Chapter 7: Struggle or Endure?

  Zhu Houzhao

  Zhu Houzhao, the Zhengde Emperor of Ming

  Now let's adjust our breath, one of the most capable brothers in the Ming Dynasty for three hundred years is finally going to appear.

  It is said that when the princes of the Qing dynasty were studying and not paying attention, their teachers would immediately scold them with a sentence:

  "Do you want to learn Zhu Houzhao?!"

  The Zhu Houzhao who was regarded as a negative model by people hundreds of years later is not wronged, just from the perspective of learning attitude, he is really too poor.

  Zhu Youjian was busy with everything, remembered everything, but missed this treasure of a son. Zhu Youjian had bad luck, only gave birth to two sons, and one died of illness, leaving only Zhu Houzhao behind. Naturally, he was treated as a precious gem, and since his older brother had an unfortunate childhood, he was afraid that his own son would suffer, so no matter what happened, he indulged him, rarely scolding him, let alone hitting him.

  This is probably a common problem for all fathers in the world.

  Zhu Houzhao grew up in such an environment, fearless of heaven and earth, wanting whatever he wanted, and no one managed him, which was very natural, not even his father managed him, who dared to manage?

  Innumerable prodigal sons were thus made.

  But Zhu Houzhao cannot be considered a real prodigal son. According to historical records, he was highly intelligent and understood right from wrong, but this elder brother had a lifelong hobby - playing.

  Play, play however you like, turn over and repeat, heaven and earth turned upside down, ghosts wailing and gods howling, all for the sake of one word - play.

  Please remember this premise, and only if you understand these can you have sufficient ideological preparation for the following events.

  Zhu Houzhao spent his days in indulgence until he was fifteen, when one day the palace was filled with wailing and he was informed that his father's condition had taken a turn for the worse, and that he, Zhu Houzhao, would be the next emperor.

  Mr. Zhu Houzhao was not very clear about the meaning of this sentence, in his view, it was just an honorary title, and he still lived as usual, nothing changed.

  However, trouble soon arose. Liu Jian, the Grand Secretary and Minister of the Cabinet, could no longer bear it and submitted a memorial hoping that Zhu Houzhao would stop playing around and behave like an emperor. He also listed several crimes committed by Zhu Houzhao in his memorial, such as not sitting in the main hall, wandering around to watch the excitement, riding horses and sailing boats at will, eating randomly, etc.

  Are these charges?

  It should be said that for Zhu Houzhao, these are indeed crimes, but Liu Jian has sufficient reasons:

  It's better to stay at home, why run around everywhere. What if you get hit by falling tiles from the sky, that's very dangerous. If something happens to the three chiefs and two deputy chiefs, what will become of the great Ming dynasty?

  Riding a horse is also not safe, what if you fall off? As for rowing a boat, it's even more unthinkable, since back then there were no life jackets, and falling into the water would be disastrous. For the sake of the great Ming dynasty, it's best to avoid such dangerous activities altogether.

  Don't eat things indiscriminately. Although poisonous rice and rotten peanuts have not been widespread, if you accidentally eat something bad for your stomach, it will be a disaster...

  Roughly speaking, Liu Jian spoke with a bitter tone for a very long time, but Zhu Houzhao only had one idea in mind:

  It's all nonsense!

  When he was still a prince, no one dared to control him. Now that he has become the emperor, this old man actually dares to interfere with trivial matters again!

  But this old man is after all the number one person left by Lao Da, and cannot be offended.

  Then Zhu Houzhao put on a loyal and honest expression and said sincerely:

  "I understand now and I will definitely correct it from now on."

  But naive Liu Jian didn't know that if he believed Mr. Zhu Houzhao's words, he would even celebrate the Spring Festival incorrectly.

  After that, not only did he not see Zhu Houzhao's brother hanging his neck and stabbing his thigh, working hard, but he didn't even attend the early court sessions, let alone the noon court sessions. The whole day was spent without even finding this old brother's shadow.

  It's now the turn of Minister of Personnel Ma Wensheng and Minister of National Defense Liu Daxia to take action. They had long felt that something was amiss, and in order to restrict the actions of this young emperor as soon as possible and guide him onto the right path, they prepared to make a desperate effort.

  Soon after, both men petitioned Zhu Houzhao and indicated that if the emperor did not adopt their opinions, they would continue to petition until the emperor corrected his ways.

  Zhu Houzhao finally encountered the first test of his life. At 16 years old, he had never seen two ministers with such a desperate attitude, and for the first time, he felt intimidated.

  But then a voice beside him said:

  Your Majesty, you don't have to obey them, you have the power to command them!

  Zhu Houzhao happily accepted the suggestion, and immediately told the two ministers: "You don't need to submit any more memorials, because I won't let you work anymore. You're laid off, pack up your things and go home to enjoy your old age!"

  Ma Wensheng and Liu Daxia never expected such a result, not only did they fail to intimidate, but were also counter-attacked. After working hard for decades, it ended up like this, heartbroken, they both resigned and went home.

  The person who made that sound is called Liu Jin.

  Liu Jin, a native of Shaanxi Province, was born on an unknown date. This is also a normal phenomenon, as families with literate members who could keep track of birthdays generally would not have their children become eunuchs.

  This Mr. Liu was originally surnamed Tan, a very strong and brave person, why is that? Because he is self-castrated.

  Of course, his motivation for self-mutilation was not because he picked up a martial arts manual like the Huāhuā Bǎodiǎn, but simply because he wanted to find a job. To cut himself with a knife for the sake of finding employment, such a person is naturally very strong-willed.

  What's even more ridiculous is that becoming a eunuch doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll get a job, and back then there were many people who wanted to become eunuchs. Without some connections, you wouldn't be able to get in, and if you couldn't get into the palace, what was cut off wouldn't grow back. Anyone who dared to make this kind of risky investment had to have quite a bit of guts.

  This lucky eunuch-to-be was favored by a eunuch named Liu, who arranged for him to enter the palace, after which he changed his surname to Liu.

  To be fair, Liu Jin was a eunuch with great aspirations. After entering the palace, he studied diligently and worked hard to quickly attain an elementary level of cultural knowledge, which was already rare in the palace. As a result, he was chosen as one of Zhu Houzhao's attendants.

  From Wang Zhen to Liu Jin, their paths to success remind us that no matter when and where, even if one becomes a eunuch, one should still persist in learning. As the saying goes: knowledge changes fate.

  When Liu Jin saw Zhu Houzhao, who didn't love reading and spent his days wandering around, he realized that a rare opportunity had arisen. As long as he could coax this playful young man, letting him play to his heart's content and satisfying his desires, he could get everything he wanted!

  Of course, Liu Jin was not the only clever person. Seven others also discovered this shortcut to success. The eight of them were thus granted a very prestigious title - Eight Tigers.

  Zhu Houzhao soon discovered that, compared to those old men who were stern and strict every day, the eunuchs around him made him feel more comfortable. So he gave them full trust, handed over the power of the palace to them, and even allowed them to participate in politics and grasp state power.

  With the support of the emperor, Liu Jin began to expand his own power. This Mr. Liu was indeed a top-notch intelligent person. He fully absorbed the experience and lessons of the previous eunuchs and stretched out his hands into a new field - the civil official group.

  Mr. Liu was well aware that, although he had gained favor, he was ultimately just a eunuch. To maintain long-term stability and development, he had to win over several high-ranking officials. Liu Jian and Li Dongyang would naturally not be swayed by him, but he knew it wouldn't be difficult to find a few weak-willed scholars who could be won over.

  After careful observation, he found a suitable candidate - Fuyang Shilang Jiao Fang. After contacting for a period of time, both sides deepened their understanding, formed a consensus, and decided to collude with each other from now on.

  Jiao Fang, a native of Biyang, Henan Province, was a jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) and also a Hanlin scholar. However, if you think he is just a weak and timid bookworm, then you are greatly mistaken. In those days when Wan An was in charge of the Grand Council, the Grand Scholar Peng Hua recommended candidates for promotion to xueshi (a high-ranking official position), but Jiao Fang's name was left out. Upon hearing this news, he immediately declared that if he couldn't become a xueshi, he would wait with a knife on Chang'an Avenue and not rest until he had killed Peng Hua.

  Peng Hua heard the news and was so frightened that he added Jiao Fang's name to it, and only then did the matter come to an end.

  This Jiao brother is so capable, before becoming a jinshi, he was probably also mixed in the Taoist way, and being pulled into the gang was indeed a matter of course. Jiao Fang thus became a core member of Liu Jin's criminal group. Considering that relying on eunuchs after all is not a glorious thing, Jiao Fang did not publicly reveal his identity, everything was carried out in secret.

  Liu Jin's actions finally alerted the civil officials, and the departure of Ma Wensheng and Liu Daxia also made them thoroughly aware of the impending danger. They had to take action, as it is better to strike first than to suffer the consequences later!

  Different choices

  Liu Jian is a seasoned politician, and his years of experience in the officialdom have told him that if he doesn't take control of the situation now, the consequences will be unthinkable. And wanting to get rid of the "Eight Tigers" would be absolutely impossible relying solely on the cabinet.

  To achieve final victory, it is necessary to mobilize the full strength of the literary and official clique and launch a mortal attack.

  With this understanding, he found Han Wen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and set up a meticulous plan.

  The next day, the attack began.

  On this day, Zhu Houzhao received a memorial, he casually flipped through the content, but was immediately frightened out of his wits!

  This memorial not only listed his various misdeeds since ascending to the throne, like an account book, but also for the first time boldly pointed the spearhead directly at Liu Jin and others, indicating that they could no longer tolerate it and must immediately kill the "Eight Tigers". If Zhu Houzhao did not execute them, they would never give up.

  The author of this memorial is the famous literary leader Li Mengyang. He is indeed a man of great reputation, with an extremely high level of writing skill, quoting classics and referencing precedents, in just a few thousand words he scolded Liu Jin and others into eternal sinners and social trash.

  But what Zhu Houzhao feared was not the content of this memorial, nor its author. He had seen many such things before and was used to them. What he really dreaded was the signature at the end of the memorial - the six boards and nine ministers.

  Everyone knows the six departments, and the so-called nine ministers are the highest officials of the six departments, namely the six Shangshu, plus the highest officials of the Ducha Yuan, Tongzheng Si, and Dalisi, totaling nine people, collectively known as the nine ministers.

  In plain terms, this move was a mass impeachment by the entire cabinet of the government, threatening the Emperor to accede to their conditions and demands.

  Liu Jian was indeed an old hand, he saw through the superficiality of Liu Jin and others at a glance, and did not entangle with them. Instead, he launched the various departments of the Grand Council to directly intimidate the Emperor. He had already made his calculations, although this emperor was making a big fuss, after all, he was just a child, and could not withstand the intimidation of adults. As long as he put on a desperate posture, he would obey.

  Liu Jian's idea was right, this move thoroughly frightened Zhu Houzhao. Not long after he came to power, the people below collectively made trouble. If their demands were not met, what if they went on a collective strike? How could one person sing this play alone?

  He is about to give in.

  Liu Jin and others learned the news, scared out of their wits. They never thought that Liu Jian would be so ruthless, taking lives as soon as he took action. Eight people immediately gathered together to discuss countermeasures, but due to limited IQ, they couldn't come up with a solution after half a day's discussion, and could only cry in despair.

  Zhu Houzhao's situation wasn't much better, and compared to Liu Jian, he was still too young. Faced with the threat, he had no choice but to send Wang Yue, the supervisor of the Imperial Guard, to the Grand Council to see a few senior officials, in order to determine one thing - "What do you want to do before you will stop?"

  Wang Yue hastily ran to the Imperial Cabinet to pay his respects to the three seniors, but unexpectedly saw two different reactions.

  He carefully asked for the opinions of several cabinet ministers. Before he had finished asking, Liu Jian slammed his fist on the table and expressed his opinion:

  "There's nothing more to say, just capture and kill those eight slaves!"

  Xie Qian, who was already quite eloquent, spoke bluntly and loudly:

  "For country and people, we can only kill them!"

  However, Li Dongyang remained silent. In the face of Liu Jian and Xie Qian's astonished gaze, he slowly stated that the eunuchs who broke the law should be severely punished.

  Li Dongyang's strange behavior at this time did not attract the attention of Liu Jian and Xie Qian, they put all their attention on Wang Yue, waiting for the attitude of the Minister of Rites.

  It's also Liu Jin's bad luck that Wang Yue hated him the most. Everyone should know that the competition in the eunuch industry is very fierce, and towards this fellow who snatched food from his bowl, Wang Yue naturally had no good feelings.

  He fully accepted the opinions of the three cabinet ministers and immediately returned to the palace to convey the opinions of the inner court to Zhu Houzhao.

  Zhu Houzhao did not expect the cabinet to be so ruthless, but he did not want to drive away these obedient eunuchs. Instead, he sent another person to negotiate with the cabinet again. This time, he lowered his bottom line: agreeing to expel the eight people, but hoping to be able to delay execution for a period of time.

  The cabinet's response was simple: no way.

  At the same time, correct Zhu Houzhao's statement - it is not driving away, but killing.

  Zhu Houzhao was truly at his wit's end and could only continue sending the eunuchs of the Department of Ceremonial to negotiate with the Grand Council.

  At this time, the "Eight Tigers" already knew the severity of the situation and were terrified. They even took the initiative to find the cabinet and expressed their willingness to leave for Nanjing on their own and never interfere with court politics again.

  The cabinet didn't take them seriously from the very beginning.

  Liu Jin and the other seven people all cried, they were suddenly overcome with grief.

  It was a day of hustle and bustle, the eunuchs in the palace hurriedly rushed to the cabinet and then hastily returned to the palace. Zhu Houzhao was also helpless, the "Eight Tigers" had completely lost their former prestige, and they could only anxiously wait for the fate that was about to be decided.

  Unexpectedly, a debate broke out in the cabinet at the same time.

  Liu Jian, the initiator of the plan, seeing victory in sight, convened a meeting with the cabinet and officials from various departments to discuss the next step.

  Liu Jian's impulsive nature was indeed notorious, as soon as the meeting started, he slammed his fist on the table, as if he wanted to devour Liu Jin and others, Xie Qian and Han Wen were also extremely agitated, determined to kill the "Eight Tigers".

  At this time, Li Dongyang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up, but what he said was indeed a surprise to everyone present.

  Li Dongyang said that as long as the emperor could keep a distance from and drive away the "Eight Tigers", it would be enough, there was no need to necessarily kill them, otherwise things might change.

  His suggestion caused dissatisfaction from Liu Jian and many others, with the people present unanimously considering him too weak and ignoring his suggestions.

  Li Dongyang didn't say much more, he just let out a soft sigh. In his view, these angry people had overlooked an important issue, but he was already powerless to do anything about it.

  Thus, the cabinet decided on its final policy: get rid of the "Eight Tigers" and refuse to give in.

  But Liu Jian was very clear that it would not be easy to get Zhu Houzhao's approval for this policy, in order to achieve his goal, he decided to seek the help of one person - Wang Yue.

  During the negotiation, Liu Jian keenly felt Wang Yue's hostility towards Liu Jin. Such details naturally did not escape the eyes of experienced Liu Jian. He immediately sent someone to contact Wang Yue, hoping to get his support.

  This proposal was exactly what Wang Yue wanted, and he immediately mobilized the remaining eunuchs of the Imperial Bodyguard to persuade Zhu Houzhao.

  After a whole day of hustle and bustle, Zhu Houzhao was exhausted. At the age of 16, he was no match for these old foxes who had been in the officialdom for many years. So when Wang Yue and others came to persuade him, he was already on the verge of collapse.

  "Alright then, take them away, I agree."

  Zhu Houzhao finally compromised, and Wang Yue completed his mission. He sent someone to inform Liu Jian that the sky was already late today, and they would take action early tomorrow morning to thoroughly eliminate the "Eight Tigers".

  Liu Jian finally relaxed after being tense all day, because all the problems would be solved tomorrow and he could have a good sleep tonight.

  When I was in elementary school, our teacher repeatedly taught us a sentence: Today's work should be finished today.

  What Liu Jian didn't know was that at the meeting, apart from the emotionally agitated majority and the hesitant minority, there was also a person with ulterior motives who was calmly observing. This person was Jiao Fang.

  Latent

  Liu Jin's efforts finally paid off, and upon receiving the news, Jiao Fang immediately told the "Eight Tigers" about the plan formulated by the cabinet.

  When people are driven to a dead end, they will think of ways even if there is no way.

  Tomorrow morning someone will come to arrest me, and escape is impossible. Under the sky, everything belongs to the king, where can I run? Things have reached this point, I'll be frank!

  Liu Jin understood that now there was only one way to save them. So, he and the remaining seven people went into the palace overnight to meet their last hope - Zhu Houzhao.

  As soon as they saw Zhu Houzhao, the eight people immediately perked up, energized, and burst into loud wailing. At this critical moment, all eight of them cried with utmost sincerity and professionalism, leaving Zhu Houzhao bewildered, and he had to ask them to calm down for a moment so that he could finish speaking.

  Liu Jin finally spoke up, pointing his spearhead at Wang Yue and saying that Wang Yue had colluded with the civil officials to plot against them.

  Liu Jin was indeed a clever man, he did not directly accuse the civil officials who attacked them because he was very clear about Zhu Houzhao's psychology. For this young man, the civil officials had never been his friends, and he trusted the eunuchs by his side the most. Therefore, Wang Yue, who had a deep foundation, was their most feared enemy. As long as Wang Yue was classified as one of the civil officials, Zhu Houzhao would naturally stand with them.

  Zhu Houzhao was moved, he originally hated those civil officials extremely, but only because of the situation, he succumbed to their coercion. After listening to Liu Jin's words, he realized that he was in such danger, and even Wang Yue listened to the command of the civil officials. How would he spend his future days?

  But what can I do?

  Liu Jin saw through his mind and added a crucial sentence:

  "The world belongs to Your Majesty, whatever Your Majesty decides, who dares to disobey!"

  Zhu Houzhao finally came to his senses, realizing that the final say had always been in his hands. Being an emperor and being a crown prince were actually no different, as long as he was willing, he could keep playing forever.

  He immediately ordered the dismissal of Wang Yue and others from their posts as Ceremonial Directors, with Liu Jin taking over, while the Eastern Depot and palace military affairs were led by "Eight Tigers" Gu Dayong and Zhang Yong.

  It all ended like this, Liu Jin completed the reversal and became the final winner.

  Liu Jin fully understood the spirit of time being precious. He did not wait until the next day, but instead arrested Wang Yue and others overnight and sent them to Nanjing.

  Then he put on the clothes of Shang Shi Jian, quietly waiting for the arrival of dawn.

  The next day.

  Excited Liu Jian and Xie Qian rushed to the imperial court, with the emperor's approval and Wang Yue's reception, they were full of confidence, ready to hear the final verdict of these eunuchs.

  But what they eventually heard was several unexpected personnel appointments, and then they saw the triumphant Liu Gonggong, the chief eunuch.

  Liu Jian returned home in low spirits and immediately submitted his resignation to Zhu Houzhao, along with Li Dongyang and Xie Qian.

  Soon, Liu Jian and Xie Qian's resignation requests were approved, while Li Dongyang was retained.

  That night, Jiao Fang told Liu Jin everything that had happened at the meeting, including Liu Jian and Xie Qian's determination and Li Dongyang's hesitation.

  Liu Jin made a judgment based on this point. In his view, Li Dongyang, who was hesitating, was standing on his side.

  In this way, the three-person cabinet of the Hongzhi era finally came to an end. "Duan" and "Kan" left, while "Mou" stayed behind.

  The day of farewell had arrived, and Li Dongyang hosted a banquet for his two old partners in the suburbs of Beijing. At this final banquet, Li Dongyang was overcome with sorrow and burst into tears. However, the other two people did not have the same feelings as him.

  Liu Jian finally couldn't bear it anymore, he stood up and seriously said to Li Dongyang:

  "Why are you crying! Don't cry! If only you had been resolute at that time, you could be walking with us today!"

  Li Dongyang was speechless.

  Xie Qian also stood up and gazed at Li Dongyang with a contemptuous look, then left the seat with Liu Jian, not looking at him again.

  Li Dongyang silently watched the two people's backs, raised the remaining wine in his cup and spilled it on the ground.

  Let me offer you another cup of wine, for once you leave the Yangguan Pass, there will be no more familiar faces.

  Sometimes it takes more courage to live humbly than to die heroically.