Wang Shizhen and Yan Song had a feud, and it was said that there was a case-solving. Wang Shizhen's father was the king who was executed by Sejong. By chance, Wang Huan got the priceless national treasure The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, which was soon learned by Yan's father and son, and they asked Wang Huan for it. Forced by the power of Yan's father and son, Wang Tuan asked a painter to copy one and send it to Yan Song. Later, when it was exposed, Yan Song held a grudge against it. Later, taking advantage of Wang's inability to defend the border, Yan Song played a book to kill him. Because of this bitterness, Wang Shizhen vilified Yan Song in his Records Since Jiajing-Biography of Yan Song and other historical works, and Yan Song's reputation plummeted.
(1) On the issue of Yan Song's "stealing the handle"
In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system that existed in China history for more than 1,5 years; It was not until the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty that the cabinet was established. According to the Records of Official Officials in the Ming Dynasty, the main duties of the cabinet college students were "to offer sacrifices, to follow the old rules, to check the questions, to approve the votes, and to allow ordinary politics." It can be seen that the cabinet university is not an administrative officer. According to the article "Records since Jiajing" in Volume 58 of the General Catalogue of Sikuquanshu, "When Jiajing began to appoint the cabinet, those who took the lead were particularly responsible ... By the middle of Sejong, Xia Yan and Yan Song had repeatedly used things, so they became prime ministers and suppressed the six Qing." This statement is debatable. Sejong was very diligent in the early stage of his administration, and he did not go to court since the eighteenth year of Jiajing. Even so, there was no dictatorship of powerful ministers. "Biography of Yan Song in the Ming Dynasty" recorded that after Yan Song became the first record, "although the emperor was very pro-ceremonial, he didn't believe all his words, and he sometimes took arbitrary decisions or showed similarities and differences in order to kill him." This shows that Sejong, although he lives in Oita, is clinging to the imperial power. Therefore, it is impossible for any "powerful minister" to "steal the handle" in Sejong Dynasty. In this regard, other records can also be circumstantial. Wang Shizhen's Biography of Cabinet Records since Jiajing: "(Sejong) in his later years, although he didn't go to the imperial palace, he approved consultants without stopping; Therefore, although he lives in elegant and upright deeply, he is manipulated by Zhang Chi, and his power will not move. " "Records of Sejong" said that he was "worried about not hearing about foreign affairs." "Guo Que" Volume 64 quoted Li Weizhen as saying: "(Sejong) has lived in the world for decades, and the world is in the palm of his hand, and China and foreign countries are as close as ever." Fan Shou was quoted as saying, "I read the imperial edict of the World Temple and revised it at the rank of Xu Shao's division. The cloud people said that the assistant minister was good at drafting the edict, but it was a big difference. ..... LanGanGang such as emperor, geometric person zai! ..... It is arbitrary to relax, worship and reward. " Yan Song can't steal the handle, which can be proved by Yu Shibi. Another example is "Bing Tuilu", which has been published for four years. Ouyang Bijin (the left capital suggestion of Douchayuan) and Yan Song are in-laws for their children. Song wants to arrange that he will be promoted to the official department minister. After Song's pleading, Sejong only let Ouyang be the official department minister for half a year. It's so hard for Yan Song to arrange his children's in-laws, how can he talk about controlling state affairs and cronyism? From this point of view, it's just groundless to say that Yan Song "steals state affairs"!
(2) The relationship between Yan Song and Sejong
Sejong was an extremely difficult emperor to serve. Sejong was suspicious, suspicious and murderous. Not only that, he was indifferent to others, and was heartless to his wife and children, maids and servants, so that a group of weak women in the palace wanted to strangle him. This is the "change of palace maids" that happened in October of the twenty-first year of Jiajing. Zhang Cong, who was highly valued by Sejong because of his "great discussion ceremony", wrote in The Remnants of Dreams in the Spring and the Ming Dynasty: "I have counted all the officials in the cabinet, and few of them can die well. Covering a secret place is easy to be suspected, and the responsibility of endorsement is easy to attract discussion. It is not the way to protect each other. " These words mean that the records should take responsibility for the emperor's fault and be willing to be the scapegoat. When Xu Jie overthrew Yan Song and was promoted to the position of records, his friend Wang Weizhen once said to him: "The husband and prime minister are the right of the hundred, and the supreme is the most important. However, at present, there are three difficulties to be called bitter: the son of heaven is wise, and the ministers can't reach it, but thinking is beneficial, and it is difficult; In the book, the responsibility should be on Si Xu, and the gain and loss are important, and the second difficulty is also; Knee-building words, courtiers can not smell, courtiers heard, far less than I know, and the proposed transfer, easy to move lips and kisses, three difficulties are also. These three difficulties are afraid to sue others, so they are bitter "("Wang Shuren Draft "Volume 16). It seems that we should look at Yan Song from another perspective.
Yan Song has been the first record clerk for fifteen years, and it's not easy to get along with an emperor who has a bad temper and is murderous for so long. Sejong worships Taoism, praising metaphysics and offering green words are almost the requirements of being a cabinet minister, so "flattery" and "flattery" are the * * * characteristics of cabinet ministers, and Yan Song is not necessarily more flattering than other cabinet ministers. For example, after the change of palace maids, Sejong took refuge in Xiyuan, where a fire broke out in Yongshou Palace, and Sejong wanted to rebuild the palace. Yan Song considered that Sejong had ignored the DPRK for a long time, and the construction would cost huge wealth, so he did not agree to rebuild the palace. Xu Jie, another cabinet minister, urged reconstruction. In this regard, people at that time were "quite good at listening to the right song, but slightly called the purpose of the order" ("Xian Zheng Lu" Volume 16). What is shown here is the other side of Yan Song's rigidity. When analyzing the reasons why Sejong favored Yan Song, The Chronicle of the Ming Dynasty, Yan Song used things, said: "Kuang Song can really serve the emperor; The emperor is firm and the song is soft; Emperor is arrogant, and Song is sincere; Emperor with Yingcha, Song with simplicity; The emperor is arbitrary, and the song is isolated ... The Lord of suspicion likes to use gentle and charming ministers. " Only in this way can Sejong's violent temper be calmed down and the state affairs will not become worse. Sejong should have a good idea about this floor. Therefore, Sejong also praised Yan Song, such as giving Yan Song the silver seal of "Loyalty, Diligence and Mindfulness", giving him the title of "Qionghan Liuhui" in his library, "Yan Entang" in his mysterious hall, and "Zhongbi" in his calligraphy. Even when he was made an official, Sejong still said in the imperial edict that "Song should be careful, loyal and cautious," and the treatment after he was made an official was better than that of other records. "When he was made an official, he still sent Chiyi to help Lumi Baishi" (Volume 22 of Records of Knowledge of the World Temple). It shows that Yan Song can sincerely serve the victim and has no second thoughts, in order to win the kindness of this ungrateful monarch.
then, it is inconceivable to say that Yan Song is a traitor.
(3) About Yan Song's "killing loyalty"
After Yan Song joined the cabinet, many ministers impeached him. Some of these ministers were put to death, and some were dismissed, among which Yang Jisheng, Shen Lian and others were the most influential in history.
Shen Lian was a scholar in the 17th year of Jiajing. "History of the Ming Dynasty" is a biography of "being honest and upright, hating evil as hatred, but quite sparse." There is no record of Shen Lian's talents in the biography. Shen Lian and his boss, the Royal Guards Shuai Lu Bing, are quite good, and they are very close to Yan Shifan. Shen Lian is addicted to alcohol. "A few people drink from the world, and the world abuses customers with wine. It is not the same." It is obvious that Shen Lian's narrow-minded personality is caused by trivial matters. Yan Song once said that Shen Lian was not a good man, but it reached Shen Lian's ears. He was afraid that there would be no future, so he dispersed Yan Song in the first month of the 3th year of Jiajing. Recite ten major crimes of Song in my spare time. Sejong after reading hydrophobic, "great anger, the court staff, the pawn security." Shen Lian is restless in security, and he often insults his father and son; The local people who don't know what to do are also "fighting for the song to be tempered quickly, and the training is also great, and the Japanese phase is common with the song and his son." And tie grass for people, like Li Linfu, Qin Gui and Song. If you are drunk, you will gather your children and shoot them. " This kind of "game" doesn't seem to be done by a gentleman. Shen Lian often quarreled with local authorities and was killed by Governor Yang Shun. Those who opposed Yan Song claimed that Yan Song had instructed Shen Lian to be killed, which was also unfounded in history, and Yang Shun was not a Song Party. Shen Lian listed Yan Song's top ten crimes, while Xu Xuemo thought that "there is nothing but emptiness after dozens of crimes" (Volume 15 of Records of the World Temple). Tan Qian said in Guo Que: "Shen Chunfu swallowed his anger and rebelled against Hu, and when he was in the autumn of Geng Xu (155), he glared at Yan's family, which made him stiff and arrogant. Why don't you be complacent when you are immersed in the wilderness? As for spreading the evil of the imperial capital, it is especially important to ask the sword to chant. " It can be seen that Shen Lian's death is entirely caused by his weakness in character, which has nothing to do with loyalty and treachery!
Yang Jisheng, a scholar in the 26th year of Jiajing; According to the biography of Ming History, he is quite proficient in the study of Lu, but he is not very good at it. In imperial academy, he was a protege of Xu Jie; It is still very close to Tang Shunzhi. Yang Jisheng's personality is quite similar to that of Shen Lian. We might as well quote a letter from Tang Shunzhi to Yang: "The deacon, the hero, is quite generous, and his inspiring spirit is too strong, but he is not as good as his subtle efforts ..." (Collected Works of Mr. Jingchuan, Volume 6) This is a hint of Yang's weakness and lack of knowledge. In the thirty-second year of Jiajing, Yang Jisheng published "Please punish thieves and ministers" and listed Song's top ten sins and five rapes. Yang's allegations are mostly empty and unsubstantiated, which is no different from Shen Shu's. If Yan Song did not manage the country well, Sejong might think it was an allusion to him, because many things were done according to his will; Another example is Yang Jisheng's Shu, which says, "Investigate the traitor of Song, or summon two kings, Yu and Jing." This is undoubtedly that Sejong is in a coma. Therefore, "the emperor has been angry because of his retreat ... and then he was imprisoned, so why did he lead the two kings?" ..... in prison, it is a hundred sticks, which convicts the punishments. " After Yang Shu went up, Song repeatedly asked for a break, and Sejong kept it again and again, saying that Yang "invited reputation to sell straight", and the Shu came for him. Sparse writing is vague, which means no talent and knowledge. Therefore, it is absurd to say that Yang Jisheng will die, or that Song did something to Yang's death.
another influential figure is Xia Yan. In the twenty-fourth year of Jiajing's speech, after the announcement of the cabinet, the imperial envoys once discussed the resumption of Hetao, arguing for it, but Song extremely said no. Therefore, Wen Yuan, a senior official of the official department, illegally made mistakes, and in the spring of the twenty-seventh year, Xia Yan was recorded. It was the year that Xia Yan and Zeng Xi were killed. The Biography of Yan Song in the Ming Dynasty said that Song framed Xia Yan to death by repeating the incident, while The Biography of Xia Yan in the Ming Dynasty alleged that Song had teamed up with Lu Bing and Xu, a captain, Cui Yuan. However, Tan Qian thought in Guo Que that "Guixi (Xia Yan) did not die of defeat but of slander, and Yan's generation was also stung." It can be seen that Yan Song took the blame. In Yan Song's "Playing Duilu", there were Zazi who repeatedly pleaded for Xia Yan to avoid death, and it was also seen that Song was not necessarily a person with "evil intentions".
Also killed by Sejong was the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, Ji Liao Governor Wang Xun. Wang Xun is a well-versed and responsible general. In the spring of Jiajing thirty-six years, tens of thousands of invading North Lu were allowed to enter Santun camp for a while, which caused many family members and property losses of Zhongguihe Imperial Palace. It is inevitable that people around these emperors will not complain to Sejong. When investigating this matter, it also brought out Wang Xun's neglect of training. So Sejong was furious and approved that "all the generals will be beheaded." In thirty-seven years, Wang Yao was killed in Xishi, at the age of fifty-three! However, at the end of the biography, it was alleged that Song was responsible for the death of Wang Xun. There is still a public opinion on the merits and demerits. The Record of the Knowledge of the World Temple says: "The elders are afraid to care for the country and the battle of Tongzhou, and they do not avoid death. They plan to defend the city and save the whole country. The emperor is prosperous as soon as possible, and he is on the throne. Jizhou has been prepared for a long time, and it is difficult to rectify it. It is often out of order, so it is in the extreme. ┅ ┅ Huating (Xu Jie) was convicted of Yan Song, and Fang Qin Gui killed Wu Mu. It' s a gentleman' s evil living. " Tan Qian strongly agrees with Zhi Dalun's judgment: "Wang Zhongcheng will die if he sits in Xinjiang, but not if he dies." These show that some people want to make Yan Song "dirty" and make Yan Song bear a heavy and terrible reputation.
There is a thought-provoking passage in The Record of Crime, "However, if you have been in power for a long time, you should be self-disciplined and do everything according to your intentions. After Song Cheng's Xia Yan, he didn't dare to have a yes or no, but sometimes he was left and right, and he quoted his words directly; The supreme will want to kill, and there is nothing to be done. ..... then anyone who wants to kill in the above-mentioned way will compete in the world. " The secret of Yan Song's "killing loyalty" lies in his success. And Yan Song's notoriety is widely spread, and his novels and legendary operas have made great contributions. Writing Song's "Shen Xiaoxia's First Experience as a Teacher" against Shen Lian (Wonders in Modern Times), and reciting Song's operas "Woo Feng Ji", "A Handful of Snow", "Dan Xin Zhao", "Crazy Drum Official" and "A Teacher's Example" have been repeatedly broadcast among the people, which confirms Goebbels' famous saying that rumors become "facts" after repeated times.
(4) Yan Song and the policy of resisting the invasion and subjugation of Japan
Since the 13th year of Jiajing, the new Mongolian leader, Anda Khan, almost never asked for a tribute in the Ming Dynasty. However, Anda's request for tribute was repeatedly refused by the Ming court, and he led troops to invade the border on a large scale. The most serious incident was that in the 29th year of Jiajing, Anda led 1, soldiers to attack Beijing, and the whole country shook, which was called "Geng" in history. What's Yan Song's position on Beilu? There are two very important points here. First, Sejong wants to follow the example of Cheng Zu and lead the army to patrol the border. In February and March of the 28th year of Jiajing, Sejong summoned Yan Song twice to talk about the idea of "patrolling the frontier" with his own army, but both of them were politely opposed by Yan Song: "The emperor, Saint Mo, is ambitious, and his ancestors are very eager to go to France. However, this time is not the same as before. We only strictly supervise the generals and guard the defense, so we can do nothing. It seems that it is not necessary to be the same as before. " (Volume 346 of Records of Sejong) It can be imagined that if Sejong leads the army to patrol the border, the result may be worse than the "civil change" of Yingzong. As records, Yan Song didn't blindly obey the invitation on this important issue. He must have anticipated the seriousness of the consequences, so he tried to stop it. Second, Sejong has always wanted to solve the northern border problems by military means. For example, in the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, records of Xia Yan and Trilateral Governor once tried to recover the lost land of Hetao, which was approved by Sejong. However, Yan Song, Weng Wanda, Tang Shunzhi and other ministers with rich knowledge and military experience are very disapproving of the "complex set". In early August of the 29th year, the border situation was very tense. Sejong called Yan Song twice to discuss the countermeasures. Yan Song said, "The present situation is beset with dangers, but the border ministers are trying their best to defend themselves, so that they can't go deep, which is the best policy. If you want to drive away, you will be afraid of it. " He also said, "The times are really different from those in the past. If the soldiers are not trained, they will not get people, and the rewards will be repeated, that is, they will have no resources to hold. The minister in charge of the matter is responsible for defending the frontier, so that he can not suffer, although he can't make a profit. This is the policy of imperial military ┅ ┅ "(Volume 4 of Playing Duilu) Yan Song advocated focusing on defense, which was entirely based on the national conditions at that time. In the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing, Wang Bangrui, assistant minister of the official department, said, "Today, there are more than 14, military equipment, but there are only 5, or 6, trainers, but there are provisions, but there is no deployment. Riding deeper than the enemy, fighting and defending is called no army. " ("Allusions and Stories" Volume 17) The actual military strength of the capital during the change of Geng Xu was "only 4, to 5,, and the old and weak were half." As for military equipment, the official in charge of ordnance manufacturing embezzled the material price, which made the equipment unusable. For example, a "does not cover the heart in the middle, does not cover the umbilical cord in the lower part, and the leaves are not strong, and the sleeves are long and the arms are pressed, which is completely inappropriate"; "Bowing force is just a bucket or two, but the vector length is only seven or eight. Pingxi can't shoot far. After armor, the hand can't lift, and the shot only stops after dozens of steps. The knife is especially short and has no front. " (Ma Wensheng: "Ming Chen Memorial, Repairing Military Equipment") How can such an army and equipment be as good as 1, fine riders! Yang Jisheng, a former foreign minister of the Ministry of War's driving department, may not be ignorant of the military situation at this time! In Shu Shu, he accused Yan Song of not letting Ding Rukui, the senior minister of the Ministry of War, play when Anda committed a crime in Beijing, which is also incredible.
Japanese pirates did not start in Jiajing dynasty, but they suffered the most from Japanese pirates in Jiajing dynasty. The direct cause of the Japanese invasion is the sea ban. Yan Song's policy towards the enemy is different from Xia Yan's. When Xia Yan re-recorded, he advocated destroying the enemy by tough means like the northern Lu. In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, he recommended Zhu Wan, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. Zhu Wan massacred in Fujian and Zhejiang, and the contradiction intensified greatly. However, the official whose interests were damaged was impeached and the DPRK lost Xia Yan's support. He was worried that he would be punished and humiliated, so he had to commit suicide with anger. Yan Song recommended Zhao Wenhua to supervise military affairs, which made great achievements. Xu xuemo