Chapter 1: Revenge for Injustice, Retribution for Hatred

  Zhu Qizhen biography

  "Change of weather"

  The former prisoner Zhu Qizhen finally returned to his palace, eight years ago he set out from here, fell into captivity and became a prisoner, eight years later he returned here, continuing to be his emperor.

  The history books of China are really magical, even the most humiliating events can be described in a dignified manner. Mr. Zhu Qizhen was once a prisoner of war, a hostage and an inmate, suffering all kinds of hardships and tribulations. However, according to historical records, he was "on a northern expedition" or "retreating for recuperation". In modern terms, it can be said that he went out to inspect the people's livelihood, was sent down to the border regions to experience life with the common folk, and coordinated ethnic relations.

  Of course, one's own losses are one's own to know, and Mr. Zhu Qizhen can only swallow his teeth. But in any case, this time he is also "Hu Han San is back again".

  But what is most important for Hu Han San at present is not the national policy, but to appease his "Hometown Troupe".

  Zhu Qizhen was indeed a man of his word. On the second day after ascending to the throne, he gave generous rewards to the members of the "Returning to the Countryside Group".

  "Still Hometown Group" member Xu Youzhen: entered the cabinet, Minister of War.

  "Still Hometown Society" No. 2 member Shi Heng: Viscount Fēng Zhōngguó.

  "Still Hometown Society" member Zhang Ke: Sealed as Taiping Marquis (noble title).

  "Huixiangtuan" member Cao Jixiang: Master of Ceremonies, Commander-in-Chief of the three major camps.

  Merit and virtue are complete; what greater goodness is there?

  According to our usual common sense, since it is a "hometown gang", they must have done something murderous and arsonous, which is inevitable. After all, they are not a tourist group or a visiting relatives group. Xu Youzhen and others also remembered the purpose of the "hometown gang" and did several bad things with lightning speed.

  On the same day, Xu Youzhen ordered the arrest of Yu Qian and Wang Wen, throwing them into prison. For Xu Youzhen, he had endured for too long, and if not now, when?

  Then there was a major reshuffle of the cabinet, and Chen Xun, Jiang Yuan, Shang Rong, Xiao and others were all dismissed. Xu Youzhen was very considerate, fearing that his rivals Chen Xun and Jiang Yuan would not be able to find work after losing their jobs, so he specially arranged for someone to take care of them and gave them a job to continue serving the country (being sent to Liaodong as soldiers).

  Of course, some of those who were punished also got what they deserved. For example, Lu Zhong in the Golden Dagger case, this brother betrayed his friends and didn't gain anything good from it, but now he's gotten his retribution - beheaded.

  There was also Gao Ping, who had suggested that Zhu Qizhen cut down trees and let Zhu Qiyu sunbathe. At the time, he had taken advantage of Zhu Qiyu's openness and now his head was also chopped off. In fact, apart from cutting down trees indiscriminately, he hadn't done anything else.

  It seems that those who destroy the environment will eventually come to no good end.

  After the cabinet was swept away by the "Returning to the Countryside Group", only Gao Gu remained, and so Xu Youzhen again arranged for his trusted followers Xu Bin and Xue Xuan to enter the cabinet, thereby completely controlling the cabinet and the imperial court's powers.

  At this time, the cabinet had four people including Xu Youzhen. Possibly because Xu Youzhen thought there were too few people, in February he summoned another "one of his own" Li Xian, the Right Servant of the Ministry of Justice, to enter the cabinet.

  But Xu Youzhen never expected that this person named Li Xian was not his confidant. When Xu Youzhen, Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang were arrogant and invincible, he kept silent, quietly observing the actions of these "still village teams" who seized power, looking for their weaknesses and contradictions, waiting for the opportunity to come.

  No matter what happened later, at least at that time, Xu Youzhen and others were indeed invincible. Especially Xu Youzhen, who spared no effort in striking down all those who opposed him, and the most notorious case he directed was the famous Yu Qian case.

  Xu Youzhen had thought that as long as he was in power, killing Yu Qian would be easy, but now he realized that getting rid of Yu Qian wasn't such an easy matter.

  The reason is that he had no reason to kill Yu Qian.

  Yu Qian was a clean and honest person, with great prestige and no bad record, it's really hard to find any excuse to bring him down!

  But in the end, Jian's deep-seated hatred gave him an idea.

  Yu Qian was the main minister who supported Zhu Qizhen, and also his trusted advisor. However, the person Zhu Qizhen hated the most was his brother Zhu Qiyu. Xu Youzhen decided to use this point to deepen Zhu Qizhen's dislike for Yu Qian. At the same time, Xu Youzhen fabricated a lie that Yu Qian intentionally invited an external vassal king to come to the capital city to take over the throne and firmly opposed Zhu Xian's succession.

  After making these preparations, he went to see Zhu Qizhen, who in his view would certainly agree to kill Yu Qian.

  But things developed far beyond his expectations.

  Xu Youzhen spoke out before Zhu Qizhen, saying that Yu Qian was unwilling to negotiate and wanted to enthrone a new emperor, with the intention of putting the Taishang Huang in a desperate situation. Such a person should be killed quickly, etc., etc.

  However, Zhu Qizhen just smiled and shook his head, saying to Xu Youzhen: "Yu Qian has made contributions." (Qian indeed had merit)

  Xu Youzhen was stunned.

  He underestimated Zhu Qizhen, this Taishang Huang had experienced many storms and was well-versed in human nature. He clearly understood Xu Youzhen's motives and knew that he was doing it to avenge his personal grievances, but wanted to use someone else's knife to kill him, letting him bear the evil name of killing a meritorious minister. This kind of losing business, how could he be willing to do it?

  Xu Youzhen was anxious. If he left Yu Qian, once he revived in the future, his own life would be in danger. In a state of urgency, he thought of another reason to kill Yu Qian.

  He believed that as long as he said this reason out loud, Yu Qian would definitely die!

  Yu Qian must die!

  Xu Youzhen raised his head and said loudly: "Not killing Yu Qian, this move is nameless!"

  Zhu Qizhen was startled awake, and he suddenly realized that Xu Youzhen was right.

  The so-called "Chongwen Gate Incident" was a coup, and there was no justifiable reason for it. According to Xu Youzhen, Yu Qian and other officials were planning to enthrone an external vassal king as emperor, which was opposed to himself. In this situation, if he did not kill Yu Qian and establish a typical conspiracy group, and make it clear to the whole country that his actions were forced and justifiable, the legitimacy of the "Chongwen Gate Incident" would no longer exist.

  There's no choice but to bear this infamous name.

  Yu Qian, you must die!

  Xu Youzhen smiled, knowing that the emperor had already made up his mind to kill him. However, what the emperor did not expect was that he had actually fallen into his own trap. The so-called "Yu Qian must die" was just a complex logical trap, and this trap was able to take effect completely because it was based on Yu Qian's lie about preparing to establish a vassal king as emperor.

  It was indeed a complex logical trap, until two years later, another clever person Li Xian finally revealed the subtlety to Zhu Qizhen.

  Soon after, Wang Wen and Yu Qian in the prison both knew their crimes - welcoming the outer vassal. This was an extremely serious crime, not only would they be beheaded, but also their families would be exterminated. As soon as Wang Wen heard this, he became anxious, jumping up to defend himself.

  Wang Wen was very confident, he had sufficient reasons to defend himself, because the so-called welcoming of the king must first use the golden plate to summon the king into the capital, and neither he nor Yu Qian had moved the golden plate, so in his view, this crime name was easy to refute.

  But Yu Qian didn't move at all, and just smiled at Wang Wen saying: "This is what Shi Hen and the others have instructed them to do, what's the use of arguing!"

  Things turned out as Yu Qian had expected. The presiding judge of the case found no evidence and had no choice but to ask Xu Youzhen for instructions on how to deal with this difficult problem.

  Xu Youzhen is indeed a veteran politician, he said something without thinking, and solved the problem. I guess he himself did not expect that this sentence would become a famous saying for thousands of years, and be despised by later generations.

  "Although there is no visible trace, the intention is there."

  The officials condensed his meaning and distilled it into two more sinister words - "intent to" - and finally convicted him on that basis.

  In Chinese history, there is only one phrase that can match this sentence in terms of its notorious reputation: "Mò xū yǒu".

  "Must-have-less" killed Yue Fei, "intentional-will" killed Yu Qian.

  What a wonderful farce!

  Xu Youzhen also made it into the list of the most shameless people in history with this sentence, and can be compared to Qin Hui, leaving a stench for ten thousand years.

  A great man

  On January 23rd, Yu Qian was taken to the outside of Chongwen Gate and beheaded in front of the city he had once defended with his life.

  It is recorded: The whole world was wronged.

  After Yu Qian was killed, his family should have been confiscated according to the rules. However, when the officials arrived at Yu Qian's home, they found that this was a very easy task to complete, because there was nothing in Yu Qian's home except for the necessities of life, and there was no extra money (his family had no surplus wealth).

  The officials who searched Yu Qian's house did not expect that the family of a high-ranking official would be so poor. They were unwilling to give up and rummaged through every box and cabinet, hoping to find evidence of Yu Qian's corruption.

  Not long after, they finally discovered that there was a room in Yu Qian's house with a tightly locked door, and no one entered or exited. They were very excited and determined that this was the place where the treasure was hidden, so they opened the door.

  There were no gold or silver treasures in the house, only two things were displayed - a dragon robe and a precious sword. These were bestowed upon Yu Qian by Zhu Qizhen to commemorate his achievements, but Yu Qian accepted them under orders and locked them away, never taking them out to show off his glory.

  The people who raided the house finally restrained their usual arrogant attitude and quietly left Yu Qian's home, because everything they saw clearly told them that the person they were raiding was a man of noble character, an extraordinary person.

  Soon after Zhu Qizhen also regretted, especially after Xu Youzhen's conspiracy was exposed. He repeatedly asked the other two parties involved, Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang, why they had fabricated lies to frame Yu Qian. Shi Heng had no way out and could only shift the blame to Xu Youzhen, saying: "I don't know either, it was all Xu Youzhen who told me to say so."

  Zhu Qi Zhen heard this sentence, his eyes widened in shock, and he just shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

  But the emperor could not admit his mistake, so Zhu Qizhen handed this task over to his son. Eight years later, Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen had just ascended to the throne and issued an edict to rehabilitate Yu Qian and summon back Yu Qian's son Yu Mian. By the Wanli era, Ming Shenzong, who was extremely lazy, also respected Yu Qian even more, granting him the posthumous title "Zhongsu" to affirm his lifetime achievements.

  Yu Qian doesn't need the so-called recognition of the emperor, because these so-called sons of heaven seem to have no qualifications to evaluate Yu Qian. There were countless emperors before Ming Yingzong, and there will be many after him, but Yu Qian is one-of-a-kind.

  People will not forget that it was this man who stood out in times of crisis, stemmed the tide, defended the capital and half of the rivers and mountains of the Ming Dynasty, and saved countless ordinary people's lives.

  He had a strong desire to dedicate himself to the country since he was young, and after decades of tempering and testing, he grew from a student who studied hard under a solitary lamp into a pillar of the state.

  He held a high position, but was clean and honest. In his decades-long official career, he had never been corrupt or bribed. Although his life was not affluent, he had never abused the power in his hands. He adhered to his integrity in poverty.

  He was undaunted by difficulties and risks, standing out at a time of national crisis to take on the fate of the country.

  He walked through his life with integrity and transparency.

  In this dirty world, those who can live a clean life are worthy of admiration.

  And if he can still achieve something, then we can say that this is a great man.

  Yu Qian is just such a person.

  His greatness does not need anyone to affirm, nor does it need any proof, for his life is as straightforward and upright as his poem, shining brightly with the sun and moon.

  Lime is refined from deep mountains through thousands of hammerings and hundreds of refinements; fierce fire burns as if it were nothing.

  I'd rather be broken into pieces than leave a tarnished name behind!

  This is a true portrayal of his life.

  I once traveled to Hangzhou and made a special trip to pay respects to this heroic figure, but when I arrived at Yu Qian Temple, the scene before me was truly astonishing. It was during the Golden Week, and there were countless tourists in Hangzhou, yet Yu Qian Temple was almost empty, extremely quiet. Instead, I met a few foreign exchange students who were bowing to the statue of Yu Qian. After chatting with them, I learned that they had read about this piece of history while in college and greatly admired this hero, so they came specifically to pay their respects.

  I was left speechless after hearing what they had to say.

  On the executioner's platform, Mr. Yu Qian still maintained his calm demeanor, I suppose he was like that before his execution as well.

  More than 500 years have passed, and Yu Qian seems to have never left. He still stands here, overlooking the land he once irrigated with his life and blood, overlooking the countless lives he fought to protect.

  I am relieved. Whether this place is deserted and cold, with no one asking about it, or whether there are admirers coming to pay their respects, has nothing to do with the master of this temple, Yu Qian.

  The turbulent waves will eventually subside, and the true character of a hero will be revealed! Even after another 500 years, when countless superficial things have faded away, Yu Qian will still stand here, and he will still be remembered for generations to come because of his integrity, selflessness, bravery, and fearlessness.

  Because he is a hero who will forever live in our hearts, a true hero. A true hero will never be forgotten by people.

  I firmly believe this.

  There were many formidable figures in the Ming Dynasty. I once made a ranking list for these characters, and Yu Qian should be ranked second in my opinion. Although some figures in the Ming Dynasty had achievements that were not inferior to or even surpassed those of Yu Qian, their rankings are also after Yu Qian's. This is because there are two criteria for evaluation: moral character and talent. Although some people's talents are indeed superior to Yu Qian's, their moral character has flaws. For example, Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang's political problems and Comrade Zhang Juzheng's economic problems.

  Yu Qian is not only talented beyond others, but also has almost no flaws in his character. As the saying goes, "a person with both virtues and talents" - how many such people have there been throughout history!

  As if there were no exceptions, Yu Qian should have been ranked first. Unfortunately, after him, another extraordinary person emerged. This person is not only well-versed in both literature and martial arts, but also excels in wisdom and bravery. He is proficient in all aspects of life and knowledgeable about the three teachings and nine schools of thought. Moreover, he is good at beginning and ending things, and can be called a rare talent in the world. For this brother, the title of hero seems no longer applicable, because in the eyes of many people, there is a more suitable title for him - sage.

  This gentleman will also be the protagonist of our next article, so I won't say more here.

  Finally, after Yu Qian's death, his son Yu Mian was punished and sent to the military, and the place where he was sent was called Longmen. The later film series "Dragon Gate Inn" is based on this story template, and the life prototype of that big villain eunuch is Comrade Cao Jixiang, a ceremonial officer.

  Although we have reason to believe that this is a fabricated story, it's still entertaining to tease Cao Jixiang and others when we're idle.

  "burning one's bridges after crossing the river"

  Killed a batch, replaced a batch, made new dragon robes, repaired the palace, changed the year number (Jingtai changed to Tianshun), and finally settled down after more than a month of fuss. This is not surprising, ordinary people are exhausted when moving house, let alone changing emperors.

  It seemed that things had gone smoothly, but Zhu Qizhen never thought that despite his careful consideration and personal involvement, he still made a huge mistake, which would create a phenomenon unprecedented in Chinese history, making Zhu Qizhen the laughing stock of history.

  What mistake did Zhu Qizhen make after all? As we mentioned earlier, Zhu Qizhen successfully seized the gate on January 17 and immediately ascended to the throne. He thought of everything, but forgot the person he had driven off the imperial throne - Zhu Qiyu!

  At that time, Zhu Qizhen was already on his last breath, so Zhu Qiyu didn't bother with him and directly sat on the throne. However, he did not expect that his younger brother still had a strong will to live and died more than a month later. What's worse, he forgot one very important thing - abolishing Zhu Qizhen's emperor status!

  This brother worked hastily for over a dozen days, only to suddenly remember that his half-dead younger brother was still the emperor. Zhu Qizhen, who couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, immediately declared the dethronement of Zhu Qiyu in the name of the Empress Dowager, but it was already too late.

  It was already the first day of February, which means that for these dozen or so days, the Ming dynasty had two emperors at the same time, and both were incumbent emperors, with one sitting outside and another lying inside. This is truly a rare sight in history.

  Zhu Qizhen, although having made a laughing stock of himself, still managed to secure his throne and from then on began his second reign - Tianshun.

  And those "return to the countryside" team members, after wrongly killing Yu Qian, seemed to have a bright future too. If we were to end it in fairy tale language, it would be: "The four of them held hands and started their happy life together."

  Unfortunately, in my country with a long history of excellent cultural traditions (such as power struggles and the study of darkness), fairy tales have no market. Similar to this kind of conspiracy group, the ending always can't escape two sentences.

  One is called "quell the external must first stabilize the internal"; another sentence is called "burning the bridge after crossing the river". And from the later development of the situation, "Hometown Association" roughly applies to the second sentence.