Yan Song is a great official in history, but why did he get his name? It's not his achievement, his talent or his strategy, but his flattery caters to skills and blinds people.
Yan Song's flattery method not only has the general characteristics of predecessors' flattery, but also gropes for a suit of flattery method according to Sejong's personality and specific situation, which made him join the cabinet for 20 years and be good at politics for 20 years until he died at the age of 87. Although he can't be said to be dead, he still needs to protect the leader. Although he was finally dismissed from office, on the whole, he was a "successful" official and businessman.
Yan Song was born in the 16th year of Chenghua in Ming Xianzong (1480). He was born in the word (now Jiangxi). In the eighteenth year of Ming Hongzhi (1505), he was admitted as a scholar. He was awarded the title of editor of the Imperial Academy as Jishi Shu, and then went to imperial academy of Nanjing Imperial Academy for drinking. But it was not until he was in his sixties that he was favored and made a fortune when he met the opportunity of Sejong's accession to the throne.
Sejong inherited the throne from his cousin Wu Zong. Wu zong died in a dissolute play in middle age. He had no children and no other brothers, so Empress Dowager Cixi met Sejong after consulting with ministers.
At the beginning of Sejong's accession to the throne, he was still an inexperienced teenager. He served as a political commissar of North Korea with some upright ministers, and there was no big mistake. When I get older, I gradually show my groggy true colors. Sejong inherited his cousin Wuzong's throne, so his father Xiaozong was not Sejong's imperial examination. However, according to feudal orthodoxy, the imperial examination cannot be changed, and Sejong can only appear as a dutiful son. After inheriting the throne, of course, we should respect filial piety like the imperial examination. However, Sejong didn't have an adoption ceremony before he ascended the throne, so he didn't want to recognize Xiaozong as an imperial examination, but wanted to respect his biological father Xing for the imperial examination, so as to promote him. This decision caused panic among a group of orthodox ministers, who scrambled to protest and stop Sejong, thus causing a famous storm in history.
Seeing that his opponent was fierce, Yan Song sized up the situation and sided with Sejong, who failed. A year later, Sejong's foothold has been firmly established, and some ministers who are good at guessing Sejong's mind have put forward this proposal again. Sejong specially wrote an article "Tang Ming or Ask" for the ministers to see, and arrested Tang Yi, the assistant minister of the official department who tried his best to prevent him from changing his respect for the imperial examination. When Yan Song saw that the wind was wrong, he immediately turned to resolutely support the Sejong Imperial Examination, and found out the basis and quoted the classics to prove the correctness of the Sejong Imperial Examination.
However, he deeply knew that this alone could not arouse the special favor of Sejong, so he actively presided over the planning and formulation of the ceremony to welcome Sejong's biological father Xing Xian into the ancestral temple. After Xingxian entered the ancestral temple, he was named Zong Rui. This ceremony was carried out with high quality and standard, which made Sejong take a fancy to Yan Song and gave him a lot of money and silks. More importantly, sejong took a fancy to him from now on.
This is a famous "big etiquette" event in the history of the Ming Dynasty. It seems ridiculous today, but it was full of articles at that time. For Sejong, after all this, many courtiers took the opportunity to seek favor, and Sejong's wings began to plump.
Yan Song knows that success in official career is not enough. He should seize this opportunity, continue to work hard and do long-term, hard and meticulous work.
At this point, Yan Song has become a history of does. After God entered the temple ceremony, he specially wrote "Qingyun Fu" and "Ode to Great Gifts". These two articles are really magnificent. Yan Song invited Sejong to accept the worship of his ministers, so that Sejong could become attached to Shu Tai. In the second year, Yan Song was promoted to Prince Taibao, and his reward was equal to that of the assistant minister (cabinet minister).
In fact, before this, Yan Song had already started flattering activities, but his achievements were not outstanding enough and he was not taken seriously. In the seventh year of Jiajing of Sejong (1528), Yan Song went to the burial place of Sejong's biological father as assistant minister of rites. When I came back, I said to Sejong, "I have been ordered to pay tribute to the imperial tomb. When I paid tribute to the treasure book and offered a bed to soothe my nerves, it rained in time and it cleared up in time. In Zaoyang, the stone producing area, there are countless storks around. When the monument was transported into the Hanshui River, the Hanshui River suddenly surged. All these things are cherished by God. Please ask your majesty to ask the cabinet assistant to write a record. " This flattery hit the nail on the head, and Sejong was very happy to hear it, but it was not enough to be moved.
Yan Song really gained Sejong's trust and affection, or from buttering up Sejong's belief in Taoism. Sejong believed in Taoism, and his infatuation and fanaticism were extremely rare among feudal emperors. He set up an altar, believed in alchemists and took Dan medicine. After middle age, he didn't even ask about state affairs and specialized in metaphysics. For a time, the wind of serving Taoism prevailed inside and outside the court. In order to please the emperor, the courtiers did not comfort the active soldiers who defended the border. Instead, it is said that this is the blessing of ghosts and gods, the prayer of Taoist priests, and the Taoist priests are given official titles and titles. The civil servants in the Hanlin Academy did not read the books of sages, but read the Taoist scriptures over and over again. Don't write immortal macro essays, but write those inexplicable metaphysical essays. Once the emperor takes a fancy to it, it means that the sun will rise. Therefore, courtiers often give up their duties and offer things to the mysterious, hoping to make use of them. At that time, the capital almost became a boulevard. Yan Song saw this situation, of course, will not persuade sejong, only flattery.
In the crown system of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor and the crown prince used black gauze to fold towels, following the so-called wing-good crown in the Tang Dynasty. However, Sejong did not wear an ordinary crown because he believed in Taoism, but wore a fragrant leaf crown and dressed himself as a Taoist all day. Sejong also ordered the carving of five Daphne crowns and gave them to five ministers, including Xia Yan and Yan Song. Xia Yan, the cabinet minister, was the first official in the Tang Dynasty. He was upright and did not worship ghosts. He refused to wear the agarwood crown given to him by Sejong, thinking it was against the ancestral system. In addition, the monarch and his subjects wear such hats to hold court proceedings. What a scandal, didn't it turn the imperial court into a Dojo for a group of Taoist priests to do things? Xia Yan protested privately to Sejong, asking him to stay away from Taoism.
This naturally makes Sejong extremely unhappy. But Yan Song is just the opposite. When Sejong summoned him, he not only put on the agarwood crown given to him by Sejong, but also covered the crown with a layer of gauze to show his treasure. Sejong was very happy to see nature. I think Yan Song is loyal not only to his country, but also to me.
Yan Song saw that Xia Yan was gradually falling out of favor and knew that the opportunity to replace him had come, so he carefully designed a plan. First of all, he showed great respect for Xia Yan. He never complained about Xia Yan on any occasion. On one occasion, he invited Xia Yan to his home for dinner, but Xia Yan refused. When Yan Song returned to the office, he not only didn't complain, but also bowed down to Xia Yan's seat. Xia Yan was very moved when he learned about it. He thought that Yan Song really admired and respected himself, so he stopped being wary of Yan Song, which left an opportunity for Yan Song.
Yan Song's attitude towards the emissaries sent by the emperor was diametrically opposed to that of Xia Yan. Ministers of all sects in the world sent imperial edicts to ministers' houses, and Xia Yan always put on a high shelf and treated them like slaves. Yan Song, on the other hand, is respectful to them, keeping gold in his sleeve and comforting them every time. Therefore, these ministers often praise Yan Song and belittle Xia Yan in front of Sejong.
Sejong is very skeptical. Although he didn't engage in spy rule and terror rule like the emperors before the Ming Dynasty, he still didn't trust ministers. He often sends some ministers to important ministers' homes to check the movement openly or secretly. Yan Song know, sejong envoy came, always look at his desk, or write in green. Celadon is a sacrifice of Taoist priests, and it is called celadon because it is written on green vine paper with Chinese characters. Yan Song often gets tips from eunuchs. Someone came to see him, and he was always reviewing and revising the manuscript of Sejong's green words, and often didn't rest until late at night. Xia Yan is different because he is old and he is not interested in Taoism. Therefore, Xia Yan often fell asleep while Yan Song was trying to write blue words for Sejong. As soon as these situations are summed up in Sejong, Sejong will certainly get an impression of diligence and laziness, superiority and inferiority, faithfulness and treachery.
Sejong attached great importance to the green words of offering sacrifices to Dojo. Thanks to Yan Song's redoubled efforts, his Qingci poems can often be renovated and won the favor of Sejong. On the other hand, Xia Yan is lazy and bored, and often asks his men to write for him. When he finished writing, he submitted the manuscript without review. So there is a lot of repeated meanness. Sejong became more and more dissatisfied with Xia Yan after seeing it.
Under the combined effect of various factors, Yan Song felt that the time was ripe to start work, so he found Xia Yan's adversary, Liu Bing, commander-in-chief of the Royal Guards, found a charge, told Sejong, and framed Xia Yan. This can be said to be a matter of course, and the specific process need not be elaborated. Anyway, Sejong won't fire Xia Yan without asking right or wrong.
Yan Song is unique in rejecting dissidents and making friends with private parties. Xia Yan was a great stumbling block to his career, so he tried to get rid of it. Yan Song first gained the trust of Xia Yan, and then sent someone to frame him, which led to the dismissal of Xia Yan. After the death of several cabinet ministers, Sejong once again brought Xia Yan into the cabinet, and its position was still above that of Yan Song. Yan Song saw that Xia Yan couldn't die and couldn't be promoted, so he used his unique skill. At that time, the Tatar tribe in Mongolia occupied the Hetao area and once milled the military affairs of the Shaanxi side of the governor. With the support of the government, the idea of recovering the Hetao area was put forward. This strategy of recovering lost territory was correct in any dynasty and any generation, but it suddenly became a crime in Yan Song's mouth. Coincidentally, the queen died and the palace caught fire. Sejong, who believed in Taoism, was frightened and thought it was a warning from heaven. He didn't know what to do. Yan Song took advantage of Sejong's fear of the Tatars, saying that his attempt to recover the Hetao was "militaristic" and "hired someone to do sideline work", which hurt God's "benevolent heart", and so on, so God warned with different signs. Hearing this, Sejong immediately ordered the arrest of Zeng He. This trumped-up charge could not be washed away even if he jumped into the Yellow River. Just then, the Tatars attacked Yan 'an in Shaanxi and Yinchuan in Ningxia. Sejong was frightened. Yan Song took the opportunity to say that he had angered the Tatars by trying to recover the Hetao, and the Tatars only retaliated. Sejong immediately dismissed Zeng, and Yan Song falsely accused Zeng of accepting bribes, and Sejong killed him.
Yan Song, who is in his sixties, entered the cabinet as a minister of rites and a university student in Wuyingdian. But this person is very strange, in excellent health, showing the appearance of maturity or even youth, and staying with Sejong day and night. Sejong was very moved and liked him more and more. He praised him as "obedient and sensitive" and was a rare loyal minister.
After excluding the biggest dissidents, Yan Songguang planted a private party and was authoritarian for more than 20 years.
Yan Song's son, Yan Shifan, is smart and capable, and Yan Song, of course, is a pawn, searching for eagles and dogs. He took more than a dozen adopted sons, and most of the officials in the main departments of the court came from their families. The official department and the Ministry of War are important government offices responsible for selecting officials and arranging defense, so Yan Song planted two cronies. Official books of the official department and the Ministry of War can be filled out and distributed by Yan Song at will, and there is no need to invite the emperor. These two films have almost become Yan Song's private backyard, and the person in charge has almost become his housekeeper, known as "the second civil servant".
In this way, the border defense of the Ming Dynasty was in chaos, with Mongols in the northwest and enemies in the southeast, and the border chaos continued until the reign of Sejong.
Although Yan Song is powerful, it has no ability to plan its border defense. At that time, the border guards knew that Yan Song was in power and bribed Yan Song and his son with more property and even pay. Yan Song and his son are known as "big prime ministers and small prime ministers". As long as you buy off this "second prime minister", even if you lose your land, you can have a successful career. Otherwise, even the ever-victorious generals will be condemned. Therefore, the border defense is very poor, and the sergeant is hungry and tired, so he can't stop the attack of the Tatars. In the 29th year of Jiajing (1550), Tatar Anda Khan led the troops into Beijing, and the capital was in danger. As the first minister of the dynasty, Yan Song not only refused to go to war, but also told all ministers not to report to the emperor.
Yan Song said to Ding Rukui, the minister of the Ministry of War, "If you are defeated, you can hide it. If you lose, who will take the blame? " As a result, the Ministry of War issued an order that the army should not go to war easily. When people from all walks of life in Wang Dajun arrived, Yan Song recommended his cronies and sworn enemies as the only commander-in-chief to control all military forces. The Ming army saw Tatar soldiers burning and looting at the gates, just watching, as carefree as watching the fire from the other side. Yan Song has shown the generals that the Tatars are nothing more than looting property. If they grab enough, they will naturally retreat. Sure enough, the Tatars soon returned home with a large number of women and jade articles. At this time, the enemy sent several troops to see him off behind the enemy, killing dozens of people and robbing some property.
Sejong, who believes in Taoism, seems to be at peace with the world, but when he forces the enemy to the gate, he still feels uncomfortable and can't help but find someone to vent his anger on. Sejong arrested Ding Rukui, the minister of war, and Yan Song was afraid that Ding Rukui would expose himself. He hurriedly assured him that Sejong would not kill him, but when Sejong was angry and wanted to kill Ding Rukui, Yan Song dared not come out to intercede for him, and Ding Rukui was killed as a result. Before the execution, Ding Rukui shouted: "Yan Song misses me!"
Anti-Japanese affairs in southeast China were also destroyed by Yan Song. Yu, a famous anti-Japanese star, is honest and clean. After he entered Beijing, he didn't kiss up. Yan Song and his son made an excuse and put him in prison. Yu really didn't have the money to bribe Yan Song, but the courtiers couldn't stand it, so they collected some money and gave it to Yan Song. Yu was released from prison and saved his life.
At that time, Japan's aggression in Zhejiang was very serious, and the number of warships was only 1 12. During the three or four years around the thirty-first year of Jiajing, hundreds of thousands of people were killed in coastal areas. Yan Song not only did not actively organize the fighting, but persecuted the anti-Japanese generals. Zhang Jing, an anti-Japanese general, defeated Japanese pirates and beheaded more than 2,000 people, which was an unprecedented great victory in the history of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. However, because Yan Song's adopted son in Zhejiang didn't take bribes, he was framed by Yan Song for greed and death.
Yan Song and his son are arrogant and illegal, and selling officials and titles is rampant. Not only did North Korean officials bribe him heavily, but foreign officials also had to bribe Yan Song and his son heavily if they wanted to be promoted. Therefore, the transfer of domestic and foreign officials does not depend on whether they are virtuous or not, but on the amount of bribes taken. Bribery for Yan Songfu is endless every day. Qiu Luan, the company commander of Gansu Province, was dismissed for corruption and abuse of power. Later, he bribed Yan Song heavily, was adopted as his adopted son, and became a Beijing official. He was promoted after the Tatars attacked Beijing. Zhao Wenhua returned to Beijing from Jiangnan and gave each of the 27 concubines of Yan Shifan, the son of Yan Song, a bun and a golden curtain. Yan Shifan was fired because he thought it was too little. Yan and his son occupy 150 granges in Beijing, Nanjing and other places. The occupation of private land is even more shocking. Sixty-seven percent of the private land in four counties of Yuanzhou was occupied by Yan.
The most interesting thing is Yan Shifan's theory that the imperial court is inferior to the imperial court. Yanfu is resplendent and magnificent, and there are countless gold, silver and jewels. Yan Shifan once said proudly, "The imperial court is not as rich as me." Yan Shifan's beautiful wives and concubines lined up on both sides, singing and dancing, singing and laughing. In front of him, Yan Shifan once said smugly: "The court is not as happy as me."
The extravagance of Yan's father and son naturally aroused the great indignation of court officials, the most famous of which was the outlaw played by He. In the 30th year of Jiajing (155 1), Shen Lian, a royal guard, wrote a letter to Sejong, listing ten major crimes of Yan Song, including neglecting the frontier defense, selling officials and titles, framing loyal ministers, etc., and demanding that Yan Song be killed to thank the world. In the thirty-second year of Jiajing (1553), Yang Jisheng, assistant minister of the Ministry of War, wrote to Sejong again and listed Yan Song's five crimes of rape and ten crimes. The five traitors are: bribing officials to become spies and informing them; Control the department that holds the throne and deceive the emperor; Collaborate with factories and guards to become their own minions and win over officials; Trap your servants and make them your confidants. The top ten sins are: acting as prime minister; Bad ancestor law; False imperial edict; Impersonate for military service; Accepting bribes for personal gain; Quote evil spirits; Waste and standby, etc.
Faced with these illegal broadcasts, Yan Song has its own way to deal with them. Whenever there is a scene that violates the rules, Yan Song pretends to be nervous and pathetic. Sejong, because he believed in Taoism and entrusted politics to ministers, occasionally made mistakes, but he had to show a very wise appearance, especially his suspicious and willful character, and when he made mistakes, he was so unconventional to shock ministers.
Yan Song, who had been waiting around for a day, naturally understood Sejong's character. When someone impeached him, he knelt before Sejong, looking helpless, admitting guilt, dereliction of duty, and even offending courtiers, demanding to be dismissed from office and return to China. The more he did this, the more Sejong refused. Instead, he said, "The song of Yan Song is attached to me, praising my mysterious work and offending courtiers. I should protect him. " In this way, people who play illegally will be in trouble. Shen Lian was demoted to security guard, but he didn't give in. He stabbed three right-wingers to death, marked them with the words "Treacherous court official Li in Tang Dynasty", "Treacherous court official Li in Song Dynasty" and "Treacherous court official Yan Song in Ming Dynasty", and shot them with arrows to vent their anger. Yan Song knew about it and killed it at once.
Yang Jisheng's case caused a sensation. Yang Jisheng knew that if he wrote a letter, he would die, but he decided resolutely. Ming history spoke highly of this. Yang Jisheng was framed and killed by Yan Song. As for other persecuted officials, it is difficult to count them.
Yan Song prospered because he worshipped Sejong and believed in Taoism, but also lost because Sejong believed in Taoism. There was an alchemist named Landaoxing, who was good at training women and won the trust of Sejong. Once, Sejong asked who was the biggest traitor of the dynasty. The result of Landaoxing's assistance was Yan Song, and Sejong couldn't help but believe it. At this time, Yan Song's wife died, and Yan Shifan stayed at home to attend his mother's funeral, so he could not go to North Korea to handle affairs. In the past, when there was an emergency memorial in North Korea, Yan Song gave it to Yan Shifan to guess and write a good opinion, and then Yan Song sent it up. On the whole, Sejong is very satisfied. Now that Yan Shifan is away, Yan Song has to write it himself. Yan Song's eyesight is dim, and what he said is not only unreasonable, but also satisfying. Sejong began to hate Yan Song.
At this point, the suggestion and Zou Yinglong wrote to impeach Yan Song. Sejong was just an official in Yan Song, and at the same time he was demoted to Yan Shifan to guard the border. However, Yan Shifan had the audacity to turn back halfway, and went to Beijing to rob commoners, plunder property and even commit adultery with the enemy. Of course, he was impeached by this suggestion. Sejong was furious and ordered him to be executed.
During the execution, people in the capital celebrated festivals, many people drank wine to celebrate, and people who went to watch the execution blocked the streets, showing great resentment against Yan Shifan. Two years later (1567), Yan Song died at the age of 87.
After reading Yan Song's flattery skills above, I personally think that it is really unprecedented and should be crowned as the "flattery champion". However, it is hard to say whether his laurel will last for a long time, because although it is unprecedented, it does not necessarily mean that there is no future. People of insight will wait and see.