You were born in the family of a scholar in Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture. When you were born, your great-grandfather had a dream. The moon was shining in the water, and a white turtle floated out of the water.

Hello everyone, I am the editor Cheese, and I will help you understand all kinds of wonderful knowledge in the world. Today we will talk about the story of Zhang Juzheng , the first assistant of the generation.

You were born in the family of a scholar in Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture. When you were born, your great-grandfather had a dream. The moon reflected in the water, and a white turtle floated from the water. So, he gave you the nickname "Bai Gui", which is homophonic to white turtle, hoping that you will be able to honor your ancestors in the future.

You have been very smart since you were a child. You were literate at the age of 5 and could understand the Six Classics at the age of 7. You became a well-known child prodigy in Jingzhou Prefecture at a very young age. When you were 12 years old, you took part in the children's examination. You were so smart that you immediately gained the love of Li Shi'ao, the prefect of Jingzhou. He hoped that you could become a pillar of the country and changed your name to Ju Zheng.

A year later, you went to take part in the provincial examination. You thought you would win the first prize in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, HuguangGovernor Gu Lin thought that you were too young and should hone yourself more. You failed, but you were not discouraged at all. Three years later, you took the provincial examination again and successfully became a junior candidate.

As the saying goes, "Youth must have all the fun when you are proud." At the age of 23, you won the ninth place in the second class and became a shujishi. Shujishi is a close minister of the emperor and one of the important sources of cabinet ministers. Under the guidance of the cabinet minister Xu Jie, you study the rules and regulations of the country day after day, witness the struggles of the cabinet , and have a great influence on the imperial court. Have a deeper understanding of politics and border defense.

After you discovered the shortcomings of the imperial court, you wrote an article " On Current Affairs", stating some of your ideas about reforming politics, but Ming Shizong ignored you at all. You were discouraged and not in good health, so you took sick leave and went to your hometown Jiangling. You spent three years traveling around.

During this period, you saw more civil problems. You wrote "The Title of Jingzhou Prefecture", saying that "the land is uneven, the poor are unemployed, and the people are suffering from annexation." Seeing the suffering of the people, you couldn't bear it, so you returned to the Hanlin Academy to serve as a voice for the people.

Just serving in the Hanlin Academy is not enough. Your power alone is not enough to complete the major reform. So you work part-time as a clerk in the Imperial Academy. After becoming a teacher, you have a lot of contacts, and they will most likely enter the officialdom in the future. Slowly, your official position became bigger and bigger, and you reached the position of chief minister. You proposed a plan to reform politics, insisting on "rectifying the administration of officials, enriching the country and strengthening the army", and considering the people and the country.

In order to realize the plan to reform politics, you plan to start with national defense and consolidate national defense. You made plans for the emperor, solved the threat of attack by the Tatar leader Anda , established friendly relations with the Tatars, and opened horse markets in three border towns, allowing trade between the two countries. After solving the national defense issue, you can turn your attention to the domestic governance issue.

Regarding the issue of government administration, you have come up with a solution - " examination becomes law ", that is, from the cabinet to six subjects , and from the six subjects all to the yamen, examinations are conducted layer by layer, one layer is in charge of the other, and the responsibilities are clear. This method played a great role in rectifying land taxes and increasing national fiscal revenue.

When facing Ming Shenzong, you also argued hard with reason, asking Ming Shenzong to save "all useless expenses". In the end, you won, and the emperor stopped spending money on rebuilding Ciqing, Cining Second Palace and Wuying Palace. Officials were affected by the incident and began to be thrifty.

"I am willing to serve the world with my deep heart and not to seek my own interests." Throughout your life, you have been loyal to the country and always served the people. In order to complete the reform, you even gave up going home to observe filial piety for your father. Even though you were misunderstood by people, you persisted. Complete the mission of reform. In 1582, you died of illness, but your work day and night for national affairs will always be remembered by people. Shenzong gave you the posthumous title " Wenzhong".

This is the story of Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant of a generation. Thank you for watching! If you have other opinions, you can comment below the article. Everyone is welcome to like, follow, comment and collect, and discuss the most interesting stories together~