When Zhu Yijun's imperial carriage arrived at the gate of the Zhang family, all the members of the Zhang family came to the gate to greet him.
Zhang Juzheng stood at the front with his son. As the eunuch shouted, everyone knelt on the ground.
Zhu Yijun got down from the imperial carriage and walked to Zhang Juzheng. He reached out and helped Zhang Juzheng up.
"Sir, my condolences!"
Zhu Yijun lowered his voice and said to Zhang Juzheng. Then he turned to the people around and said, "You may rise!" After saying this, Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng entered the main gate of the Zhang family together.
The emperor's visit to the Zhang family was naturally great, and the Zhang family was naturally glorious.
After entering the gate, there was an incense burner table in the courtyard. Everyone knelt down and the eunuch read the imperial edict. This was the reward that Zhu Yijun gave to the Zhang family.
After all, you came to the official's house with such great fanfare. It would be unreasonable if you didn't get a reward.
There were a lot of things. Zhu Yijun also gave Zhang Juzheng's father, Zhang Wenming, the title of Earl of Jiangling. He was buried with the title of Earl.
This was the mourning honor after death. Zhang Juzheng tidied his clothes and knelt on the ground respectfully. He kowtowed three times and nine times, and then he took the imperial edict from the eunuch's hand.
This reward was extremely important to both Zhang Juzheng and the Zhang family.
The title of Earl of Jiangling really existed in history. It was also given to the Zhang family. However, it was not given to Zhang Juzheng's father, but to Zhang Juzheng's great-grandson, Zhang Tongchang.
In the 13th year of Chongzhen, people thought that the Ming Dynasty's resurgence was imminent. However, Daming had actually entered the countdown to his death.
Emperor Chongzhen made an exception to appoint Zhang Juzheng's eldest great-grandson, Zhang Tongchang, as the Hall of Governmental Affairs Renhuang, hoping that he could inherit the glorious tradition of his ancestors.
Emperor Chong Zhen summoned his ministers to follow Zhang Juzheng's example, to be loyal to the Daming.
In the seventeenth year of Chong Zhen, Li Zicheng's rebel army approached the city of Beijing. The Qing army outside the Great Wall took advantage of the burning house and marched south.
Whether it was Emperor Chong Zhen or the court officials, they all realized that the Daming Dynasty had reached its most dangerous moment due to internal and external troubles.
Zhang Juzheng's descendants did not disappoint Emperor Chongzhen. When the country was in ruins, Zhang Juzheng's eldest great-grandson, a scholar, Zhang Tongchang, took the initiative to stand up.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen had no more troops to use, so Zhang Tongchang asked Chongzhen to send him to the south to transfer troops.
Emperor Chongzhen also had a glimmer of hope that Zhang Tongchang would borrow Zhang Juzheng's influence to mobilize troops to rescue the Emperor, so he agreed.
Zhang Tongchang traveled day and night, but unfortunately, before he could summon more than a few troops, Emperor Chongzhen had already died for his country on the Coal Mountain.
Afterwards, the Qing army entered the Great Wall, and the Daming Dynasty, which had lasted for nearly three centuries, fell just like that.
By this time, he was fully aware that the Ming Dynasty's power was already gone, but he made up his mind that he would not sit still and wait for death. He wanted to be like his ancestor, Zhang Juzheng, and do something for the country, regardless of success or failure!
Zhang Tongchang first actively helped the Southern Ming Dynasty to plan the great undertaking of resisting the Qing. After the fall of the Hongguang Dynasty, he rushed to Yunnan to protect Emperor Yongli, vowing to fight the Qing to the death.
Emperor Yongli conferred Zhang Tongchang the governor-general, letting him coordinate the troops and horses of various routes.
But the actual military power was in the hands of the various high-ranking military officers, everybody's morale was lax, they did not listen to orders.
Zhang Tongchang could only hope that his hot-bloodedness would move the people.
Therefore, during the battle, although he was just a scholar, he always rushed to the forefront.
When the morale wavered, he would stay calm and unmoved.
Many times, he used his personal spirit to stabilize the morale of the troops, and gradually, he finally won the trust and love of the vast number of officers and men.
After persistently resisting the Qing for eight years, that is, in the fifth year of Yongli, the Qing army invaded Guangxi, the city of Guilin was breached.
Zhang Tongchang, who was defending the city, was captured, and the Qing army invaded the city of Guilin.
The Prince of Dingnan, Kong Youde, who had committed treason and surrendered to the Qing, tried to persuade Zhang Tongchang to surrender. Zhang Tongchang spoke righteously, cursing Kong Youde for betraying his ancestors for seeking glory.
Kong Youde flew into a rage out of humiliation; immediately he ordered his men to break Zhang Tongchang's arms and dig out one of his eyes.
But Zhang Tongchang still cursed and scolded him incessantly. When Kong Youde found out that this general who was not afraid of death was Zhang Juzheng's great-grandson, inevitably he was intimidated and had no choice but to lock him up.
Kong Youde knew it was hopeless to persuade him to surrender, he decided to kill him.
On the day of the execution, Zhang Tongchang resolutely refused to kneel and receive the punishment; he stood looking at the executioner without any fear on his face.
After his head was chopped off, his body did not fall.
When Emperor Yongli, who had fled to Nanning, heard about this matter, he was grief-stricken and indignant; thereupon he ordered the imperial court from top to bottom to pay their respects.
As for Zhang Tongchang, Emperor Yongli remembered that he did not have any children at the time of his death, so he specially bestowed the title of Count of River Tomb to him.
There were many people who sacrificed themselves for the country at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were many people who died in battle. Compared to Lu Xiangsheng and the others, Zhang Tongchang's reputation was not as great.
But in his previous life, Zhu Yijun was very moved. How did Daming treat the Zhang family, how did the Zhang family treat Daming? During the time of national calamity, how many people who were deeply indebted to the emperor turned their backs and surrendered? Among them, there were even people who were Honours for generations.
The people of the Zhang family, who were cherished by the Wanli Emperor, stood out at that time, they lived with vigor and vigor, they died even more heroically.
Zhu Yijun gave the title of Count of River Tomb to Zhang Juzheng's father. Although it was not hereditary, it was only a posthumous title, but it also represented Zhu Yijun's recognition of Zhang Juzheng and the Zhang family.
Regardless of whether or not Zhang Juzheng changed after Love Stealing, his initial feelings for Daming did not change.
He hoped that this country would be strong and prosperous, and he contributed to this country.
There were many corrupt officials and powerful officials, but there was only one powerful official like Zhang Juzheng.
What was the purpose of becoming a powerful official?
There were all kinds of strange purposes, but only Zhang Juzheng did not hesitate to reform as a powerful official.
There were many reformers in history, but Zhang Juzheng was the only powerful official who reformed.
After the ceremony, Zhu Yijun pulled Zhang Juzheng's hand, and the two of them went to the parlor.
Zhu Yijun looked around and found that there was only one main seat in the parlor that Zhang Juzheng prepared, so Zhu Yijun was not very satisfied.
"Mr. Zhang, accompany me to the garden of the Zhang Mansion!" The room was too stuffy, and Zhu Yijun did not want to stay here any longer.
Zhang Juzheng was stunned, but he quickly nodded and accompanied Zhu Yijun to the garden in the backyard of the Zhang Mansion.
In the late autumn, everything in the garden naturally withered. The two of them walked and chatted. Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng talked about some of their studies, and the atmosphere between the two of them was very harmonious.
"Let's sit in the pavilion over there!" Zhu Yijun saw a pavilion in front and said.
The two of them went into the pavilion together, and Zhang Jing took a cushion and placed it for Zhu Yijun. After Zhu Yijun sat down, he said, "Give Mr. Zhang a cushion, I want to have a good talk with Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Jing put a cushion for Zhang Juzheng, and Zhang Juzheng also sat down.
"Mr. Zhang has suffered these days!"
Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng, and then said to Zhang Jing, who was behind him, "Bring it to Mr. Zhang!"
After hearing Zhu Yijun's words, Zhang Jing gestured to the little eunuch behind him, and then a little eunuch came over with a box.
The little eunuch held the box in front of Zhang Juzheng and opened the lid behind him.
Zhang Juzheng was just wondering what was in the box. Now that he looked at it, he was stunned. It was actually a human head.
"This!"
Zhang Juzheng looked carefully and found that he did not know it, so he raised his head and looked at Zhu Yijun. Why did the emperor bring a human head here?
"This person is Shao Fang, from Danyang."
Zhu Yijun explained, "This is the person who spread rumors about Mr. Zhang in the capital. From the notices on the street to the couplets and the poem that satirized Mr. Zhang, they were all written by this person."
Zhang Juzheng was stunned. All of them were done by this person?
He did not speak and continued to look at Zhu Yijun.
"This person is a ranger and a broker, but he is not doing ordinary business, but business in the official circle," Zhu Yijun pointed to Zhang Jing and said, "This matter was discovered in Dongchang."
"Shao Fang spent a lot of money to seek official positions and promotions for others, and even helped Minister Gao to seek a comeback."
"By the way, he also went to Minister Xu, but Minister Xu was cautious and thought he was a swindler, so he drove him out of the mansion."
Speaking of this, Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Of course, it was this person who bribed the eunuch Chen Hong with a lot of money and asked Chen Hong to help Zhang Juzheng to seek a comeback."
Zhang Juzheng was stunned. This person went to see his teacher?
And helped Gao Gong to get a comeback?
It could be said that Gao Gong's comeback was personally experienced by Zhang Juzheng, and he also contributed to it. Although Zhang Juzheng mostly followed the emperor's idea, he did not know that Gao Gong helped Chen Hong.
Now that he thought about it, it seemed to be true. At that time, he and Chen Hong helped Gao Gong to get a comeback.
After Gao Gong came back, he helped Chen Hong to get the position of the eunuch in charge of the Department of Rites, and even did not hesitate to suppress Feng Bao, so that Feng Bao hated Gao Gong deeply.
Zhang Juzheng now understood why Gao Gong helped Chen Hong. It turned out that there was such a relationship.
Zhang Juzheng turned his head again to look at the box containing the human head, and his eyes were full of shock.
"Sir, you are also very surprised!"
Zhu Yijun smiled mockingly and said, "I am also very surprised. This time, Shao Fang played a great role in Sir's Love Stealing. There is also a man named Tian Sheng, who is Shao Fang's accomplice."
"They also bribed many imperial censors to impeach Sir Zhang, stirred up public opinion outside, and even did not hesitate to alienate the relationship between the emperor and the minister. They are very capable!"
Zhang Juzheng turned his head to look at Zhu Yijun, and then looked at Zhang Jing. Zhang Jing was expressionless and stood behind Zhu Yijun obediently, as if all this had nothing to do with him.
However, Zhang Juzheng valued Zhang Jing more. Dongchang seemed to be different in Zhang Jing's hands.
"The large-scale arrest in Dongchang was to eradicate Shao Fang and his gang?" Zhang Juzheng suddenly realized and asked.
Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Indeed!"
After that, Zhu Yijun said again, "After investigating this Shao Fang, I had doubts in my heart. Shao Fang came to the capital because his income was cut off because of his failure in the exam."
"He used Sir's Love Stealing to alienate the relationship between the emperor and the minister, and wanted Sir to leave me. What about the others?"
"Therefore, I had people investigate those who impeached Sir, especially Sir's students and fellow villagers."
Speaking of this, Zhu Yijun laughed again, but his smile and laughter were full of sarcasm.
Zhang Juzheng suddenly understood. It was no wonder that his Emperor's student had thrown all those people into prison and beaten them to death.
"Some of their family accounts were cleared and their fields were cleared. Some of their friends were dismissed because of their failure in the exam, and some of their relatives were dismissed because of their failure in the exam.
They wanted Sir to leave me, wanted Sir's examination to be abolished, and wanted Sir's accounts to be cleared and their fields could not be carried out. "
"Taishi Gong once said, 'All the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit, and all the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit.' This time, I have seen it for myself.
Everyone can see the benefits of Sir's strategy for the Daming. The national treasury has money, and my palace treasury has money. "
"The Daming's army can fight, the threat at the border is gone, and the Tartars don't dare to attack the south. This is all thanks to Sir."
"What about these people?
I only touched a little of their interests, but what did they do?
They drove a wedge between the emperor and the minister, attacked and slandered Sir, and spoke of benevolence and righteousness, but in reality, they did not have a country or a ruler. Sir has been wronged. "
Zhang Juzheng listened to Zhu Yijun's words, and his body trembled, and his eyes reddened.
His student had done so many things behind his back, and he had made such progress. Zhang Juzheng suddenly felt comforted, and he had a successor.
These days of grievance, there was finally someone who understood.
This understanding person, Zhang Juzheng did not expect, but it was the person he had hoped for the most.
"Outside, there is a saying that Sir lamented, 'The treacherous official Yan Song has no student, and his fellow countrymen impeach him. How could I, Zhang Juzheng, end up like this?' When I heard this, my heart felt like it was being cut by a knife, but I was also very gratified."
"What good did Yan Song do for the Daming?
He used sweet words, colluded with his accomplices, and created chaos in the world. How could anyone impeach him? "
"His students were all promoted and protected by him. Whether it was taking bribes, bending the law, or getting promoted, their teacher Yan Song could protect them.
What about his fellow countrymen?
How did Yan Song treat his fellow countrymen? "
At this point, Zhu Yijun suddenly became excited, and said loudly, "He promoted his fellow countrymen, supported them, ran amok in the officialdom, and imposed taxes and levies. From this point of view, Yan Song was really a good teacher, and at the same time, he also benefited his fellow countrymen!"
"Sir, you have made great contributions to me, to the Daming, to the people of the world, and to the annals of history.
Sir, you don't need to care about some criticism. Gratitude and resentment can only be settled when it's over. The danger of seizing the border is becoming more and more difficult. The people will remember Sir, the Daming will remember Sir, the world will remember Sir, and the annals of history will correct Sir's name. "
"To have Sir, I am very fortunate. To have Sir, Daming is fortunate. To have Sir, the world is fortunate. To have Sir, the world is fortunate."
At this point, Zhu Yijun stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed deeply to Zhang Juzheng.
Trembling, Zhang Juzheng suddenly fell to the ground. His shoulders trembled, and he used his head to support himself on the ground. Sobbing, he said, "For Your Majesty, for the Great Ming, this subject is willing to bend over backwards and do my utmost until the day I die!"
Looking at Zhang Juzheng, who was crying on the ground, Zhu Yijun reached out to help Zhang Juzheng up, and said, "The more they don't want us to do, the more we have to do it. The ruler and the minister are of one mind, and their sharpness can cut through gold."
"I believe Sir, I trust Sir, and Sir, you can also trust me."