The Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was famous for his punishment of corruption.

However, there was another system in the Ming Dynasty, which was the speaking official system, which to a large extent hindered the normal operation of the state machinery.

Is it that serious?

Wei Zheng was the most famous admonisher in the Tang Dynasty. He assisted Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and created a peaceful world.

The Ming Dynasty’s system of admonishing officials is fundamentally different from Wei Zheng’s system of daring to give direct advice.

The Ming Dynasty was a feudal dynasty that emphasized freedom of speech in Chinese history. When it comes to this, we may feel ideologically uncomfortable because Zhu Yuanzhang is famous for his punishment of corruption.

Is there an inevitable connection between Zhu Yuanzhang's severity and the Ming Dynasty's system of speaking out about freedom of speech? Not really.

Ministers are also free to express their opinions, ranging from national affairs to trivial matters in the harem. If you have ideas, don't be afraid of offending the emperor.

Over time, the Ming Dynasty formed a style of work, and it was a very extreme style, that is, the arguments should not be extreme, and the words should not be exaggerated.

What’s more important is that there are often things that are based on rumors and rumors, and the concern is not whether it is true, but whether it can be used to sensationalize with harsh words.

The main purpose is to gain political capital.

This is fundamentally different from Wei Zheng's attitude of daring to remonstrate directly.

In our impression, daring to scold the emperor is treasonous and will be severely punished.

However, in Chinese history, the Ming Dynasty is definitely an exception. It is famous in Chinese history for daring to scold the emperor, and scolding him directly.

For example, the "Four Admonitions of Wine, Sex, Wealth and Energy" written by Luo Yuren, the Zuo Pingshi of Dali Temple in the Ming Dynasty, directly portrayed the emperor as lustful, greedy, cruel and incompetent, and worthless.

However, the punishment given to him by Emperor Wanli was nothing more than dismissal from his post to serve the people.

No matter how cruel the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was, one good thing was that he did not want to bear the reputation of being a "faint emperor" and "killing admonishing officials".

With this precedent, it can directly lead to Emperor Wanli's 30 years of neglect, which is the so-called six don'ts, "no effect, no temple, no court, no meeting, no criticism, no talk" , the first 10 years of Wanli's rule were a very glorious moment for the Ming Dynasty.

Because Emperor Wanli could not bear the constant stream of wolf-like and stormy abuses.

Therefore, Wanli chose "six things not to do" and let them scold him.

What’s even more hateful is that,

For example, during the Chongzhen period, peace was negotiated with the Qing Dynasty. At this time, there were internal and external troubles. There was no doubt that peace was the best option, which could give the Ming Dynasty some breathing space. First, solve the problem of Li Zicheng/Zhang Xianzhong, etc. When the matter of peace negotiation was put on the table, the officials jumped out to oppose it one after another. They first scolded those who supported the peace negotiation, and then scolded Chongzhen in subtext, causing the peace negotiation to collapse. .

To be more serious, when the Ming Dynasty fell, officials should not and should not be allowed to express themselves freely at important moments in history, and at too many critical times, and they could not be targeted. Jump out to oppose at will and influence decision-making. This in itself is an important factor that disrespects the stability of the country.

Confucius once said that "tyranny is fiercer than a tiger", and in the Ming Dynasty, these civil servants "sweared absolutely fiercely".

It is a good thing to dare to speak out. Wei Zheng is definitely a role model. However, unwarranted indulgence distorts the original intention of admonishing officials and seriously interferes with the normal operation of the country. This is definitely worthy of vigilance.