When I was young, I always felt that I had to stay out of the mud and do justice and fairness, to plead for the people, and to follow my conscience.
After growing up, I found that what I really wanted to accomplish was actually accompanied by too much helplessness.
In history, like Zhang Juzheng, do you say he is a good person? Or a bad person?
As for the good person, he extended the life of the Ming Empire, implemented the "One Whip Law" to remeasure the land, and the "Performance Evaluation Law", established an attendance system for officials, put an end to their laziness, forced officials to work hard, and finally achieved the "Wanli Restoration"
You say he is a bad person, he is indeed bad enough, forming a clique with Feng Baola, eliminating dissidents, living a luxurious life, and there were 32 people carrying the sedan chair alone. There are also rumors that he had an affair with Wanli's mother
But, if Zhang Juzheng just said that he had achieved wealth and status and ended it, wouldn't it be better?
So hard to climb up from the bottom, step by step to a high position, and reach the pinnacle of life, why do you continue to make trouble?
Why should we re-measure the land and reduce the officials' exploitation of the people?
Why should we implement the performance evaluation system to force the masters to work hard?
That's because he still has a conscience in his heart and wants to turn the tide for the precarious Ming Dynasty and make Wanli a wise ruler.
So Zhang Juzheng is actually a vulgar man, who can't be more vulgar. He used various tricks to reach the peak and then became a successful person in the secular sense.
But he also has the ideal of a young scholar in his heart, that is, to establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish enlightenment for the people, and to open peace for all generations.
So, he is great.
I write this to tell you that no matter how great our achievements are, remember that we should still have conscience and ideals in our hearts. Even if the road ahead is so difficult, we should not forget our ideals.
Our lives will not be perfect, and it cannot be perfect. When I dream at midnight, I hope we can still stick to our original intentions, that is:
If you are poor, you should be good to yourself, and if you are rich, you should help the world.
