua period was as follows: Hou and Chun, Xian were allies, which can be called the post-camp. The Jianpai had internal contradictions, and externally they were allied with the Houpai against their common enemy, while the Hunpai was the most cowardly, not daring to offend either the Jianpai or the Houpai, and could only live a life of compromise.

  That's the situation with the five major sects of Wulin. I believe you can see that these are all so-called evil sects. If you're still waiting for the appearance of a prestigious and righteous sect, you'll probably be disappointed, because the current state of Jianghu can be summed up in one sentence:

  There are no good people left in this world anymore.

  The Legend of Five Sects

  All parties have arrived, and the good show is about to begin.

  Chun Pui's master, Leung Fong, was an outstanding pharmaceutical wholesaler and procurement merchant. His path to success had two main routes: one was giving gifts to Empress Wan, the other was manufacturing and presenting them to the Emperor, thereby currying favor with both sides, making everyone like him, so for a period of time he was extremely influential.

  Although he was a eunuch, he was not a member of the monitoring faction. At that time, the leader of the eunuchs, Taichang Shangming and Huaien, had both tried to recruit him, but Liang Fang's response was: Who do you think you are? Go and enjoy your coolness.

  He relied on someone to support him, and he brazenly embezzled money and goods. Zhu Xian's comrade-in-arms originally had a lot of private savings, but in just a few years, this gentleman used them up completely, leaving the Alliance Master unable to eat for several days.

  But Liang has one advantage, due to his own lack of reading and limited vision, compared to Wang Zhen and Wei Zhongxian, he is far inferior in terms of level. Apart from making money, he also helped Empress Wan to abort a fetus in the palace, but he couldn't do anything worse (not that he didn't want to, but his ability was not high enough). He never expected that the most influential thing he had done was actually recruiting someone.

  This man was later the leader of the Xianpai sect, Li Zesheng.

  If you ask who among the five factions is most favored by Zhu Zhen, many people would answer that it's either Hou Pai or Jian Pai, but in fact, the one Zhu Zhen values the most is actually this unassuming Xian Pai leader Li Zisheng.

  As for this point, it's really no surprise, Zhu Qizhen's inner voice can clearly tell us the reason:

  I really want to live another five hundred years!

  It's okay if I lose my job, it's okay if I go blind or deaf, and it's okay if I lose my wife. As long as I'm still alive, I can always find another one.

  Life is most precious, and Zhu saw this point deeply and wisely.

  So, Li Zicheng, who claimed to be immortal, naturally became Zhu Jianshen's favorite minister. He was not satisfied with deceiving the alliance leader by pretending to cultivate immortality and alchemy, but also started to encroach on his former leader Lian Zhangmen's business while producing elixirs.

  With this, the versatile Li Zhi Province became a hot character. The leader of the Hun faction, Wan An, and his two disciples, Liu Ji and Peng Hua, all entered the cabinet as high-ranking officials through their relationship with him.

  But the master was not satisfied, he also planned to develop across industries, and actually stretched his hand into the intelligence work, organizing personnel to gather information for the Alliance Master, this time it can be said that he poked a hornet's nest, many intelligence agents from Dongchang and Xichang were relying on this line to make a living, what kind of thing are you Li Zisheng?! Dare to break the monopoly and create competition!

  Jiang Pai's leader Shang Ming and Wang Zhi rolled up their pant legs, picked up their weapons, and prepared to launch an attack on this unknown little soldier.

  But the outcome of the struggle was beyond their expectation.

  Let's put aside Li Zhi Province and the eunuchs' struggle for now and talk about the other two sects.

  After that, there was nothing more to say. Consort Wan continued her life as usual, occasionally inspecting the rear palace and gazing longingly in the direction of the Crown Prince's residence, that was all.

  Next comes the hybrid faction, which I personally think is the most interesting one.

  Before the fifth year of Chenghua (1469), the cabinet was a solemn and sacred place, and the members of the cabinet at that time were Shang Lu and Peng Shi.

  Shang Xiang is also an old acquaintance, as early as the Battle of Beijing's defense, he showed his face once, standing out to support Yu Qian's proposal, but he is more famous for his exam results - three top scores in a row. Think back to when the list was posted during the imperial examination, the list had just been put up, and people were still searching for their names with wide eyes, he took a casual glance and went back home to sleep. When asked by fellow villagers why he didn't look for his own name, he pointed to the list with a nonchalant attitude and said:

  "What's the point of all this effort? The one at the top is me!"

  Except for Huang Guan, who was struck and retaliated against by Zhu Di during the Jingnan rebellion and had his name deleted, he is the only one in the Ming Dynasty to complete this high-difficulty action. In fact, his governance is also excellent. Peng Shi is also a first-place finisher in the imperial examination and is an honest official. Under their leadership, the Great Ming Empire moves forward in an orderly manner.

  At this time, Wan An entered the cabinet.

  Wan An, a native of Mianzhou, Sichuan Province, was a successful candidate in the imperial examination in the 13th year of the Zhengtong reign (1448). This gentleman was well-read and ranked fourth nationwide in the imperial examination that year, ranking first in the second class. Unfortunately, judging from his later performance, he was indeed a victim of the education system, a typical representative of high scores but low ability.

  After he joined the cabinet, he didn't care about government affairs and only focused on one thing - building relationships.

  He fully utilized his surname resources and actually became relatives with Consort Wan.

  What relatives?

  According to Wan An himself, the younger sister of the mother of the wife of Wan Guifei's brother is his concubine, which is an incredibly close relative!

  He then ran to the home of Empress Wan's brother, tearfully acknowledging this relationship and proudly declaring: I, Wan An, have finally found my relatives!

  Whether the relatives were true or false, Wan An indeed gained an opportunity for promotion. In 1478, Shang Lu retired and returned home, and Wan An became the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Cabinet.

  From then on, under his "enlightened" leadership, the history of the literary and military officials group entered a new era - the mixed faction era.

  The Nickname Party

  Unlike other factions, the Hunchback faction is favored by many figures in Jianghu. Many of its elites have been given nicknames that sound impressive and are worth discussing in detail.

  Wan An, the leader of the Mixed School, was given the nickname "Eternal Pavilion Elder" by people in Jianghu.

  In the 7th year of Chenghua (1471), Wan An and two other members of the inner court, Shang Lu and Peng Shi, went to pay their respects to Zhu Jianshen, discussing state affairs. Just as Peng Shi had begun to speak on a few matters and was getting to the point, they suddenly heard a loud shout from beside them:

  "Long live!"

  Turning back, Wan Zhongmen was already kneeling on the ground and kowtowing.

  Shang Mou and Peng Shi were stunned, their eyes wide with fear. They stood there for a moment, then knelt down, kowtowing and crying out:

  "Long live!"

  This strange scene occurred solely because of Wan An's shout of "Long live", which relates to a serious etiquette issue.

  In the Qing dynasty, when officials discussed matters, if they lifted their teacups, it meant that they did not want to discuss further, and asked you to leave, which is called "lifting tea to send guests".

  In the Ming Dynasty, there was also a set of etiquette for meeting the emperor. After the audience was over, they would shout "Long live the Emperor", which meant that the emperor would see them again next time.

  Wan Zhongmen didn't know whether he was in a hurry to go to the toilet, and before they could talk for a few more sentences, he hastily bid farewell, making the cabinet extremely embarrassed, becoming the laughing stock of all the civil and military officials, hence earning him the glorious title "Eternal Minister".

  Liu Jijiang, a big apprentice of Hun style, was given the nickname "Liu Cotton" by Jianghu people.

  Liu Ji, a native of Hebei Province, was a jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) in the 13th year of the Zhengtong reign (1448). He was a fellow student of Wan An. In the 11th year of the Chenghua reign (1475), he became a member of the Grand Secretariat. His character and conduct were similar to those of Wan An, but there was one aspect in which he surpassed Wan - his face was even thicker.

  In the Ming Dynasty, impeachment became a trend, and officials also liked to interfere with trivial matters. Liu Ji naturally became the main target of attack by officials, but this brother had good psychological endurance, so whatever the officials said was considered unheard, so friends in Jianghu gave him a nickname "Liu Cotton".

  What does it mean?

  Cotton is fearless of bullets!

  Mixed faction's follower Xiao Di Nian Jin Xian was given the nickname "Washbird Yu Shi" by Jianghu people.

  Ni Jinxian, from Anhui, semi-illiterate, joined the Wan Zhangmen sect as a closed-door disciple. He had no special skills but possessed an ancestral secret recipe. It was said that after mixing the powder with water, it could cure ED (erectile dysfunction). Wan Zhangmen must have tried it himself, so he was overjoyed and appointed Ni Jinxian as an imperial censor.

  If he were alive today, he wouldn't have to be a censor and could have devoted himself to the medical field, where he would certainly have thrived and surpassed Pfizer, bringing glory to his country.

  Considering his great contribution to Wan Zhong Men, Jianghu friends respectfully gave him a nickname "Washbird Yu Shi".

  In the cabinet, Liu Yue was basically the only one left, and he was also just going through the motions every day. As for the six departmental ministers below him, they were indeed excellent disciples of the "mixing" school, upholding the sect's rules and regulations, sitting in the government office drinking tea and chatting every day, doing absolutely nothing, strictly following the sect's rules.

  Due to the outstanding performance of the Chenghua Cabinet and officials from various departments, the people collectively awarded them the honorary title:

  Three cabinet members collectively received the honorable title of "Paper Paste Three Old Men".

  The six Shangshu collectively won the honorary title of "Clay Sculpture Six Shangshu".

  This is the affirmation given by the masses to them.

  Good grief! What kind of nonsense is this?!

  Below we will talk about the last sect - Jian Pai. The reason why it is left to be discussed at the end is because during the Chenghua period, the biggest dark curtain and the most ruthless characters all originated from this sect, but also perished because of it.

  Wang Zhi's Struggle History

  Among the large group of captives brought back by Han Yong, Wang Zhi was not a conspicuous person and had no special talents. After being castrated, he honestly became an eunuch. However, his luck was very good, and after completing his training as an eunuch, he was assigned to serve in the imperial harem under one of the emperor's consorts, Consort Wan.

  It turned out that although Wang Zhi had no particular talent or skill, his service attitude was very good and his service level was also high, which made Wan Guifei very happy. As a result, Wan Guifei recommended Wang Zhi to Zhu Jianshen for further training, and Wang Zhi did not disappoint everyone's expectations, rising step by step, eventually becoming the eunuch of the Imperial Stables.

  We have introduced that the Imperial Stables is an important department second only to the Department of Ceremonial Affairs, and being able to climb to this position can be said to be a successful eunuch. However, Wang Zhi was not satisfied, and he stretched his hand towards the most mysterious eunuch management institution in the imperial palace - Dongchang.

  Wang Zhi took the initiative to organize people to go out and gather information, reporting on every move in Beijing and other places, showing off his intelligence gathering skills. He hoped that Zhu Xizhen would hand over control of the Eastern Depot to him. For a time, both inside and outside the capital were filled with Wang Zhi's plainclothes agents, who day and night gathered information, arrested people, and detained them, with an extremely fierce momentum.

  With these "achievements", Wang Zhi proudly went to report to Zhu Xizhen, preparing to take over the Dongchang, the largest secret organization in the Ming Dynasty, and do some underground work.

  The Lord of the Alliance listened to his report, gave a high evaluation, and expressed hope that he would continue to work hard. However, the Lord of the Alliance seemed to be addicted to talking and went on and on, speaking eloquently but avoiding the key issue. Wang Zheng knelt until his legs were numb and finally couldn't help but interrupt:

  "Your Majesty, how should we handle the matter of the Eastern Depot?"

  The leader of the alliance was interrupted in his speech, but he didn't get angry, just smiled and waved his hand, saying:

  "That person is doing alright, let's just leave it at that."

  Wang Zhi's Dongchang dream was shattered.

  The "that person" in the mouth of the leader is Shang Ming, the current East Factory's Zhongping Taichang, who is not a simple person.

  Shang Ming entered the palace very early, handled matters very efficiently, and was extremely cautious (note this characteristic). The Eastern Depot was managed by him with great fanfare. In order to expand his financial resources, he also started a sideline - kidnapping and extortion.

  Shang Zhongmen had a recognized bright spot - being serious and responsible for his work, and the same was true for his sideline. As soon as he took office, he made a flower name book, which recorded the addresses and family environments of major wealthy households in Beijing, and listed a ranking list according to their wealth.

  At the same time, he also has a solid philosophical foundation, always believing that the world is an interconnected whole, and all things are connected. Every time there was a case in the East Factory, he would connect these wealthy households with the case, go door-to-door to arrest people, lock them up in prison, and only release them after their families paid ransom.

  It's really a very unscrupulous thing, but unexpectedly, although he has been doing this, his reputation is still good, and many people praise him when talking about him, which is indeed a very strange thing.

  This is because Shang still has a great advantage - he attaches importance to integrity. Although he kidnaps, he never abuses the hostages, and when the money arrives, he releases them without fail, and the families of those who have dealt with him can't help but sigh: He takes the money and does the job, what an honest man!

  In addition, although he robbed the rich and did not help the poor, he also did not harm the poor. He only acted on the wealthy families and never provoked ordinary people, so he had a good reputation among the middle and lower classes. His seniority was very high, but he never bullied his juniors, and his relationships were very good. He often gave gifts to the Alliance Master and the Emperor of the Imperial Palace, and his relationship with the masses was also good.

  Such a person, Wang Zhi naturally couldn't move him.

  But Wang Zhi was a very persistent person, he made up his mind to break Shang Ming's monopoly and create a new situation for secret service work. Unable to withstand his repeated requests, in 1477, Zhu Jianshen finally approved Wang Zhi to set up a new type of enterprise - the West Factory.

  Wang Zhi, who had just taken office, devoted all his energy to this and immediately promulgated factory rules and guidelines, which can be roughly summarized as:

  What the East Factory can't destroy, we will; what the East Factory can't kill, we will; what the East Factory can't do, we will!

  After that, the Western Depot's secret agents became synonymous with death. They were more ruthless than the Eastern Depot, and ordinary people who entered the Western Depot almost equated to entering the gates of hell, not even thinking about coming out alive. The upper and lower classes in the capital city were terrified, changing color at the mere mention of tigers.

  Xi Chang worked day and night, but soon found that no matter the performance or reputation, his Xi Chang could not catch up with Dong Chang. This was very natural, after all, Dong Chang had a long history and special agent culture accumulation, in a short period of time, Xi Chang was indeed far behind.

  Wang Zhi is a person who does not admit defeat, he is unwilling to be inferior to Shang Ming, and he is also unwilling to wait. To change this situation, he mobilized his subordinates to put forward reasonable suggestions and humbly adopted opinions.

  Soon, a subordinate gave him an idea that in order to quickly surpass the East Factory, he had to deal with several heavyweight figures, so as to establish prestige and make the West Factory brand resound within a short period of time.

  It turned out to be a bad idea afterwards.

  But Wang Zhi thought this suggestion was very good and immediately prepared to put it into practice.

  The policy has been decided, so who will be the first to take action?

  Wang thought hard and finally found a person who no one dared to provoke at that time, he decided to set an example first, in order to establish his own prestige.

  This unlucky fellow's name was Qin Lipeng, also a eunuch. Although he wasn't in the capital, he was the third most important person after Wang Zhi, next to the eunuchs Hua En and Shang Ming, who were in charge of the Eastern Depot. He was currently serving as the Eunuch-in-charge of Nanjing Garrison.

  Although the capital was moved to Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing remained the capital of the Ming Dynasty. The eunuch in charge of defending Nanjing had always been a very important position, and Qin Li Peng had a deep background and private relationships with many royal relatives. Although he often broke the law, no one dared to trouble him.

  But this time Wang Zhi decided to trouble him a bit. Although they were both eunuchs, for the sake of the Western Factory's brand, he had no choice but to sacrifice his old brother.

  He made up his mind and immediately got to work, collecting a lot of evidence of Peng's crimes (which was quite easy), and after some manipulation, he managed to come up with a conclusion that warranted beheading.

  Tan Li Peng never thought that Wang Zhi would dare to operate on him, but this gentleman was not easy to bully. He sent someone to Beijing overnight and did some work, as a result, the big deal turned into a small one, and being criticized for two sentences was enough.

  Wang Zhi did not defeat Peng, but he also received praise from Zhu Xianzhen and was awarded the title of being brave in doing things and impartial. With the leadership's praise, Wang Zhi suddenly became spirited and successively came up with several inexplicable things.

  First, several officials from the Ministry of Justice had just returned from a business trip outside and were arrested by the West Factory as soon as they entered the capital. They were thrown into prison and beaten severely without being told what laws they had broken, and then released from prison again. These people were left dazed and confused, wondering if it was all just a dream.

  Then a governor from outside the capital came to Beijing on business and before he could even find a place to stay, he was taken away by the Western Depot and beaten up, eating prison food for several days.

  Of course, all of this is what Wang Zhijie wanted, his behavior seems difficult to understand, but in fact it's just to prove a point:

  He can solve anyone at any time for any reason.

  At this time, Wang Zhi had the emperor's favor internally and the Western Depot's sharp teeth externally. In many people's eyes, he was already a completely successful eunuch.

  But Wang Zhi didn't think so:

  Success? I've just started on this path.

  He was not satisfied with the current performance, humbly believing that he still needed to make progress, and in order to better establish his authority, he decided to find a second key target. Soon after, he found it.

  This time, the person being targeted was named Yang Ye. Although he himself was only a minor official and not very famous, he was not an ordinary person either, his great-grandfather was the renowned "Three Yangs" Yang Rong.

  He and his father Yang Tai came to Beijing for a temporary stay because he got into trouble at home.

  For Wang Zhi, this is a great opportunity, and this time he is ready to make a big move.

  Of course, he did not think that this matter would ultimately solve his own problem.

  Wang Zhi's faction arrested Yang Ye and his father Yang Tai, throwing them into a large prison.

  In prison, Wang Zhi played the role of a rogue. He gave orders and had Yang Ye perform the East Factory Troupe's signature piece "Pipa".

  What is called "dapanhu" is not playing music, but a unique behavioral art.

  Specifically, it is to use a sharp blade to scrape the person's ribs, and it is said that at the time of execution, the pain is unbearable, enough to make you regret being born. This trick was not even thought of by Zhu Yuanzhang when he founded the country, but was an independent invention of the Eastern Depot.

  Poor Mr. Yang Jie was dismissed three times and his physical strength failed, and he actually died in prison.

  Wang Zhi, however, was not willing to let the matter drop and insisted on taking it to the extreme. He then had Yang Tai's father, Yang Wei, put to death by beheading.

  At this time, the West Factory had also become arrogant to the extreme. For example, Yang Yi's uncle Yang Shiwei, who was then the Minister of War (at the rank of zhengke), did not go through any legal procedures and did not have a single arrest warrant, but ran to his home to catch people in the middle of the night, causing a commotion. Chen Yin, a Hanlin lecturer who lived next door, heard the noise and was very angry. He took out the official tone and shouted loudly from behind the wall:

  "Aren't you afraid of the law, acting so recklessly?!"

  The person opposite him, Xi Zhongxun's agent, had a bit of humor and replied from behind the wall:

  "What kind of person are you, aren't you afraid of the Western Factory?!"

  Things got out of hand, but Wang Zhi didn't care at all. After all, Yang Ye himself wasn't a big deal either. However, the subsequent development of events completely shattered his illusions.

  He did not think that although Yang Rong had been dead for many years, he was highly respected and was a model of the civil officials group. His descendants got into trouble, how could the ministers bear to give up!

  The first to react was the Chief Grand Councilor, Shen Defu. He sent someone to investigate Yang Jue's case and summoned a meeting of the Grand Council to denounce Wang Zhi's crimes. He also wrote a memorial to Zhu Xizhen requesting that the Western Depot be abolished and Wang Zhi dismissed.

  "Do not expel Wang Zhi, and the world will soon be in great chaos!"

  Zhu Jianwen flew into a rage, although he was normally even-tempered, but seeing this sentence made him furious, and he shouted loudly:

  "Will using one eunuch also throw the world into great chaos?!"

  He was extremely excited and immediately called over the people beside him, conveying his oral decree:

  "Make the merchant understand what's going on, who exactly is behind him! Who is the mastermind!"

  Zhu Jian Shen rarely gets angry, but once he does, he won't let it go easily. According to reason, Shang Rou is in for a big trouble now.

  But he was lucky this time, because the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict was none other than Hai En, the senior eunuch in charge of ceremonies.

  Huai En, a native of Shandong Province, originally surnamed Dai. During the Xuande period, due to his father's involvement in a crime and subsequent confiscation of their property, he was forced into the palace as a eunuch and changed his name to Huai En. He served through three dynasties and eventually became the powerful head eunuch, the Taichang Temple Eunuch.

  He was a crucial figure who saved the situation several times and finally turned the tide, sending Zhu Youjian to the throne.

  Huairen set out as ordered. He had just received a lesson in Zhu Di's anger, but he did not expect that waiting for him in the Imperial Court was another even angrier person.

  When Wan came to the cabinet, Shang Xiang, Liu Ji and Wan An were all there. He immediately conveyed Zhu's oral instruction:

  "Who wrote this memorial and who instructed him?!"

  These were two very stern questions, indicating that the emperor was angry and the consequences would be severe. However, Shang Yan unexpectedly defied everyone's expectations, showing no fear whatsoever, but instead slammed his fist on the table and shouted loudly:

  "The memorial was written by me and also dictated by me, what's wrong with that! You can report back to the Emperor like this!"

  "Wang Zhi is just a eunuch, yet he dares to secretly arrest and execute court officials, and arbitrarily transfer border generals and palace personnel. If he is allowed to continue like this, the world will surely fall into chaos! Without eliminating Wang Zhi, where is the king's law?"

  The whole cabinet was stirred up by this excitement, and you could see the signs of a big disturbance in every word.

  At the critical moment, Huai'en remained calm and comforted Shang Lu and others. He immediately replied urgently to Zhu Jianshen, conveying Shang Lu's response, hoping that Zhu would consider it seriously.

  After listening to Wain's report, Zhu Jiande felt a hint of fear. He realized that Shang Tuo was right, and Wang Zhi had become a threatening figure who must be taken action against.

  Soon after, Zhu Di issued an edict, abolishing the Western Depot and banishing Wang Zhi back to the Imperial Stables.

  It was a tremendous victory for the cabinet, and Shang Xiang and others were overjoyed.

  But at the same time, Wang Zhi, the eunuch of the Imperial Stables, was not discouraged because he knew that the weak Zhu Jianshen would not last long and still needed him, and soon he would be back in his original position.

  Wang Zhi's oversight

  Wang Zhi is right.

  For Zhu Qizhen, whether it was right or wrong, loyal minister or treacherous minister, wasn't that important. The experiences of his childhood had left a deep impression on him - as long as he could live comfortably, that was all that mattered.

  So what he needs is not a military general who carves characters on his back, nor an official in the court who scolds people. He only likes one kind of person - obedient people.

  Wang Zhi was a obedient person, not only serving Zhu Xian deeply and honestly, but also providing various entertainment services. Such a person would naturally not be allowed to idle for too long by his superiors.

  Soon after, the West Factory reopened and Wang Zhi became the new factory director.

  Wang Zhi once again reached the pinnacle of his eunuch career.

  But soon after, he made a mistake, one that his predecessors had also made.

  Like Wang Zhen, Wang Zhi also had a dream of standing out with his sword and horse.

  As a eunuch, he should have worked hard at this promising job, but Mr. Wang Zhi insisted on showing off, and the problem was that the border was relatively calm at the time. In order to achieve his own goals, Wang Zhi implemented a new border defense policy: if you don't offend me, I will offend you.

  It turned out that Wang Zhi was indeed a scoundrel, and his so-called offensive was nothing more than killing the tribute envoys or harassing the elderly, women, and children when their masters were not at home. When the other side came to retaliate, he became a pacifist and fled in a hurry. However, after his repeated provocations, the Tartars and various tribes of Liaodong were really enraged and constantly caused trouble along the Ming dynasty's border.

  Zhu Jian Shen was furious, originally peaceful border suddenly heard the war report from all sides, he did not believe Wang Zhi's nonsense, but instead sent someone to investigate, only to find out that everything was caused by Wang Zhi, now he is enraged.

  Zhu Xian's comrade didn't have high demands, he just wanted his wife and children to live a warm life, spend two days in peace, and study alchemy or other chemical manufacturing when he had nothing else to do. However, Wang Zhi wouldn't let him be at ease, so he began to feel dissatisfied with Wang Zhi.

  This mood was soon noticed by two people, who decided to take advantage of the opportunity to thoroughly defeat Wang Zhi. The two were Li Ze Province and Shang Ming.

  The two of them decided to put aside their past prejudices and work together in good faith. Shangming looked for evidence of Wang Zhi's guilt, while Li Zisheng colluded with Wan An to file a complaint, each doing their part as they prepared for the final attack.

  In 1481, the opportunity arrived.

  This year, the Tartar tribes began to attack the border. Zhu Jianshen received the news and was very dissatisfied. He immediately summoned Wang Zhi to see him and bluntly told him:

  "You made your own trouble, you solve it yourself!"

  Wang Zhi didn't even dare to breathe and immediately went to Xuanfu at night, but when he arrived there, the others had already looted everything and left. Wang Zhi then hastily reported to the Emperor, saying that things were done here, and I'm ready to return.

  Comrade Zhu Xianzhen replied:

  They need you there very much, stay for a few more days.

  Shang Ming and Li Zicheng keenly sensed that Wang Zhi was about to be finished, and they immediately launched the final attack according to plan. In an instant, impeachment flew everywhere, and the original excellent eunuch and advanced model suddenly became despicable villains and backward examples. Zhu Jianshen immediately ordered the closure of the West Factory and demoted Wang Zhi to the Nanjing Imperial Horse Guard.

  Wang Zhi, who was once full of vigor and ambition, slunk away to Nanjing with his tail between his legs. Along the way, he had to beg for food and sleep under the stars. The local officials who used to welcome him with smiles were now nowhere to be seen. Wang Zhi no longer had any other ambitions, he just hoped to arrive in Nanjing safely and become a eunuch.

  However, China has always had the habit of severely punishing those who have fallen out of favor. Shang Ming felt that Wang Zhi was not suffering enough and reported another crime. As a result, Wang Zhi could no longer serve as the Nanjing Imperial Stables Supervisor and could only be a small attendant. He once again took up the cleaning tools he used when he first entered the palace and did miscellaneous chores under the oppression of his superior eunuchs.

  In the early years of Chenghua, he entered Beijing to become a Fengyu. In the 19th year of Chenghua, he was again dismissed as a Fengyu. For more than ten years, from obscurity to dominating the world and then back to his original form, everything was like a dream.

  The History of Ming does not record the year of death of this once-prominent figure Wang Zhi, which fully shows that he is no longer worth mentioning.

  Wang Zhi's departure was naturally the most welcome news for Shang Ming, as the East and West factions could finally be unified. But he didn't expect that the next unfortunate person would be himself.

  To say that the leader of the Xianpai sect, Li Zisheng, is really not a good friend. When impeaching Wang Zhi in those years, he had already prepared another spare copy for Shang Ming. Before crossing the river, he had already prepared to demolish the bridge.

  Soon, the officials turned their spearheads to Shang Ming, and they successively impeached his crimes. As a result, Shang Ming's door was finally abolished by the Lord of the Alliance - sweeping the floor at the Mausoleum of Filial Piety.

  The Xianpai and Houpai overthrew the once-dominant Jianpai, becoming the masters of the martial arts world. Of course, these two factions weren't anything good either. The Jianghu was still the same old Jianghu, but amidst all the darkness, a glimmer of hope began to sprout.

  It's laughable that the one who spread this rumor is actually Li Zicheng, because it was thanks to him that Shang Ming and Wang Zhi were driven away, allowing another person to take over as the head of the imperial guards, namely Huairen, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial department.

  Wei An seized the opportunity and arranged for his trusted aide, Chen Zhun, to take up the position of Dong Chang's factory head, fully grasping the power of surveillance. He carefully protected the spark of light, waiting for the right moment to arrive.

  Persevere to the end

  I have always believed that good people and bad people cannot be summarized by their profession or the amount of books they read. Many corrupt officials are well-read, while many eunuchs who are illiterate have a strong sense of justice. Zheng He is a notable example, and Huai En during the Chenghua period was also an outstanding representative among them.

  He was originally born into a noble family, with no worries about food and clothing, but he came to disaster, his father was dismissed from office, his family was confiscated, and he himself was sent into the palace, forcibly arranged to become a eunuch. The most ungrateful thing is that His Majesty the Emperor actually wanted him to be grateful and tearfully gave him the name "Huairen".

  Growing up in such an environment, Hui En would have been expected to turn out bad, but strangely enough, he turned out to be a thoroughly good man.

  In the Chenghua years when ghosts wailed and wolves howled, he and Shang Lu worked hard to support the overall situation.

  But Huairen was much smarter than Shang Ruo, he had long seen that the real culprit of this dark situation was not Liang Fang, nor Li Zisheng, nor even Wan Guifei, but the weak Zhu Jianshen.

  Because these five factions are all serving the emperor, Chun faction provides him with chemical drugs, Xian faction prays for his blessings, Jian faction spies on information for him, Hou faction takes care of his daily life, and Hun faction flatters him. As long as Zhu Qizhen is still alive, this farce will continue to be performed.

  So when Shang Mou's heart was cold and he retired home, Huai En still persisted because at this time he had found the only way to break through the black curtain - Zhu Yuqiu.

  He had kept the secret with the people in the harem and often went to see this poor child. When Zhang Min spoke out, he took the initiative to stand up and testify for him. He witnessed Zhu Youjian's growth and firmly believed that this young man who had experienced hardships would become a wise and capable ruler in his heart.

  He didn't end up disappointing.

  But at this time, heaven seemed to think that Zhu Yuqiu's tribulations were not enough, so it arranged for the child a final and most fatal test.

  It all started with a conversation:

  Chenghua 21 years (1485), March.

  Zhu Zhen deep once again came to the inner warehouse of the harem to check his private money. Due to being busy with important work such as alchemy, he hadn't been there for a long time. However, when he opened the door, the scene in front of him shocked him greatly.

  He immediately ordered:

  "Call Liang Fang over!"

  Li Fang came, Zhu Xian didn't say a word, just let him take a look at the warehouse door by himself.

  Inside is empty and hollow.

  More than ten years ago, this place was still filled with gold and silver treasures, a simple little girl worked silently here. Now it has become an empty building with no one left.

  Zhu Jian Sheng pointed at the warehouse and said coldly: These are all paid by you, aren't they?

  According to reason, when the alliance leader gets angry, Liang should have lowered his head and admitted his guilt. However, this gentleman actually retorted with a sentence:

  "This money is used to repair temples and palaces, and pray for blessings from the Emperor."

  Spent money but didn't acknowledge it, treating the emperor as a scapegoat!

  The leader of the alliance was furious, his face red with rage, but after holding back for half a day, he suddenly came out with an unbelievable sentence:

  "I don't care about you, someone will settle accounts with you in the future!"

  This sentence is similar to what primary school students usually say when they fight: "Wait for me, I'll go home and get someone to beat you up!"

  The leader of the alliance has been reduced to this state, and it can be said that he has been fooled to the extreme.

  Zhu Jian Sheng walked away in a huff, but in Liang Fang's ears, the meaning of this sentence changed:

  "I won't bother with you, but in the future, my son will come and deal with you!"

  Alright, since it's like this, let's first resolve your son's issue.

  Li Fang understood that in order to achieve this goal, he must get someone's help, so he ran to the harem and found Wan Guifei.

  Since the failure ten years ago, Wan Guifei has been silent for a long time, but her hatred for Zhu Yuqiu has not dissipated at all. Liang Fang's suggestion reignited her desire for revenge. More importantly, she killed Zhu Yuqiu's mother, and once Zhu Yuqiu ascends to the throne, she will not have a good ending.

  We can't wait any longer, let's take this opportunity to thoroughly overthrow him, otherwise we will definitely die without a place to bury our bodies in the future!

  That year, she was fifty-five years old, he was thirty-eight years old, and Zhu Yuqiu was fifteen years old.

  Although she was already over fifty years old, Empress Wan's pillow wind was still strong and vigorous. Under her repeated urging, Zhu Zhanji finally made up his mind.

  On the eve of making a decision, Zhu Jiande made a crucial decision and found Huai En to discuss the execution issue.

  "I want to abolish the crown prince, what do you think is the best way to do it."

  Kneeling on the ground, Huai'en heard this sentence, but did not speak, only took off his own hat and bowed to Zhu Jiande.

  Zhu Jian Shen waited for a long time, but there was no response.

  "Why aren't you speaking?"

  "Please, Your Majesty, kill me." a low voice replied.

  "Why?" Zhu Jian Shen was surprised.

  "I will not follow Your Majesty's edict."

  "Are you courting death?" Zhu Jiande was furious.

  Wayne raised his head and said loudly:

  "If I don't do it today, Your Majesty will kill me. But if I do it, in the future all people under heaven will want to kill me!"

  "Even if it means dying ten thousand times, I will not do it."

  Zhu Jian Shen was shocked, this usually respectful old eunuch actually came up with such a move. He stared at Hua En with an even more ferocious gaze, but found it had no effect. Hua En's calm eyes didn't show the slightest panic.

  Zhu Zhen suddenly realized that although he was an emperor who controlled the lives and deaths of millions of people, he could not defeat the person in front of him.

  If one is not afraid of death, then there is nothing to fear.

  He had no choice but to say to Huai En:

  "You're no longer needed here, go back and guard the spirit!"

  What is Zhongdu, it's the old home of Zhu, Fengyang, which was already quite desolate at that time. Huai'en didn't make a sound or beg for mercy, she just kowtowed and thanked him before leaving, leaving behind a helpless Zhu Xian.

  However, Zhu Youwen's persistence did not move Zhu Zhen, and under the constant instigation of Wan Guifei, he still decided to abolish the crown prince.

  Things have come to this point, and it's really helpless. Mr. Zhu Yuqiu can only shout at the sky:

  "Heaven wants me dead!"

  Maybe he really did shout, because soon after that, God couldn't bear it anymore and intervened.

  In the 21st year of Chenghua, in April, there was an earthquake at Mount Tai.

  Although ancient people didn't have widespread scientific knowledge about earthquakes, they were still a common occurrence and nothing out of the ordinary. But this earthquake was really not normal.

  It's worth noting that this earthquake occurred at Mount Tai, the place where ancient emperors held ceremonies to ascend to heaven. Only Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han were qualified to go up there. Emperor Guangwu of Han dared to go up once, but was scolded by others.

  Zhu Yuanzhang was poor and white-haired when he conquered the world. Even those who feared neither heaven nor earth did not dare to do this job.

  In modern terms, this mountain has important political significance.

  Zhu Jian Shen was a bit flustered and immediately sent someone to calculate the divination, to see where the problem lay. The result was that the diviner drummed up a conclusion after half a day:

  "Should be in the East Palace."

  This means that Mount Tai is shaking because the Eastern Palace is unstable and the Old Man in Heaven is angry.

  Zhu Jian Shen immediately stopped his actions upon hearing this. He still wanted to live forever, he could offend his wife but not the heavens.

  Thus, Zhu Youqian overcame the last hurdle with the help of heaven.

  But at this time, the darkness of the imperial court had reached an unprecedented level. Although Zhu Zhen didn't abolish the crown prince, he also didn't manage state affairs anymore. Liang Fang was unscrupulously corrupt and took bribes, Li Zicheng was unscrupulously appointing his trusted followers, causing chaos in the imperial court, while Wan An was simply indulging in a life of luxury.

  The five major factions lost all control and started their wanton madness, but all of this was just the last darkness before dawn, for light is about to arrive.

  In the spring of 1487, Zhu Zhen was dealt the greatest blow of his life: Wan Guifei died in the palace.

  The woman who had accompanied him for thirty-eight years finally left, no matter the wind and rain, she always guarded beside this person, watching him grow from a two-year-old child to a forty-year-old middle-aged man, never interrupted, nor betrayed.

  "I will always be by your side accompanying you."

  For thirty-eight years, she kept her promise.

  She isn't some kind of irredeemable bad person, it's just that the flames of jealousy have completely destroyed her rationality. For her, Zhu Jian has become an indispensable part of her life and she can't tolerate anyone taking him away.

  Baseness, cruelty, and venom are not her nature, but they are the price she must pay for her love.

  Zhu's collapse was thorough, decades had passed, the elixir of immortality had long destroyed his body, but the death of Wan Guifei was even more fatal to his spirit. He ascended to the throne and became the emperor ruling the empire, but his soul still belonged to that lonely and helpless child over thirty years ago, needing her care.

  The time to bid farewell has finally arrived, you may have left first, but you won't be lonely for long, I will soon come to accompany you. After decades of palace struggles, in fact, you don't understand that even if you didn't have children, no one can replace your position in my heart. The throne and power are not important to me, nor am I interested, all I want is your company, nothing more.

  Let's end it and go back to where everything started. At that time, in that place, there was only you and me.

  In August of the 23rd year of Chenghua (1497), Zhu Jianshen fell ill and died ten days later at the age of 41.

  Zhu Zhen was a peculiar emperor, under whose rule the empire was overrun with evil and darkness, but he himself was not cruel or obtuse. On the contrary, his character was mild, and he could understand reason and distinguish between loyalty and treachery. Such strange phenomena appeared only because he had a fatal flaw:

  Weakness.

  He does not punish the corrupt officials who embezzle his wealth, nor does he rebuke or scold his ministers, because he fears power, fears punishment, and fears everything. In the end, he is just a man who wants to live a peaceful life.

  He should have been a simple and honest farmer or a decent small businessman, but was forced to choose the profession of emperor, which for him is an unmitigated tragedy.

  Zhu Qizhen was neither a good emperor nor a good person. He was just a weak man, nothing more.