Volume 218 Biographies 106: Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, Shen Yiguan, Fang Congzhe, Shen Que

申時行子用懋用嘉孫紹芳王錫爵弟鼎爵子衡沈一貫方從哲沈㴶弟演

Shen Shixing's sons Yongmao and Yongjia, his grandson Shaofang; Wang Xijue's brother Dingjue's son Heng; Shen Yiguan; Fang Congzhe; and Shen Que's brother Yan.

申時行

Shen Shixing

申時行，字汝默，長洲人。嘉靖四十一年進士第一。授修撰。歷左庶子，掌翰林院事。萬曆五年，由禮部右侍郎改吏部。時行以文字受知張居正，蘊藉不立崖異，居正安之。六年三月，居正將歸葬父，請廣閣臣，遂以左侍郎兼東閣大學士入預機務。已，進禮部尚書兼文淵閣，累進少傅兼太子太傅、吏部尚書、建極殿。張居正攬權久，操群下如束濕，異己者率逐去之。及居正卒，張四維、時行相繼柄政，務為寬大。以次收召老成，布列庶位，朝論多稱之。然是時內閣權積重，六卿大抵徇閣臣指。諸大臣由四維、時行起，樂其寬，多與相厚善。四維憂歸，時行為首輔。余有丁、許國、王錫爵、王家屏先後同居政府，無嫌猜。而言路為居正所遏，至是方發舒。以居正素昵時行，不能無諷刺。時行外示博大能容人，心故弗善也。帝雖樂言者訐居正短，而頗惡人論時事，言事者間謫官。眾以此望時行，口語相詆諆。諸大臣又皆右時行拄言者口，言者益憤，時行以此損物望。

Shen Shixing, whose style name was Rumo, came from Changzhou. In Jiajing 41 he took first place in the jinshi examinations. He was appointed a Compiler in the Hanlin Academy. He rose through the posts of Left Vice Director of the Secretariat and director of Hanlin Academy affairs. In Wanli 5 he was moved from Right Vice Minister of Rites to the Ministry of Personnel. Shixing had impressed Zhang Juzheng with his writing; mild and unassuming, he never struck a pose, and Juzheng trusted him. In the third month of Wanli 6, when Juzheng was preparing to go home for his father's funeral, he asked that the Grand Secretariat be enlarged; Shixing was appointed Left Vice Minister and concurrently Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion to join in deliberating policy. He was soon promoted to Minister of Rites with a seat in the Wenyuan Pavilion, and later rose step by step to Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent, Minister of Personnel, and Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall. Zhang Juzheng had held power for years and kept officials on as short a leash as wet cord; anyone who crossed him was usually expelled. After Juzheng's death, Zhang Siwei and then Shixing took the helm in turn, both aiming at a softer style of rule. They slowly brought back seasoned men and spread them through the ranks, and public opinion in the capital largely approved. By then, however, the Grand Secretariat had grown so powerful that the heads of the six ministries mostly did as the Grand Secretaries wished. Senior officials who had advanced under Siwei and Shixing welcomed their easy manner and for the most part stood with them as friends. When Siwei left for mourning, Shixing became chief among the Grand Secretaries. Yu Youding, Xu Guo, Wang Xijue, and Wang Jiaping served together in the cabinet in succession, without jealousy or quarrel. The censorial and remonstrance corps had been muzzled under Juzheng; now at last they found their voice again. Since Juzheng had favored Shixing, the remonstrators could not help aiming barbed comments at him as well. Shixing put on a show of magnanimity, but inwardly he bore them no goodwill. The emperor liked to hear Juzheng attacked, yet he hated open debate on current affairs; remonstrators who crossed that line were sometimes punished with demotion. Many looked to Shixing for relief, even as factions traded insults in speech. Senior ministers mostly backed Shixing against the remonstrators; the remonstrators only grew fiercer, and Shixing's reputation suffered for it.

十二年三月，御史張文熙嘗言前閣臣專恣者四事，請帝永禁革之。時行疏爭曰：「文熙謂部院百執事不當置考成簿，送閣察考；吏、兵二部除授，不當一一取裁；督撫巡按行事，不當密揭請教；閣中票擬，當使同官知。夫閣臣不職當罷黜，若並其執掌盡削之，是因噎廢食也。至票擬，無不與同官議者。」帝深以為然，絀文熙議不用。御史丁此呂言侍郎高啟愚以試題勸進居正，帝手疏示時行。時行曰：「此呂以曖昧陷人大辟，恐讒言接踵至，非清明之朝所宜有。」尚書楊巍因請出此呂於外，帝從巍言。而給事御史王士性、李植等交章劾巍阿時行意，蔽塞言路。帝尋亦悔之，命罷啟愚，留此呂。時行、巍求去。有丁、國言：「大臣國體所系，今以群言留此呂，恐無以安時行、巍心。」國尤不勝憤，專疏求去，詆諸言路。副都御史石星、侍郎陸光祖亦以為言。帝乃聽巍，出此呂於外，慰留時行、國，而言路群起攻國。時行請量罰言者，言者益心憾。既而李植、江東之以大峪山壽宮事撼時行不勝，貶去，閣臣與言路日相水火矣。

In the third month of Wanli 12, Censor Zhang Wenxi listed four abuses by past Grand Secretaries and asked that the throne forbid them forever. Shixing protested in a memorial: "Wenxi says that the hundred-odd officials of the ministries and directorates must not be listed on the kao-cheng assessment books sent to the Grand Secretariat; that the Ministries of Personnel and War should not have every appointment subject to Grand Secretariat approval; that governors, grand coordinators, and touring censors should not send secret memorials asking how to act; and that draft rescripts in the Grand Secretariat should be shared with one's colleagues. Unworthy Grand Secretaries ought to be removed—but to abolish all their duties at once is to throw away food because one once choked. As for drafting rescripts, nothing is done without consulting the other Grand Secretaries. The emperor strongly agreed and set Wenxi's proposal aside without adopting it. Censor Ding Cilü charged that Vice Minister Gao Qiyu had used an examination topic to urge promoting Juzheng; the emperor drafted a note in his own hand and showed it to Shixing. Shixing said: "Cilü would send a man to death on vague insinuation; if that stands, calumny will come in waves—no clear court should permit it. Minister Yang Wei asked that Cilü be posted away from the capital, and the emperor agreed. Yet supervising secretaries and censors such as Wang Shixing and Li Zhi submitted joint memorials accusing Wei of pandering to Shixing and choking off free speech. The emperor soon regretted his decision and ordered Qiyu dismissed while keeping Cilü in office. Shixing and Wei both asked to leave office. Youding and Guo argued: "Grand ministers embody the state's dignity; if popular clamor keeps Cilü, Shixing and Wei cannot feel secure in their posts. Guo, unable to contain his anger, filed his own resignation memorial and lashed out at the remonstrators. Vice Censor-in-Chief Shi Xing and Vice Minister Lu Guangzu made the same point. The emperor then let Wei resign, posted Cilü outside the capital, and pressed Shixing and Guo to remain—whereupon the remonstrators turned on Guo in force. Shixing asked that the remonstrators be punished in measure; they hated him all the more. Soon Li Zhi and Jiang Dongzhi attacked Shixing over the Dayu Mountain tomb project, failed, and were demoted; from then on the cabinet and the remonstrance corps were locked in open feud.

初，御史魏允貞、郎中李三才以科場事論及時行子用懋，貶官。給事中鄒元標劾罷時行姻徐學謨，時行假他疏逐之去。已而占物情，稍稍擢三人官，三人得毋廢。世以此稱時行長者。時行欲收人心，罷居正時所行考成法；一切為簡易，亦數有獻納。嘗因災異，力言催科急迫，征派加增，刑獄繁多，用度侈靡之害。又嘗請止撫按官助工贓罰銀，請減織造數，趣發諸司章奏。緣尚寶卿徐貞明議，請開畿內水田。用鄧子龍、劉綎平隴川，薦鄭洛為經略，趣順義王東歸，寢葉夢熊奏以弭楊應龍之變。然是時天下承平，上下恬熙，法紀漸不振。時行務承帝指，不能大有建立。帝每遇講期，多傳免。時行請雖免講，仍進講章。自後為故事，講筵遂永罷。評事雒於仁進《酒色財氣四箴》，帝大怒，召時行等條分析之，將重譴。時行請毋下其章，而諷於仁自引去，於仁賴以免。然章奏留中自此始。

Earlier, Censor Wei Yunzhen and Director Li Sancai, in a dispute over the examinations, had touched Shixing's son Yongmao and been demoted. Supervising Secretary Zou Yuanbiao had impeached Shixing's kinsman by marriage Xu Xuemo out of office; Shixing then used another memorial to force Zou out as well. Later, reading the mood of the times, he slowly restored the three men's offices, so they were not destroyed in the end. Contemporaries therefore praised Shixing as a man of forbearance. Seeking to win goodwill, Shixing abolished the kao-cheng performance reviews Juzheng had imposed; he simplified procedures across the board and several times offered constructive counsel. Once, invoking natural calamities, he spoke bluntly of the evils of harsh tax collection, extra levies, crowded prisons, and lavish spending. He also asked to end the "assistance" fines levied on provincial governors, to cut imperial silk quotas, and to speed up ministry memorials. Following Court Gentleman Xu Zhenming, he urged opening irrigated fields in the metropolitan districts. He used Deng Zilong and Liu Ting to pacify Longchuan, recommended Zheng Luo as frontier commissioner, pressed the Shunyi prince to return east, and set aside Ye Mengxiong's memorial to defuse the Yang Yinglong crisis. Yet the empire was at peace; court and country were complacent, and discipline slowly slackened. Shixing tried above all to follow the emperor's mind and accomplished little of lasting weight. Whenever the day came for the classics lecture, the emperor often sent word that he would not attend. Shixing asked that even when lectures were canceled, the prepared lecture texts still be presented. That became the custom thereafter, and the lecture hall was abandoned for good. Reviewer Luo Yuren presented his Four Admonitions on wine, sex, wealth, and temper; the emperor was furious, summoned Shixing and the others to parse each point, and prepared heavy penalties. Shixing asked that the memorial not be published and quietly urged Yuren to resign; Yuren escaped punishment. From that time, however, the practice began of keeping memorials at the palace without action.

十四年正月，光宗年五歲，而鄭貴妃有寵，生皇三子常洵，頗萌奪嫡意。時行率同列再請建儲，不聽。廷臣以貴妃故，多指斥宮闈，觸帝怒，被嚴譴。帝嘗詔求直言。郎官劉復初、李懋檜等顯侵貴妃。時行請帝下詔，令諸曹建言止及所司職掌，聽其長擇而獻之，不得專達。帝甚悅，眾多咎時行者。時行連請建儲。十八年，帝召皇長子、皇三子，令時行入見毓德宮。時行拜賀，請亟定大計。帝猶豫久之，下詔曰：「朕不喜激聒。近諸臣章奏概留中，惡其離間朕父子。若明歲廷臣不復瀆擾，當以後年冊立，否則俟皇長子十五歲舉行。」時行因戒廷臣毋激擾。明年八月，工部主事張有德請具冊立儀註。帝怒，命展期一年。而內閣中亦有疏入。時行方在告，次輔國首列時行名。時行密上封事，言：「臣方在告，初不預知。冊立之事，聖意已定。有德不諳大計，惟宸斷親裁，勿因小臣妨大典。」於是給事中羅大纮劾時行，謂陽附群臣之議以請立，而陰緩其事以內交。中書黃正賓復論時行排陷同官，巧避首事之罪。二人皆被黜責。御史鄒德泳疏復上，時行力求罷。詔馳驛歸。歸三年，光宗始出閣講學，十年始立為皇太子。

In the first month of Wanli 14, Heir Apparent Guangzong was only five, but favored Consort Zheng had borne the third son Changxun, and talk of replacing the heir began to circulate. Shixing led the Grand Secretariat in again urging that the heir be named; the emperor refused. Many officials, because of the consort, attacked the inner palace; the emperor's wrath fell on them and they were harshly punished. The emperor once issued an edict inviting frank counsel. Court gentlemen Liu Fuchu and Li Maojian openly assailed the consort. Shixing asked the emperor to decree that every office confine memorials to its own jurisdiction, let chiefs choose what to forward, and forbid direct submission to the throne. The emperor was delighted; many held Shixing responsible. Shixing again and again pressed for investiture of the heir. In Wanli 18 the emperor summoned the eldest prince and the third prince and had Shixing received at the Yude Palace. Shixing bowed in congratulation and begged that the succession be settled at once. The emperor hesitated a long time, then issued an edict: "I dislike shrill remonstrance. Lately I have held back your memorials because I hate your driving a wedge between father and son. If next year the court does not pester me again, I will invest the heir the year after; otherwise I will wait until the eldest son is fifteen. Shixing then warned the court not to stir up trouble. In the eighth month of the next year, Zhang Youde of the Ministry of Works asked that investiture rites be prepared. The emperor was angry and postponed the date by a year. A memorial from within the Grand Secretariat had also gone in. Shixing was on leave at the time; Acting Chief Guo put Shixing's name at the head of the memorial. Shixing sent a secret memorial saying: "I was on leave and knew nothing of this at first. On investiture, Your Majesty's mind is already made up. Youde does not grasp the larger design; let Your Majesty decide alone and do not let a minor official block a great state ceremony. Supervising Secretary Luo Dahong then impeached Shixing, charging that he publicly backed investiture while privately slowing it to win favor inside the palace. Secretary Huang Zhengbin accused Shixing of trapping colleagues and dodging blame as the prime mover. Both were dismissed and punished. Censor Zou Deyong memorialized again; Shixing pressed hard to resign. An edict sent him home by imperial courier. Three years after Shixing left, Guangzong was finally brought out for instruction; ten years passed before he was invested crown prince.

四十二年，時行年八十，帝遣行人存問。詔書至門而卒。先以雲南嶽鳳平，加少師兼太子太師、中極殿大學士，詔贈太師，謚文定。

In Wanli 42, when Shixing was eighty, the emperor sent an envoy to ask after him. The edict arrived at his gate the day he died. Earlier, after Yue Feng's pacification in Yunnan, he had been promoted to Junior Tutor, Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent, and Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall; he was posthumously enfeoffed Grand Tutor with the posthumous title Wendi.

子用懋用嘉

Sons Yongmao and Yongjia

子用懋、用嘉。用懋，字敬中，舉進士。累官兵部職方郎中。神宗擢太仆少卿，仍視職方事。再遷右僉都御史，巡撫順天。崇禎初，歷兵部左、右侍郎，拜尚書，致仕歸。卒，贈太子太保。用嘉，舉人。歷官廣西參政。

His sons were Yongmao and Yongjia. Yongmao, style name Jingzhong, became a jinshi. He rose to Director in the Ministry of War's Bureau of Operations. Shenzong promoted him to Vice Director of the Imperial Stud while he still handled operations work. He was later made Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and grand coordinator of Shuntian. Early in Chongzhen he served as Left and Right Vice Minister of War, became Minister, and retired. After his death he was posthumously made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Yongjia passed the provincial examination. He served as administrative commissioner of Guangxi.

孫紹芳

Grandson Shaofang

孫紹芳，進士，戶部左侍郎。

Shaofang, a jinshi, rose to Left Vice Minister of Revenue.

王錫爵

Wang Xijue

王錫爵，字元馭，太倉人。嘉靖四十一年舉會試第一，廷試第二，授編修。累遷至祭酒。萬歷五年，以詹事掌翰林院。張居正奪情，將廷杖吳中行、趙用賢等。錫爵要同館十餘人詣居正求解，居正不納。錫爵獨造喪次，切言之，居正徑入不顧。中行等既受杖，錫爵持之大慟。明年，進禮部右侍郎。居正甫歸治喪，九卿急請召還，錫爵獨不署名。旋乞省親去。居正以錫爵形己短，益銜之，錫爵遂不出。十二年冬，即家拜禮部尚書兼文淵閣大學士，參機務。還朝，請禁諂諛、抑奔競、戒虛浮、節侈靡、辟橫議、簡工作。帝咸褒納。

Wang Xijue, style name Yuanyu, came from Taicang. In Jiajing 41 he placed first in the metropolitan exam and second in the palace exam, and was appointed Compiler. He rose to become chancellor of the National University. In Wanli 5 he served as Grand Mentor directing Hanlin Academy affairs. When Zhang Juzheng forced his way out of mourning, he planned to have Wu Zhongxing, Zhao Yongxian, and others beaten at court. Xijue asked a dozen fellow academicians to beg Juzheng for mercy; Juzheng refused. Xijue went alone to the mourning lodge and pleaded earnestly; Juzheng walked straight in and ignored him. When Zhongxing and the others had been flogged, Xijue held them and wept aloud. The next year he was made Right Vice Minister of Rites. Juzheng had barely gone home for mourning when the Nine Ministers urgently petitioned his recall; Xijue alone withheld his signature. He soon asked to visit his parents and left office. Juzheng, feeling Xijue had shown up his faults, hated him the more, and Xijue stayed out of office. In the winter of Wanli 12 he was appointed from home as Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion. Back at court he urged bans on flattery, curbing of office-seeking, restraint of empty display, thrift, an end to reckless controversy, and simpler public works. The emperor praised and accepted every point.

初，李植、江東之與大臣申時行、楊巍等相構，以錫爵負時望，且與居正貳，力推之。比錫爵至，與時行合，反出疏力排植等，植等遂去。時時行為首輔，許國次之，三人皆南畿人，而錫爵與時行同舉會試，且同郡，政府相得甚。然時行柔和，而錫爵性剛負氣。十六年，子衡舉順天試第一，郎官高桂、饒伸論之。錫爵連章辨訐，語過忿，伸坐下詔獄除名，桂謫邊方。御史喬璧星請帝戒諭錫爵，務擴其量，為休休有容之臣，錫爵疏辨。以是積與廷論忤。

Earlier Li Zhi and Jiang Dongzhi had feuded with Shen Shixing, Yang Wei, and others; seeing Xijue's standing and his break with Juzheng, they pushed hard for him. Once Xijue arrived he sided with Shixing and memorialized fiercely against Zhi and his allies, who were driven out. Shixing was chief Grand Secretary, Xu Guo second; all three were Jiangnan men, and Xijue had passed the metropolitan exam with Shixing from the same county—the cabinet got on famously. Shixing was mild, but Xijue was proud and quick-tempered. In Wanli 16 his son Heng ranked first in the Shuntian provincial exam; court gentlemen Gao Gui and Rao Shen attacked the result. Xijue answered in a stream of angry memorials; Shen was jailed and struck from the rolls, and Gui was exiled. Censor Qiao Bixing asked the emperor to warn Xijue to be more magnanimous; Xijue defended himself in a memorial. From then on he clashed repeatedly with opinion at court.

時群臣請建儲者眾，帝皆不聽。十八年，錫爵疏請豫教元子，錄用言官姜應麟等，且求宥故巡撫李材，不報。嘗因旱災，自陳乞罷。帝優詔留之。火落赤、真相犯西陲，議者爭請用兵，錫爵主款，與時行合。未幾，偕同列爭冊立不得，杜門乞歸。尋以母老，連乞歸省。乃賜道里費，遣官護行。歸二年，時行、國及王家屏相繼去位，有詔趣召錫爵。二十一年正月，還朝，遂為首輔。

Many officials were pressing for investiture of the heir; the emperor would not hear it. In Wanli 18 Xijue asked early schooling for the eldest son, restoration of remonstrators like Jiang Yinglin, and pardon for ex-grand coordinator Li Cai—all unanswered. Once, citing drought, he offered to resign. The emperor issued a gracious edict keeping him on. When Huoluo Chi and Zhenxiang raided the western border, many urged war, but Xijue favored accommodation, as did Shixing. Soon he and his colleagues failed again on investiture and begged to go home. His mother being old, he soon asked repeatedly to visit her. The court granted traveling funds and sent an escort. Two years later, as Shixing, Guo, and Wang Jiaping left in turn, an edict hurried Xijue back. In the first month of Wanli 21 he returned and became chief Grand Secretary.

先是有旨，是年春舉冊立大典，戒廷臣毋瀆陳。廷臣鑒張有德事，咸默默。及是，錫爵密請帝決大計。帝遣內侍以手詔示錫爵，欲待嫡子，令元子與兩弟且並封為王。錫爵懼失上指，立奉詔擬諭旨。而又外慮公論，因言「漢明帝馬後、唐明皇王後、宋真宗劉後皆養諸妃子為子，請令皇后撫育元子，則元子即嫡子，而生母不必崇位號以上壓皇貴妃」，亦擬諭以進。同列趙誌臯、張位咸不預聞。帝竟以前諭下禮官，令即具儀。於是舉朝大嘩。給事中史孟麟、禮部尚書羅萬化等，群詣錫爵第，力爭。廷臣諫者，章日數上。錫爵偕誌臯、位力請追還前詔，帝不從。已而諫者益多，而嶽元聲、顧允成、張納陛、陳泰來、於孔兼、李啟美、曾鳳儀、鐘化民、項德禎等遮錫爵於朝房，面爭之。李騰芳亦上書錫爵。錫爵請下廷議，不許。請面對，不報。乃自劾三誤，乞罷斥。帝亦迫公議，追寢前命，命少俟二三年議行。錫爵旋請速決，且曰：「曩元子初生，業為頒詔肆赦，詔書稱『祗承宗社』，明以皇太子待之矣。今復何疑而弗決哉？」不報。

An edict had already fixed investiture for that spring and warned officials not to pester the throne. Mindful of Zhang Youde's punishment, the court fell silent. Xijue then secretly urged the emperor to settle succession. The emperor sent a eunuch with a handwritten edict: he wished to wait for a son of the empress and meanwhile enfeoff the eldest son and his two brothers as kings. Afraid to miss the emperor's meaning, Xijue at once drafted a rescript to carry it out. Fearing public outrage, he cited Han, Tang, and Song empresses who had raised other women's sons and proposed that the empress adopt the eldest son as her own so he would count as legitimate, without elevating his birth mother's title above the honored consort—he drafted that too. Colleagues Zhao Zhigao and Zhang Wei knew nothing of this. The emperor sent the first order to the Ministry of Rites to prepare the rites at once. The whole court erupted in protest. Supervising Secretary Shi Menglin, Minister Luo Wanhua, and others marched on Xijue's house to protest. Remonstrance memorials poured in daily. Xijue, Zhigao, and Wei begged to recall the edict; the emperor refused. Soon Yue Yuansheng, Gu Yuncheng, Zhang Nalu, Chen Tailai, Yu Kongjian, Li Qimei, Zeng Fengyi, Zhong Huamin, Xiang Dezhen, and others cornered Xijue in the anteroom and debated him to his face. Li Tengfang also memorialized Xijue directly. Xijue asked for a full court debate; the emperor refused. He asked for a personal audience; no answer. He then confessed three errors and begged to be dismissed. Pressed by opinion, the emperor revoked the order and said to wait two or three years. Xijue soon pressed for a decision: "When the eldest son was born, an amnesty edict already called him 'receiving the ancestral charge'—he was plainly treated as heir. Why should there still be any hesitation? No reply came.

七月，彗星見，有詔修省。錫爵因請延見大臣。又言：「彗漸近紫微，宜慎起居之節，寬左右之刑，寡嗜欲以防疾，散積聚以廣恩。」逾月，復言：「慧已入紫微，非區區用人行政所能消弭，惟建儲一事可以禳之。蓋天王之象曰帝星，太子之象曰前星。今前星既耀而不早定，故致此災。誠速行冊立，天變自弭。」帝皆報聞，仍持首春待期之說。錫爵答奏復力言之，又連章懇請。十一月，皇太后生辰，帝御門受賀畢，獨召錫爵暖閣，勞之曰：「卿扶母來京，誠忠孝兩全。」錫爵叩頭謝，因力請早定國本。帝曰：「中宮有出，奈何？」對曰：「此說在十年前猶可，今元子已十三，尚何待？況自古至今，豈有子弟十三歲猶不讀書者？」帝頗感動。錫爵因請頻召對，保聖躬。退復上疏力請，且曰：「外廷以固寵陰謀歸之皇貴妃，恐鄭氏舉族不得安。惟陛下深省。」帝得疏，心益動，手詔諭錫爵：「卿每奏必及皇貴妃，何也？彼數勸朕，朕以祖訓後妃不得與外事，安敢輒從。」錫爵上言：「今與皇長子相形者，惟皇貴妃子，天下不疑皇貴妃而誰疑？皇貴妃不引為己責而誰責？祖訓不與外事者，不與外廷用人行政之事也。若冊立，乃陛下家事，而皇三子又皇貴妃親子，陛下得不與皇貴妃謀乎？且皇貴妃久侍聖躬，至親且賢，外廷紛紛，莫不歸怨，臣所不忍聞。臣六十老人，力捍天下之口，歸功皇貴妃，陛下尚以為疑。然則必如群少年盛氣以攻皇貴妃，而陛下反快於心乎？」疏入，帝頷之。誌臯、位亦力請。居數日，遂有出閣之命。而帝令廣市珠玉珍寶，供出閣儀物，計直三十余萬。戶部尚書楊俊民等以故事爭，給事中王德完等又力諫。帝遂手詔諭爵，欲易期。錫爵婉請，乃不果易。明年二月，出閣禮成，俱如東宮儀，中外為慰。

In the seventh month a comet appeared and the emperor ordered repentance. Xijue asked that senior ministers be received in audience. He wrote: "The comet nears the Purple Forbidden Enclosure; temper daily habits, lighten punishments, curb desires against illness, and spend hoarded wealth on grace. A month later: "The comet has entered the enclosure; only investiture of the heir can avert this—not routine appointments. The emperor's star is the Imperial Star; the heir's is the Front Star. The Front Star shines yet no decision is made—hence this omen. Investiture at once will still the heavens." The emperor noted receipt but still insisted on waiting until spring. Xijue answered forcefully and memorialized again and again. In the eleventh month, after the empress dowager's birthday audience, the emperor summoned Xijue alone to the warm pavilion: "You brought your mother to court—loyalty and filial piety together. Xijue kowtowed and begged again to settle the succession. The emperor said: "But if the empress bears a son? Xijue replied: "That might have worked ten years ago; the eldest son is thirteen—why wait? Besides, has any prince of thirteen ever gone without schooling?" The emperor was moved. Xijue asked for frequent audiences to protect the emperor's health. He memorialized again: "Outside, they blame the honored consort for scheming to keep favor; I fear the Zheng family will never be safe. May Your Majesty reflect deeply. The emperor, stirred, wrote by hand: "Why does every memorial mention the honored consort? She often urges me, but ancestral rules bar consorts from outside affairs—how dare I obey?" Xijue wrote: "Today only the honored consort's son stands against the eldest prince—if the realm does not doubt her, whom does it doubt? If she does not accept responsibility, whose is it? That injunction means not meddling in outside appointments and policy—not family matters. Investiture is Your Majesty's household affair, and the third son is her own child—must you not consult her? She has long served you—closest and worthy; outside blame I cannot bear to hear. I am sixty, turning every tongue to her credit, yet you still doubt. Must hot-blooded youths attack her before you are satisfied?" The memorial went in; the emperor nodded. Zhigao and Wei pressed as well. Within days came orders to bring the heir out for schooling. The emperor also ordered pearls and jewels for the ceremony—over three hundred thousand taels. Minister Yang Junmin cited precedent; supervising secretaries Wang Dewan and others remonstrated fiercely. The emperor sent a handwritten note to Xijue wanting to change the date. Xijue pleaded tactfully and the date held. The next second month the ceremony was completed per Eastern Palace rites; court and country breathed easier.

錫爵在閣時，嘗請罷江南織造，停江西陶器，減雲南貢金，出內帑振河南饑，帝皆無忤，眷禮逾前後諸輔臣。其救李沂，力爭不宜用廷杖，尤為世所稱。特以阿並封指被物議。既而郎中趙南星斥，侍郎趙用賢放歸，論救者咸遭譴謫，眾指錫爵為之。雖連章自明，且申救，人卒莫能諒也。錫爵遂屢疏引疾乞休。帝不欲其去，為出內帑錢建醮祈愈。錫爵力辭，疏八上乃允。先累加太子太保，至是命改吏部尚書，進建極殿，賜道里費，乘傳，行人護歸。歸七年，東宮建，遣官賜敕存問，賚銀幣羊酒。

In office he sought to end Jiangnan silk workshops, halt Jiangxi pottery, cut Yunnan gold tribute, and release palace funds for Henan famine—all accepted; favor exceeded any earlier chief minister. His defense of Li Yi and his stand against court flogging won special praise. Only his acquiescence in simultaneous enfeoffment drew public blame. Later Zhao Nanxing was dismissed and Zhao Yongxian sent home; defenders were punished—all blamed Xijue. Though he explained himself and pleaded for them, he was never fully forgiven. Xijue repeatedly begged to retire on grounds of illness. The emperor refused to let him go and spent palace funds on rituals for his recovery. Xijue declined repeatedly; only after eight memorials was he allowed to retire. Previously made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, he was now named Minister of Personnel, advanced to Jianji Hall, given traveling funds and post-horses, and escorted home by an imperial messenger. Seven years later, when the crown prince's residence was built, the court sent officials with an imperial message and gifts of silver, silk, sheep, and wine.

三十五年，廷推閣臣。帝既用於慎行、葉向高、李廷機，還念錫爵，特加少保，遺官召之。三辭，不允。時言官方厲鋒氣，錫爵進密揭力詆，中有「上於章奏一概留中，特鄙夷之如禽鳥之音」等語。言官聞之大憤。給事中段然首劾之，其同官胡嘉棟等論不已。錫爵亦自闔門養重，竟辭不赴。又三年，卒於家，年七十七。贈太保，謚文肅。

In year thirty-five, the court recommended candidates for the Grand Secretariat. Having appointed Yu Shenxing, Ye Xianggao, and Li Tingji, the emperor still recalled Xijue, made him Junior Guardian, and sent to summon him. He declined three times but was refused. Censorial officials were riding high; Xijue sent a secret memorial attacking them, saying the emperor held all memorials in abeyance and scorned remonstrators like bird calls. The censorial officials were furious when they learned of it. Duan Ran led the impeachment; Hu Jiadong and fellow supervising secretaries kept up the attack. Xijue shut his gates and in the end refused to take office. Three years later he died at home at seventy-seven. He was posthumously made Grand Guardian with the posthumous title Wensu.

子衡

His son Heng

子衡，字辰玉，少有文名。為舉首才，自稱因被論，遂不復會試。至二十九年，錫爵罷相已久，始舉會試第二人，廷試亦第二。授編修，先父卒。

His son Heng, styled Chenyu, was known for letters from youth. Top of the provincial rolls, he claimed that after being criticized he would not sit for the metropolitan exam again. Not until year twenty-nine, long after his father left office, did he place second in both the metropolitan and palace examinations. Appointed Compiler, he was preceded in death by his father.

弟鼎爵

Younger brother Dingjue

錫爵弟鼎爵，進士。累官河南提學副使。

Xijue's younger brother Dingjue passed the jinshi examination. He rose to Vice Commissioner of Education in Henan.

沈一貫

Shen Yiguan

沈一貫，字肩吾，鄞人。隆慶二年進士。選庶吉士，授檢討，充日講官。進講高宗諒陰，拱手曰：「托孤寄命，必忠貞不二心之臣，乃可使百官總己以聽。茍非其人，不若躬親聽覽之為孝也。」張居正以為刺己，頗憾一貫。居正卒，始遷左中允。歷官吏部左侍郎兼侍讀學士，加太子賓客。假歸。

Shen Yiguan, styled Jianwu, was from Yin. He became a jinshi in Longqing year two. Selected as Hanlin Bachelor, made Reviser and Daily Lecture official. Lecturing on Gaozong's mourning seclusion, he said: 'Entrusting an orphan requires a loyal minister of undivided heart before officials may gather affairs and obey. If not such a man, personally hearing affairs is the greater filial piety. Zhang Juzheng took this as a barb at himself and bore considerable resentment toward Yiguan. After Juzheng's death he was promoted to Left Vice Director of the Secretariat. He became Vice Minister of Personnel and Reader-in-Waiting, then Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent. He went home on leave.

二十二年起南京禮部尚書，復召為正史副總裁，協理詹事府，未上。王錫爵、趙誌臯、張位同居內閣，復有旨推舉閣臣。吏部舉舊輔王家屏及一貫等七人名以上。而帝方怒家屏，譙責尚書陳有年。有年引疾去。一貫家居久，故有清望，閣臣又力薦之。乃詔以尚書兼東閣大學士，與陳於陛同入閣預機務，命行人即家起焉。會朝議許日本封貢。一貫慮貢道出寧波，為鄉郡患，極陳其害，貢議乃止。未幾，錫爵去，於陛位第三，每獨行己意。一貫柔而深中，事誌臯等惟謹。其後於陛卒官，誌臯病痹久在告，位以薦楊鎬及《憂危竑議》事得罪去，一貫與位嘗私致鎬書，為贊畫主事丁應泰所劾。位疏辨，激上怒罷。一貫惟引咎，帝乃慰留之。

In year twenty-two he was made Nanjing Minister of Rites, then recalled as Deputy Chief Compiler and to assist the Heir Apparent's household, but had not reported when— Xijue, Zhigao, and Wei were in the Grand Secretariat when another edict called for new Grand Secretaries. Personnel submitted seven names including Wang Jiaping and Yiguan. The emperor was angry at Jiaping and rebuked Minister Chen Younian. Younian resigned citing illness. Long at home, Yiguan enjoyed a clean reputation; the Grand Secretaries strongly backed him. He was named Minister and Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary, to enter the Grand Secretariat with Chen Yubi; a messenger was sent to fetch him from home. The court was then debating Japanese tribute missions. Fearing the tribute route through Ningbo would harm his home region, Yiguan argued at length and the tribute plan was dropped. Soon Xijue left; Yubi ranked third and often went his own way. Yiguan was outwardly mild but inwardly deep; toward Zhigao and others he was meticulously deferential. Later Yubi died in office; Zhigao was long ill on leave; Wei fell over Yang Hao and the Youwei Jingyi affair; Yiguan and Wei had privately written Hao and were impeached by Ding Yingtai. Wei's defense memorial provoked the emperor's wrath and his dismissal. Yiguan took only blame upon himself; the emperor comforted him and kept him in office.

時國本未定，廷臣爭十餘年不決。皇長子年十八，諸請冊立冠婚者益迫。帝責戶部進銀二千四百萬，為冊立、分封諸典禮費以困之。一貫再疏爭，不聽。二十八年，命營慈慶宮居皇長子。工竣，諭一貫草敕傳示禮官，上冊立、冠婚及諸王分封儀。敕既上，帝復留不下。一貫疏趣，則言：「朕因小臣謝廷讃乘機邀功，故中輟。俟皇長子移居後行之。」既而不舉行。明年，貴妃弟鄭國泰迫群議，請冊立、冠婚並行。一貫因再草敕請下禮官具儀，不報。廷議有欲先冠婚後冊立者，一貫不可，曰：「不正名而茍成事，是降儲君為諸王也。」會帝意亦頗悟，命即日舉行。九月十有八日漏下二鼓，詔下。既而帝復悔，令改期。一貫封還詔書，言「萬死不敢奉詔」，帝乃止。十月望，冊立禮成，時論頗稱之。會誌臯於九月卒，一貫遂當國。初，誌臯病久，一貫屢請增閣臣。及是乃簡用沈鯉、朱賡，而事皆取決於一貫。尋進太子太保、戶部尚書、武英殿大學士。

The heir apparent was unsettled; the court debated it over ten years without resolution. The eldest son was eighteen; pleas for investiture, capping, and marriage grew urgent. The emperor demanded twenty-four million taels from Revenue for investiture and enfeoffment costs to thwart the pleas. Yiguan protested twice in memorials but was ignored. In year twenty-eight he ordered the Ciqing Palace built for the eldest son. When construction finished, he had Yiguan draft an edict for ritual officials on investiture, capping, marriage, and princely enfeoffment. After submission the emperor again withheld the edict. Yiguan pressed for promulgation; the emperor replied that petty officials like Xie Tingzan had seized merit, so he halted it midway. It would be carried out after the eldest son moved in. Afterward it was still not carried out. The next year the consort's brother Zheng Guotai, under public pressure, asked for investiture and capping and marriage together. Yiguan again drafted an edict for ritual officials to prepare rites; there was no response. Some in court wanted capping and marriage before investiture; Yiguan refused, saying that without rectifying the name one reduced the heir to an ordinary prince. The emperor came partly to his senses and ordered it carried out that day. On the eighteenth of the ninth month, at the second watch past midnight, the edict came down. Soon the emperor regretted it and ordered the date changed. Yiguan returned the edict, saying he dared not obey on pain of death; the emperor desisted. On the fifteenth of the tenth month investiture was completed; opinion praised Yiguan highly. When Zhigao died in the ninth month, Yiguan came to head the government. While Zhigao had long been ill, Yiguan had repeatedly asked to add Grand Secretaries. Now Shen Li and Zhu Geng were selected, but Yiguan decided everything. Soon he was made Grand Guardian, Minister of Revenue, and Wuying Hall Grand Secretary.

自一貫入內閣，朝政已大非。數年之間，礦稅使四出為民害。其所誣劾逮系者，悉滯獄中。吏部疏請起用建言廢黜諸臣，並考選科道官，久抑不下，中外多以望閣臣。一貫等數諫，不省。而帝久不視朝，閣臣屢請，皆不報。一貫初輔政面恩，一見帝而已。東征及楊應龍平，帝再御午門樓受俘。一貫請陪侍，賜面對，皆不許。上下否隔甚，一貫雖小有救正，大率依違其間，物望漸減。

Once Yiguan entered the Grand Secretariat, court government had already gone badly wrong. Within a few years mining-tax envoys spread everywhere and harmed the people. Those falsely impeached and imprisoned all languished in jail. Personnel asked to recall dismissed remonstrators and fill censorial posts; the memorial was long withheld, and court and country looked to the Grand Secretaries. Yiguan and others remonstrated repeatedly without effect. The emperor long skipped court; Grand Secretaries' repeated requests went unanswered. When Yiguan first took office he was granted one audience; he never saw the emperor again. On the eastern campaign and Yang Yinglong's defeat, the emperor twice received captives at the Meridian Gate. Yiguan asked to attend and for an audience; both were refused. Emperor and ministers were deeply estranged; Yiguan made small fixes but mostly wavered, and his standing faded.

迨三十年二月，皇太子婚禮甫成，帝忽有疾。急召諸大臣至仁德門，俄獨命一貫入啟祥宮後殿暖西閣。皇后、貴妃以疾不侍側，皇太后南面立稍北，帝稍東，冠服席地坐，亦南面，太子、諸王跪於前。一貫叩頭起居訖，帝曰：「先生前。朕病日篤矣，享國已久，何憾。佳兒佳婦付與先生，惟輔之為賢君。礦稅事，朕因殿工未竣，權宜采取，今可與江南織造、江西陶器俱止勿行，所遣內監皆令還京。法司釋久系罪囚，建言得罪諸臣咸復其官，給事中、御史即如所請補用。朕見先生止此矣。」言已就臥。一貫哭，太后、太子、諸王皆哭。一貫復奏：「今尚書求去者三，請定去留。」帝留戶部陳渠、兵部田樂，而以祖陵沖決，削工部楊一魁籍。一貫復叩首，出擬旨以進。是夕，閣臣九卿俱直宿朝房。漏三鼓，中使捧諭至，具如帝語一貫者。諸大臣咸喜。翼日，帝疾，廖悔之。中使二十輩至閣中取前諭，言礦稅不可罷，釋囚、錄直臣惟卿所裁。一貫欲不予，中使輒搏顙幾流血，一貫惶遽繳入。時吏部尚書李戴、左都御史溫純期即日奉行，頒示天下，刑部尚書蕭大亨則謂弛獄須再請。無何，事變。太仆卿南企仲劾戴、大亨不即奉帝諭，起廢釋囚。帝怒，並二事寢不行。當帝欲追還成命，司禮太監田義力爭。帝怒，欲手刃之。義言愈力，而中使已持一貫所繳前諭至。後義見一貫唾曰：「相公稍持之，礦稅撤矣，何怯也！」自是大臣言官疏請者日相繼，皆不復聽。礦稅之害，遂終神宗世。

In the second month of year thirty, right after the crown prince's wedding, the emperor fell suddenly ill. He summoned ministers to Rende Gate, then ordered Yiguan alone into the warm western chamber behind Qixiang Palace. The empress and consort could not attend owing to illness; the empress dowager stood facing south, the emperor east in crown and robes seated on the ground; the crown prince and princes knelt before them. Yiguan kowtowed and inquired; the emperor said: 'Sir, come forward. My illness grows worse daily; I have reigned long—what regret is there? I entrust my fine son and daughter-in-law to you; only help him become a worthy ruler. Mining taxes I took temporarily while palace works were unfinished; now stop them with Jiangnan weaving and Jiangxi pottery and recall all dispatched eunuchs. Release long-held prisoners; restore remonstrators; fill supervising secretaries and censors as requested. I shall see you only this once. Having spoken, he lay down. Yiguan wept; the empress dowager, crown prince, and princes wept. Yiguan added: 'Three ministers seek to leave; please decide who stays. The emperor kept Chen Qu and Tian Le but stripped Works Minister Yang Yikui from the register over tomb flooding. Yiguan kowtowed again, withdrew, and drafted the rescript for submission. That night Grand Secretaries and the Nine Ministers kept watch in the court chambers. At the third watch messengers brought an edict matching the emperor's words to Yiguan. All the great ministers rejoiced. The next day, when the emperor fell ill, he regretted it. Twenty messengers came to fetch the earlier edict, saying mining taxes could not stop and that prisoners and restored officials were for Yiguan to decide. Yiguan hesitated to surrender it; the messengers battered their foreheads nearly to bleeding until he handed it in in panic. Li Dai and Wen Chun expected immediate proclamation; Xiao Daheng said emptying prisons required another order. Before long matters changed. Nan Qizhong impeached Dai and Daheng for not immediately executing the edict to restore officials and release prisoners. The emperor was angry and both measures were abandoned. Just as the emperor wished to recall the edict he had already issued, the eunuch Tian Yi, Director of Ceremonies, argued against it with all his might. The emperor flew into a rage and meant to kill him with his own hand. Yi pressed his argument harder still, yet messengers had already arrived carrying the earlier edict Yiguan had handed in. Later Tian Yi saw Yiguan and spat at him: "Chancellor, hold your ground a little longer—the mining tax will be lifted. Why so faint-hearted!" From then on ministers and censors submitted memorial after memorial asking the same, and the emperor would not hear them. The scourge of mining taxes thus endured to the end of Shenzong's reign.

帝自疾瘳以後，政益廢弛。稅監王朝、梁永、高淮等所至橫暴，奸人乘機虐民者愈眾。一貫與鯉、賡共著論以風，又嘗因事屢爭，且揭陳用人行政諸事。帝不省。顧遇一貫厚，嘗特賜敕獎之。一貫素忌鯉，鯉亦自以講筵受主眷，非由一貫進，不為下，二人漸不相能。禮部侍郎郭正域以文章氣節著，鯉甚重之。都御史溫純、吏部侍郎楊時喬皆以清嚴自持相標置，一貫不善也。會正域議奪呂本謚，一貫、賡與本同鄉，寢其議。由是益惡正域，並惡鯉及純、時喬等，而黨論漸興。浙人與公論忤，由一貫始。

After the emperor recovered from his illness, government slackened still further. Tax commissioners Wang Chao, Liang Yong, and Gao Huai ran riot wherever they went, and ever more villains took the chance to prey on the people. Yiguan, Li, and Geng wrote joint essays of admonition, quarreled with the throne over one matter after another, and repeatedly laid out how men were appointed and how policy was run. The emperor paid no heed. Even so he favored Yiguan generously and once issued a special edict praising him. Yiguan had long resented Li, and Li for his part knew the emperor cherished him for his lectures, not through Yiguan's patronage, and would not yield. Gradually the two could no longer work together. Vice Minister of Rites Guo Zhengyu was known for his writing and moral backbone, and Li held him in high regard. Censor-in-Chief Wen Chun and Vice Minister of Personnel Yang Shiqiao both prided themselves on stern rectitude; Yiguan disliked them. When Zhengyu moved to strip Lu Ben of his posthumous title, Yiguan and Geng, who shared Ben's home district, buried the proposal. He hated Zhengyu all the more, and with him Li, Chun, Shiqiao, and the rest; factional strife began to stir. The rift between Zhejiang men and the moral consensus of the court began with Yiguan.

三十一年，楚府鎮國將軍華勣訐楚王華奎為假王。一貫納王重賄，令通政司格其疏月余，先上華奎劾華勣欺罔四罪疏。正域，楚人，頗聞假王事有狀，請行勘虛實以定罪案。一貫持之。正域以楚王饋遺書上，帝不省。及撫按臣會勘並廷臣集議疏入，一貫力右王，嗾給事中錢夢臯、楊應文劾正域，勒歸聽勘，華勣等皆得罪。正域甫登舟，未行，而「妖書」事起。一貫方銜正域與鯉，其黨康丕揚、錢夢臯等遂捕僧達觀、醫生沈令譽等下獄，窮治之。一貫從中主其事，令錦衣帥王之禎與丕揚大索鯉私第三日，發卒圍正域舟，執掠其婢仆乳媼，皆無所得。乃以生光具獄。二事錯見正域及楚王傳中。

In the thirty-first year of Wanli, Defender-in-Chief Hua Ji of the Chu princely house accused Prince Hua Kui of being an impostor. Yiguan took heavy bribes from the prince, had the Transmission Office sit on Ji's memorial for more than a month, and first forwarded Kui's memorial charging Ji with four counts of fraud. Zhengyu, himself a man of Chu, had heard strong evidence in the impostor case and asked for a formal inquiry before fixing guilt. Yiguan blocked him. Zhengyu memorialized about gifts from the Prince of Chu; the emperor ignored it. When the joint report of the provincial officials and the court's collective deliberation reached the throne, Yiguan threw his weight behind the prince, set Menggao and Yingwen to impeach Zhengyu, forced him home to await judgment, and punished Ji and his allies. Zhengyu had just stepped aboard his boat and not yet cast off when the Demon Book affair broke out. Yiguan still nursed his grudge against Zhengyu and Li; his men Kang Piyang, Menggao, and the rest arrested the monk Daguan, the physician Shen Lingyu, and others and tortured the case to its limit. Yiguan ran the affair from behind the scenes, sent Wang Zhizhen of the Brocade Guard and Piyang to ransack Li's private residence for three days, and sent soldiers to surround Zhengyu's boat and seize his maids, servants, and wet nurses—yet found nothing. In the end they pinned the crime on Kuang Guang and closed the case. Both affairs are recounted in the biographies of Zhengyu and the Prince of Chu.

始，都御史純劾御史於永清及給事中姚文蔚，語稍涉一貫。給事中鐘兆鬥為一貫論純，御史湯兆京復劾兆鬥而直純。純十七疏求去，一貫佯揭留純。至歲乙巳，大察京朝官。純與時喬主其事，夢臯、兆鬥皆在黜中。一貫怒，言於帝，以京察疏留。久之，乃盡留給事、御史之被察者，且許純致仕去。於是主事劉元珍、龐時雍、南京御史朱吾弼力爭之，謂二百余年計典無特留者。時南察疏亦留中，後迫眾議始下。一貫自是積不為公論所與，彈劾日眾，因謝病不出。三十上四年七月，給事中陳嘉訓、御史孫居相復連章劾其奸。一貫憤，益求去。帝為黜嘉訓，奪居相俸，允一貫歸，鯉亦同時罷。而一貫獨得溫旨，雖賡右之，論者益訾其有內援焉。

Earlier Censor-in-Chief Wen Chun had impeached censor Yu Yongqing and supervising secretary Yao Wenwei in terms that touched Yiguan. Supervising secretary Zhong Zhaodou spoke up for Yiguan against Chun; censor Tang Zhaojing impeached Zhaodou in turn and took Chun's side. Chun memorialized seventeen times to resign; Yiguan pretended to post a public notice urging him to stay. In the yisi year came the great evaluation of capital officials. Chun and Shiqiao ran it; Menggao and Zhaodou were both on the dismissal list. Yiguan was furious, spoke to the emperor, and had the evaluation memorial held in the palace. Only after a long delay were all the evaluated supervising secretaries and censors kept in post, while Chun was allowed to retire. Section chiefs Liu Yuanzhen and Pang Shiyong and Nanjing censor Zhu Wubi protested fiercely that in more than two hundred years of evaluations no one had ever been specially retained. The southern evaluation memorial was held back as well and was issued only when public pressure mounted. After that Yiguan lost the court's respect day by day, impeachments piled up, and he pleaded illness and stayed away. In the seventh month of the thirty-fourth year, supervising secretary Chen Jiaxun and censor Sun Juxiang again filed joint memorials denouncing his corruption. Yiguan, furious, pressed all the harder to leave office. The emperor cashiered Jiaxun, fined Juxiang a year's salary, let Yiguan go home, and dismissed Li at the same time. Yet Yiguan alone received gracious parting words; though Geng stood by him, critics increasingly said he enjoyed secret patronage at court.

一貫之入閣也，為錫爵、誌臯所薦。輔政十有三年，當國者四年。枝拄清議，好同惡異，與前後諸臣同。至楚宗、妖書、京察三事，獨犯不韙，論者醜之，雖其黨不能解免也。一貫歸，言者追劾之不已，其鄉人亦多受世詆諆雲。一貫在位，累加少傅兼太子太傅、吏部尚書、建極殿大學士。家居十年卒。贈太傅，謚文恭。

Yiguan had entered the Grand Secretariat on the recommendation of Xijue and Zhigao. He served in the Secretariat for thirteen years and actually directed policy for four. He braced himself against moral criticism, loved allies and hated dissent, no different from the ministers before and after him. Yet in the Chu princely dispute, the Demon Book case, and the capital evaluation he alone crossed lines no one could defend; even his own faction could not excuse him. After he went home, censors kept impeaching him, and many of his countrymen bore the world's scorn as well. In office he rose through Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent to Minister of Personnel and Grand Academician of the Jianji Hall. He died ten years after retiring. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor with the temple name Wengong.

方從哲

Fang Congzhe

方從哲，字中涵，其先德清人。隸籍錦衣衛，家京師。從哲登萬歷十一年進士，授庶吉士，屢遷國子祭酒。請告家居，久不出，時頗稱其恬雅。大學士葉向高請用為禮部右侍郎，不報。中旨起吏部左侍郎。為給事中李成名所劾，求罷，不允。

Fang Congzhe, courtesy name Zhonghan, came originally from Deqing. The family was registered with the Embroidered-Uniform Guard and lived in the capital. Congzhe passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 11, entered the Hanlin Academy, and rose step by step to Chancellor of the National University. He asked to retire home, stayed away for years, and was praised at the time for his quiet, refined manner. Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao asked to appoint him Vice Minister of Rites, but the throne did not answer. An edict from the palace summoned him as Left Vice Minister of Personnel. Supervising secretary Li Chengming impeached him; he asked to resign and was refused.

四十一年，拜禮部尚書兼東閣大學士，與吳道南並命。時道南在籍，向高為首輔，政事多決於向高。向高去國，從哲遂獨相。請召還舊輔沈鯉，不允。御史錢春劾其容悅，從哲乞罷。帝優旨慰留。未幾，道南至。會張差梃擊事起，刑部以瘋癲蔽獄。王之寀鉤得其情，龐保、劉成等跡始露。從哲偕道南斥之寀言謬妄，帝納之。道南為言路所詆，求去者經歲，以母憂歸。從哲復獨相，即疏請推補閣臣。自後每月必請。帝以一人足辦，迄不增置。

In the forty-first year he was made Minister of Rites and Grand Academician of the Eastern Hall, appointed on the same day as Wu Daonan. Daonan was then at home on leave; Xianggao was chief minister and most affairs still rested with him. When Xianggao left office, Congzhe became the sole Grand Secretary. He asked to recall the former Grand Secretary Shen Li; the emperor refused. Censor Qian Chun impeached him for fawning; Congzhe asked to resign. The emperor sent warm words of comfort and kept him in post. Before long Daonan took up his post. When Zhang Cha's stick attack on the heir apparent occurred, the Ministry of Punishments buried the case under a verdict of insanity. Wang Zhicai dug out the truth, and the trail led toward Pang Bao, Liu Cheng, and the rest. Congzhe and Daonan called Zhicai's account absurd; the emperor agreed. Daonan was torn apart by the censorate, begged to leave for a year, and went home when his mother died. Congzhe was alone at the helm again and at once memorialized to fill the Grand Secretariat. After that he asked every month without fail. The emperor decided one man was enough and never added another.

從哲性柔懦，不能任大事。時東宮久輟講，瑞王婚禮逾期，惠王、桂王未擇配，福府莊田遣中使督賦，又議令鬻鹽，中旨命呂貴督織造，駙馬王昺以救劉光復褫冠帶，山東盜起，災異數見，言官翟鳳翀、郭尚賓以直言貶，帝遣中使令工部侍郎林如楚繕修咸安營，宣府缺餉數月，從哲皆上疏力言，帝多不聽。而從哲有內援，以名爭而已，實將順帝意，無所匡正。

Congzhe was gentle and timid by nature and could not bear heavy burdens. Lectures for the crown prince had long ceased; the Rui Prince's wedding dragged past its date; the Hui and Gui princes still had no consorts; eunuchs were sent to squeeze the Fu princely estates; the court debated selling salt by decree; Lü Gui was ordered to run the imperial workshops; the consort's son-in-law Wang Bing lost his rank for saving Liu Guangfu; bandits rose in Shandong; omens multiplied; censors Zhai Fengchong and Guo Shangbin were banished for blunt speech; eunuchs ordered Lin Ruchu to rebuild the Xian'an barracks; Xuanfu went months without pay—on every one of these Congzhe memorialized in protest, and the emperor usually ignored him. Yet Congzhe had patrons behind the screen: he argued in public but in truth followed the emperor's mood and corrected nothing.

向高秉政時，黨論鼎沸。言路交通銓部，指清流為東林，逐之殆盡。及從哲秉政，言路已無正人，黨論漸息。丁巳京察，盡斥東林，且及林居者。齊、楚、浙三黨鼎立，務搏擊清流。齊人亓詩教，從哲門生，勢尤張。從哲昵群小，而帝怠荒亦益甚。畿輔、山東、山西、河南、江西及大江南北相繼告災，疏皆不發。舊制，給事中五十余員，御史百余員。至是六科止四人，而五科印無所屬；十三道止五人，一人領數職。在外巡按率不得代。六部堂上官僅四五人，都御史數年空署，督撫監司亦屢缺不補。文武大選、急選官及四方教職，積數千人，以吏、兵二科缺掌印不畫憑，久滯都下，時攀執政輿哀訴。詔獄囚以理刑無人不決遣，家屬聚號長安門。職業盡弛，上下解體。

Under Xianggao, factional warfare boiled over. Censors colluded with the appointment offices, tagged the moralists as Donglin, and nearly drove them from court. Under Congzhe the censorate already held no honest men, and partisan shouting slowly died down. In the dingsi evaluation of capital officials, Donglin men were cleared out entirely, even those living in retirement. The Qi, Chu, and Zhe factions formed a tripod of power and set themselves to crush the moralists. Qi Shijiao of the Qi faction, Congzhe's own student, wielded power above all. Congzhe clung to small men, and the emperor's indifference deepened. The capital districts, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, and lands north and south of the Yangtze sent disaster reports one after another, and none of the memorials were released. By old custom there had been more than fifty supervising secretaries and more than a hundred censors. Now only four of the Six Offices still had officers, and five offices had no one to hold their seals; only five of the thirteen surveillance circuits were staffed, with one man covering several posts. Provincial touring censors could seldom be replaced when their terms ended. The Six Ministries had only four or five department heads; the Censor-in-Chief's post stood empty for years; governors, grand coordinators, and surveillance commissioners went long unfilled. Thousands of candidates for civil and military posts, urgent appointments, and local teaching posts, because the Personnel and War supervising offices had no seal-holder and would not sign commissions, rotted in the capital and sometimes threw themselves before the Grand Secretary's carriage, wailing. Prisoners in the imperial prison, with no one in the Ministry of Justice to judge them, went un-sentenced; their families crowded Chang'an Gate, weeping. Every office slackened; above and below the realm came undone.

四十六年四月，大清兵克撫順，朝野震驚。帝初頗憂懼，章奏時下，不數月泄泄如故。從哲子世鴻殺人，巡城御史劾之。從哲乞罷，不允。長星見東南，長二丈，廣尺余，十有九日而滅。是日京師地震。從哲言：「妖象怪徵，層見疊出，除臣奉職無狀痛自修省外，望陛下大奮乾綱，與天下更始。」朝士雜然笑之。帝亦不省。御史熊化以時事多艱、佐理無效劾從哲，乞用災異策免。從哲懇求罷，堅臥四十余日，閣中虛無人。帝慰留再三，乃起視事。明年二月，楊鎬四路出師，兵科給事中趙興邦用紅旗督戰，師大敗。禮部主事夏嘉遇謂遼事之壞，由興邦及從哲庇李維翰所致，兩疏劾之。眾哲求罷，不敢入閣，視事於朝房。帝優旨懇留，乃復故，而反擢興邦為太常少卿。未幾，大清兵連克開原、鐵嶺。廷臣於文華門拜疏，立請批發，又候旨思善門，皆不報。從哲乃叩首仁德門跪俟俞旨，帝終不報。俄請帝出御文華殿，召見群臣，面商戰守方略。亦不報。請補閣臣疏十上，情極哀，始命廷推。及推上，又不用。從哲復連請，乃簡用史繼偕、沈纮，疏仍留中，終帝世寢不下。御史張新詔劾從哲諸所疏揭，委罪君父，誑言欺人，祖宗二百年金甌壞從哲手。御史蕭毅中、劉蔚、周方鑒、楊春茂、王尊德、左光鬥，山西參政徐如翰亦交章擊之。從哲連疏自明，且乞罷。帝皆不問。自劉光復系獄，從哲論救數十疏。帝特釋為民，而用人行政諸章奏終不發。帝有疾數月。會皇后崩，從哲哭臨畢，請至榻前起居。召見弘德殿，跪語良久，因請補閣臣，用大僚，下臺諫命。帝許之，乃叩頭出。帝素惡言官，前此考選除授者，率候命二三年，及是候八年。從哲請至數十疏，竟不下。帝自以海宇承平，官不必備，有意損之。及遼左軍興，又不欲矯前失，行之如舊。從哲獨秉國成，卒無所匡救。又用姚宗文閱遼東，齮經略熊廷弼去，遼陽遂失。論者謂明之亡，神宗實基之，而從哲其罪首也。

In the fourth month of the forty-sixth year Qing troops took Fushun, and the whole court trembled. At first the emperor seemed uneasy and memorials actually moved; within a few months he was as indifferent as ever. Congzhe's son Shihong killed a man, and the city-patrol censor impeached him. Congzhe asked to resign; the emperor would not allow it. A long-tailed comet showed in the southeast, two zhang long and more than a foot across, and faded after nineteen days. That same day the capital was shaken by an earthquake. Congzhe wrote: "Strange omens pile one on another. Leaving aside my own failure in office, which I reproach bitterly, I beg Your Majesty to rouse the imperial will and make a fresh start with the empire. Men at court laughed aloud. The emperor, too, paid no heed. Censor Xiong Hua impeached Congzhe, saying the times were dire and his aid useless, and begged the throne to dismiss him under the ancient rule of answering omens with policy change. Congzhe pleaded to resign and stayed in bed more than forty days, leaving the Grand Secretariat empty. The emperor comforted him again and again until he rose and returned to duty. The next year, in the second month, Yang Hao marched four armies; War Section secretary Zhao Xingbang waved a red flag to hurry them into battle, and the forces were shattered. Rites section chief Xia Jiayu blamed the Liaodong disaster on Xingbang and on Congzhe for protecting Li Weihan, and impeached both in two memorials. Congzhe asked to quit, refused to enter the Secretariat, and held court from the morning session room instead. The emperor sent gracious words urging him to stay; he returned to office, while Xingbang was promoted to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Soon Qing troops took Kaiyuan and Tieling in succession. Ministers offered memorials at the Wenhua Gate and pressed for immediate reply; they waited at the Sishan Gate for imperial word—and heard nothing. Congzhe kowtowed at the Rende Gate and knelt for an answer; the emperor never replied. He then asked the emperor to appear at the Wenhua Hall, summon the ministers, and debate war and defense in person. Again there was no answer. He memorialized ten times in desperate tones to fill the Grand Secretariat before the throne ordered a court recommendation. When the names came up, the emperor still would not appoint them. Congzhe pressed again and again until Shi Jixie and Shen Hong were chosen, but the appointment memorial stayed in the palace and was never issued before Shenzong died. Censor Zhang Xin'ao attacked Congzhe's public memorials as shifting blame onto the throne, lying to the court, and shattering the two-hundred-year vessel of the dynasty. Censors Xiao Yizhong, Liu Wei, Zhou Fangjian, Yang Chunmao, Wang Zunde, and Zuo Guangdou, with Shanxi commissioner Xu Ruhang, piled on with joint attacks. Congzhe answered in a stream of memorials and again asked to leave office. The emperor ignored it all. After Liu Guangfu was jailed, Congzhe wrote dozens of memorials pleading for him. The emperor finally freed Liu Guangfu to civilian life, but memorials on appointments and policy were never released. The emperor had been ill for months. When the empress died, Congzhe finished the mourning rites and asked to attend the emperor at his bedside. Called to the Hongde Hall, he knelt and talked at length, then asked to fill the Secretariat, appoint senior ministers, and release the censors waiting for orders. The emperor agreed; Congzhe kowtowed and left. The emperor had always hated censors; newly chosen men used to wait two or three years for appointment, but now they waited eight. Congzhe memorialized dozens of times on their behalf; none of the orders were ever issued. The emperor believed the realm was at peace and posts need not be filled, and meant to cut them. When war broke out in Liaodong he would not undo his earlier mistake and kept the old ways. Congzhe held the helm alone and in the end saved nothing. He sent Yao Zongwen to inspect Liaodong, forced out frontier commissioner Xiong Tingbi, and Liaoyang fell. Critics said Ming's fall was laid by Shenzong, with Congzhe as its chief author.

四十八年七月丙子朔，帝不豫，十有七日大漸。外廷憂危，從哲偕九卿臺諫詣思善門問安。越二日，召從哲及尚書周嘉謨、李汝華、黃嘉善、黃克纘等受顧命。又二日，乃崩。八月丙午朔，光宗嗣位。鄭貴妃以前福王故，懼帝銜之，進珠玉及侍姬八人啖帝。選侍李氏最得帝寵，貴妃因請立選侍為皇后，選侍亦為貴妃求封太后。帝已於乙卯得疾，丁巳力疾御門，命從哲封貴妃為皇太后，從哲遽以命禮部。侍郎孫如遊力爭，事乃止。辛酉，帝不視朝，從哲偕廷臣詣宮門問安。時都下紛言中官崔文升進泄藥，帝由此委頓，而帝傳諭有「頭目眩暈，身體軟弱，不能動履」語，群情益疑駭。給事中楊漣劾文升，並及從哲。刑部主事孫朝肅、徐儀世、御史鄭宗周並上書從哲，請保護聖體，速建儲貳。從哲候安，因言進藥宜慎。帝褒答之。戊辰，新閣臣劉一燝、韓爌入直，帝疾已殆。辛未，召從哲、一燝、爌，英國公張惟賢，吏部尚書周嘉謨，戶部尚書李汝華，禮部侍郎署部事孫如遊，刑部尚書黃克纘，左都御史張問達，給事中範濟世、楊漣，御史顧慥等至乾清宮。帝御東暖閣憑幾，皇長子、皇五子等皆侍。帝命諸臣前，從哲等因請慎醫藥。帝曰：「十余日不進矣。」遂諭冊封選侍為皇貴妃。甲戌，復召諸臣，諭冊封事。從哲等請速建儲貳。帝顧皇長子曰：「卿等其輔為堯、舜。」又語及壽宮，從哲等以先帝山陵對。帝自指曰：「朕壽宮也。」諸臣皆泣。帝復問：「有鴻臚官進藥者安在？」從哲曰：「鴻臚寺丞李可灼自雲仙方，臣等未敢信。」帝命宣可灼至，趣和藥進，所謂紅丸者也。帝服訖，稱「忠臣」者再。諸臣出俟宮門外。頃之，中使傳上體平善。日晡，可灼出，言復進一丸。從哲等問狀，曰：「平善如前。」明日九月乙亥朔卯刻，帝崩。中外皆恨可灼甚，而從哲擬遺旨賚可灼銀幣。時李選侍居乾清宮，群臣入臨，諸閹閉宮門不許入。劉一燝、楊漣力拄之，得哭臨如禮，擁皇長子出居慈慶宮。從哲委蛇而已。初，鄭貴妃居乾清宮侍神宗疾，光宗即位猶未遷。尚書嘉謨責貴妃從子養性，乃遷慈寧宮。及光宗崩，而李選侍居乾清宮。給事中漣及御史左光鬥念選侍嘗邀封後，非可令居乾清，以沖主付托也。於是議移宮，爭數日不決。從哲欲徐之。至登極前一日，一燝、爌邀從哲立宮門請，選侍乃移噦鸞宮。明日庚辰，熹宗即位。

In the seventh month of the forty-eighth year, on the first day bingzi, the emperor fell ill; seventeen days later he was dying. The outer court was in dread; Congzhe went with the Nine Ministers and censors to the Sishan Gate to ask after the emperor. Two days later he summoned Congzhe and the ministers Zhou Jiamo, Li Ruhua, Huang Jiashan, Huang Kezuan, and others to receive his final charge. Two days after that he died. On the first day bingwu of the eighth month, Guangzong took the throne. Honored Consort Zheng, mindful of the old Fu Prince affair, feared the new emperor's resentment and sent pearls, jade, and eight palace women to win him over. Selection Lady Li was the emperor's favorite; Zheng asked that Li be made empress, and Li in turn asked that Zheng be made empress dowager. He had fallen ill on yimao; on dingsi he dragged himself to court and told Congzhe to make Zheng empress dowager, and Congzhe at once relayed the order to the Ministry of Rites. Vice Minister Sun Ruyou protested fiercely, and the matter died. On xinyou the emperor skipped court; Congzhe and the ministers went to the palace gate to ask after him. Rumor said eunuch Cui Wensheng had given the emperor a purgative and left him prostrate; the palace message spoke of dizziness, weakness, and inability to walk, and fear spread through the capital. Supervising secretary Yang Lian impeached Wensheng and implicated Congzhe as well. Punishments chiefs Sun Chaosu and Xu Yishi and censor Zheng Zongzhou wrote Congzhe urging him to guard the emperor's health and establish the heir at once. While waiting to inquire after the emperor, Congzhe said medicine must be chosen with care. The emperor answered him with praise. On wuchen the new Grand Secretaries Liu Yijing and Han Kuang took up duty; the emperor was already near death. On xinwei he summoned Congzhe, Yijing, Kuang, the Duke of England Zhang Weixian, Zhou Jiamo, Li Ruhua, acting Minister of Rites Sun Ruyou, Huang Kezuan, Zhang Wenda, Fan Jishi, Yang Lian, Gu Zao, and the rest to the Qianqing Palace. The emperor leaned on a desk in the east warm chamber while the eldest prince, the fifth prince, and others stood by. He called the ministers forward; Congzhe and the others again urged caution with medicine. The emperor said, "I have eaten nothing for more than ten days." Then he ordered the selection lady enfeoffed as honored consort. On jiaxu he summoned them again to discuss the enfeoffment. Congzhe and the others begged him to establish the heir at once. The emperor looked at the eldest prince and said, "You must help him become a Yao or a Shun." He spoke of his tomb; Congzhe and the others answered with the late emperor's mausoleum. The emperor pointed at himself and said, "My tomb is here." The ministers wept. The emperor asked again, "Where is the Court of Imperial Entertainments man who offered medicine?" Congzhe said, "Assistant Director Li Kezhuo claims an immortal formula; we have not dared trust it." The emperor ordered Kezhuo brought in, told him to mix the dose and present it—the so-called red pills. After the emperor swallowed it, he twice called Kezhuo a loyal minister. The ministers withdrew and waited outside the gate. Soon a messenger said the emperor felt better. At sunset Kezhuo came out and said he would give another pill. Congzhe and the others asked how the emperor was; Kezhuo said, "Well, as before." The next day, at dawn on the first day of the ninth month, the emperor died. Court and country loathed Kezhuo, yet Congzhe drafted a posthumous order to reward him with silver. Selection Lady Li still occupied the Qianqing Palace; when ministers came to mourn, eunuchs shut the gate and kept them out. Liu Yijing and Yang Lian forced the issue, secured a proper mourning, and escorted the eldest prince to the Ciqing Palace. Congzhe only wavered. Earlier Zheng had stayed in the Qianqing Palace nursing Shenzong; even after Guangzong's accession she had not moved out. Minister Zhou Jiamo rebuked Zheng's nephew Yang Xing, and only then did she move to the Cining Palace. When Guangzong died, Selection Lady Li held the Qianqing Palace. Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou recalled that Li had once sought to be empress and should not hold the Qianqing Palace where the young emperor would live. They debated moving her out, and the quarrel dragged on for days. Congzhe wanted to go slowly. Not until the eve of enthronement did Yijing and Kuang get Congzhe to stand at the gate and demand it; then Li moved to the Huanyuan Palace. The next day, gengchen, Xizong was enthroned.

先是，御史王安舜劾從哲輕薦狂醫，又賞之以自掩。從哲擬太子令旨，罰可灼俸一年。御史鄭宗周劾文升罪，請下法司，從哲擬令旨司禮察處。及御史郭如楚、馮三元、焦源溥，給事中魏應嘉，太常卿曹光，光祿少卿高攀龍，主事呂維祺，先後上疏言：「可灼罪不容誅，從哲庇之，國法安在！」而給事中惠世揚直糾從哲十罪、三可殺。言：「從哲獨相七年，妨賢病國，罪一。驕蹇無禮，失誤哭臨，罪二。梃擊青宮，庇護奸黨，罪三。恣行胸臆，破壞絲綸，罪四。縱子殺人，蔑視憲典，罪五。阻抑言官，蔽壅耳目，罪六。陷城失律，寬議撫臣，罪七。馬上催戰，覆沒全師，罪八。徇私罔上，鼎鉉貽羞，罪九。代營榷稅，蠹國殃民，罪十。貴妃求封後，舉朝力爭，從哲依違兩可，當誅者一。李選侍乃鄭氏私人，抗淩聖母，飲恨而沒。從哲受劉遜、李進忠所盜美珠，欲封選侍為貴妃，又聽其久據乾清，當誅者二。崔文升用泄藥傷損先帝，諸臣論之，從哲擬脫罪，李可灼進劫藥，從哲擬賞賚，當誅者三。」疏入，責世楊輕詆。從哲累求去，皆慰留。已而張潑、袁化中、王允成等連劾之，皆不聽。其冬，給事中程註復劾之，從哲力求去，疏六上。命進中極殿大學士，賚銀幣、蟒衣，遣行人護歸。

Earlier censor Wang Anshun had impeached Congzhe for trusting a quack doctor and rewarding him to cover his tracks. Congzhe drafted an order in the heir's name fining Kezhuo one year's salary. Censor Zheng Zongzhou demanded Wensheng be sent to the courts; Congzhe drafted an order for the eunuch directorate to investigate. Censors Guo Ruchu, Feng Sanyuan, and Jiao Yuanpu, secretary Wei Yingjia, Director Cao Guang, Vice Director Gao Panlong, and chief Lü Weiqi wrote in turn: "Kezhuo deserves death, yet Congzhe shields him—where is the law of the state!" Supervising secretary Hui Shiyang then charged Congzhe with ten crimes and three capital offenses. He wrote: "Congzhe ruled alone for seven years, blocking the worthy and sickening the state—first crime. Arrogant, rude, and careless at the mourning rites—second crime. Shielding the culprits of the stick attack on the crown prince—third crime. Doing as he pleased and wrecking imperial edicts—fourth crime. Letting his son kill a man and scorning the law—fifth crime. Suppressing censors and blocking the throne's ears—sixth crime. Losing cities yet going easy on frontier governors—seventh crime. Urging rash battle and wiping out whole armies—eighth crime. Favoring cronies and deceiving the throne, shaming the chief ministers—ninth crime. Running monopoly taxes for private gain, ruining state and people—tenth crime. When Zheng sought to be empress the whole court protested, yet Congzhe wavered—first capital offense. Selection Lady Li was Zheng's creature, had defied the empress dowager, and died full of spite. Congzhe took stolen pearls from Liu Xun and Li Jinzhong, meant to make Li an honored consort, and let her hold the Qianqing Palace—second capital offense. Cui Wensheng's purgative had harmed the late emperor, yet Congzhe drafted his release; Kezhuo's pills had killed the emperor, yet Congzhe drafted a reward—third capital offense." When the memorial arrived, Hui Shiyang was rebuked for slander. Congzhe begged repeatedly to resign and was each time pressed to remain. Zhang Po, Yuan Huazhong, Wang Yuncheng, and others impeached him in turn; the throne would not listen. That winter Cheng Zhu impeached him again; Congzhe filed six resignation memorials. He was promoted to Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall, given silver, silks, and python robes, and sent home with an imperial escort.

天啟二年四月，禮部尚書孫慎行追論可灼進紅丸，斥從哲為弒逆。詔廷臣議。都御史鄒元標主慎行疏。從哲疏辨，自請削官階，投四裔。帝慰諭之。給事中魏大中以九卿議久稽，趣之上。廷臣多主慎行，罪從哲，惟刑部尚書黃克纘，御史王誌道、徐景濂，給事中汪慶百右從哲，而詹事公鼐持兩端。時大學士爌述進藥始末，為從哲解。於是吏部尚書張問達會戶部尚書汪應蛟合奏言：「進藥始末，臣等共聞見。輔臣視皇考疾，急迫倉皇，弒逆二字何忍言。但可灼非醫官，且非知脈知醫者。以藥嘗試，先帝龍馭即上升。從哲與臣等九卿未能止，均有罪，乃反賚可灼。及御史安舜有言，止令養病去，罰太輕，何以慰皇考，服中外。宜如從哲請，削其官階，為法任咎。至可灼罪不可勝誅，而文升當皇考哀感傷寒時，進大黃涼藥，罪又在可灼上。法皆宜顯僇，以泄公憤。」議上，可灼遣戍，文升放南京，而從哲不罪。無何，慎行引疾去。五年，魏忠賢輯「梃擊」、「紅丸」、「移宮」三事為《三朝要典》，以傾正人，遂免可灼戍，命文升督漕運。其黨徐大化請起從哲，從哲不出。然一時請誅從哲者貶殺略盡矣。崇禎元年二月，從哲卒。贈太傅，謚文端。三月，下文升獄，戍南京。

In Tianqi 2, fourth month, Sun Shenxing reopened the red-pill case and called Congzhe a regicide. The emperor ordered a court debate. Censor-in-Chief Zou Yuanbiao backed Shenxing. Congzhe defended himself and asked to be stripped of rank and exiled. The emperor comforted him with an edict. Wei Zhongyi pressed for a decision because the Nine Ministers had delayed too long. Most officials backed Shenxing against Congzhe; only Huang Kexuan, Wang Zhidao, Xu Jinglian, and Wang Qingbai defended him, while Gong Tai wavered. Grand Secretary Huang Kuang then explained how the medicine had been given and spoke for Congzhe. Zhang Wenda and Wang Yingjiao jointly reported: "We all saw what happened with the medicine. The chief minister, seeing the emperor's sudden illness, was frantic—how could we speak of regicide? Kezhuo was no physician and knew nothing of pulses or drugs. He experimented with the drug, and the late emperor died at once. Congzhe and the Nine Ministers could not stop him—we share guilt—yet Kezhuo was rewarded. When An Shun spoke up, Kezhuo was merely sent home to nurse illness—too light to satisfy the court. We should strip Congzhe's rank as he asked and let law assign blame. Kezhuo deserves death; Wensheng, who gave cooling drugs when the emperor had cold injury from mourning, ranks even higher. Both should be executed publicly to appease outrage. Kezhuo was exiled and Wensheng sent to Nanjing; Congzhe went unpunished. Soon Shenxing resigned on grounds of illness. In Tianqi 5 Wei Zhongxian compiled the Three Cases to crush upright officials; Kezhuo's exile was revoked and Wensheng put in charge of grain transport. Partisan Xu Dahua asked to recall Congzhe; he refused. By then those who had demanded Congzhe's death had been demoted or killed almost entirely. In Chongzhen 1, second month, Congzhe died. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor with the title Wenduan. In the third month Wensheng was jailed and exiled to Nanjing.

沈㴶，字銘縝，烏程人。父節甫，字以安。嘉靖三十八年進士。授禮部儀制主事，厲祠祭郎中。詔建祠禁內，令黃冠祝釐，節甫持不可。尚書高拱恚甚，遂移疾歸。起光祿丞。會拱掌吏部，復移疾避之。萬歷初，屢遷至南京刑部右侍郎。召為工部左侍郎，攝部事。御史高舉言節甫素負難進之節，不宜一歲三遷。吏部以節甫有物望，絀其議。節甫連上疏請省浮費，核虛冒，止興作，減江、浙織造，停江西瓷器，帝為稍減織造數。中官傳奉，節甫持不可，且上疏言之。又嘗獻治河之策，語鑿鑿可用。父憂歸，卒。贈右副都御史。天啟初，㴶方柄用，得賜謚端清。

Shen Que, style name Mingzhen, came from Wucheng. His father Jiefu, style name Yi'an. He became a jinshi in Jiajing 38. He served as director in the Ministry of Rites' bureaus of ritual and sacrifices. When the court ordered a shrine inside the Forbidden City for Daoist prayers, Jiefu objected. Minister Gao Gong was furious; Jiefu resigned on grounds of illness. He was later made vice director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. When Gong took the Ministry of Personnel, Jiefu again resigned to avoid him. Early in Wanli he rose to Right Vice Minister of Punishments in Nanjing. Recalled as Left Vice Minister of Works, he acted as minister. Censor Gao Ju said Jiefu was known as hard to promote and should not rise three ranks in one year. Personnel rejected the charge because Jiefu enjoyed public esteem. Jiefu urged cutting waste, auditing fraud, halting construction, and reducing Jiangnan silk and Jiangxi porcelain; the emperor slightly cut silk quotas. When eunuchs were given special commissions, Jiefu opposed it in memorial. He also submitted a Yellow River control plan that was sound and practical. He went home for his father's mourning and died there. He was posthumously made Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. When Que took power in Tianqi, Jiefu received the posthumous title Duanqing.

㴶與弟演同登萬曆二年進士。㴶改庶吉士，授檢討。累官南京禮部侍郎，掌部事。西洋人利瑪竇入貢，因居南京，與其徒王豐肅等倡天主教，士大夫多宗之。㴶奏：「陪京都會，不宜令異教處此。」識者韙其言。然㴶素乏時譽。與大學士從哲同里闬，相善也。神宗末，從哲獨當國，請補閣臣，詔會推。亓詩教等緣從哲意，擯何宗彥、劉一燝輩，獨以㴶及史繼偕名上。帝遂用之。或曰由從哲薦也。疏未發，明年，神宗崩，光宗立，乃召㴶為禮部尚書兼東閣大學士。未至，光宗復崩。天啟元年六月，㴶始至。

Que and his brother Yan both became jinshi in Wanli 2. Que became a Hanlin academician and Compiler. He rose to Vice Minister of Rites in Nanjing and directed the ministry. Matteo Ricci came to Nanjing and, with Wang Fengsu and others, spread Catholicism; many officials followed. Que memorialized: "They should not be allowed to spread a foreign faith at the capital. Thoughtful men praised him. Yet Que had never enjoyed much reputation. He was Congzhe's neighbor and ally. Late in Shenzong's reign Congzhe asked to fill the Grand Secretariat; the court ordered recommendations. Qi Shijiao and others, at Congzhe's bidding, blocked He Zongyan and Liu Yizao and nominated only Que and Shi Jixie. The emperor used them. Some said Congzhe had recommended him. Before the memorial went out Shenzong died and Guangzong reigned; Que was summoned as Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary. Before he arrived Guangzong died too. In Tianqi 1, sixth month, Que finally arrived.

故事，詞臣教習內書堂，所教內豎執弟子禮。李進忠、劉朝皆㴶弟子。李進忠者，魏忠賢始名也。㴶既至，密結二人，乃奏言：「遼左用兵亟，臣謹於東陽、義烏諸邑及揚州、纮安募材官勇士二百餘，請以勇士隸錦衣衛，而量授材官職。」進忠、朝方舉內操，得㴶奏大喜。詔錦衣官訓練募士，授材官王應鬥等遊擊以下官有差。㴶又奏募兵後至者復二百餘人，請發遼東、四川軍前。詔從之。尋加太子太保，進文淵閣，再進少保兼太子太保、戶部尚書、武英殿大學士。

By custom Hanlin tutors taught eunuchs in the Inner Writing Hall as disciples. Li Jinxian and Liu Chao had both been Que's pupils. Li Jinxian was the name Wei Zhongxian first used. Que secretly allied with them and memorialized recruiting over two hundred fighters for the Embroidered-Uniform Guard. Jinxian and Chao, building inner-court forces, were delighted. The court ordered guard officers to train them and gave Wang Yingdou and others military ranks. Que asked that another two hundred recruits go to Liaodong and Sichuan. The emperor agreed. He rose to Grand Guardian, entered the Wenyuan Pavilion, then Junior Tutor, Minister of Revenue, and Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall.

禁中內操日盛，駙馬都尉王昺亦奉詔募兵，願得帷幄重臣主其事。廷臣皆言㴶與朝陰相結，於是給事中惠世揚、周朝瑞等劾㴶陽托募兵，陰藉通內。劉朝內操，㴶使門客誘之。王昺疏，疑出㴶教。閹人、戚畹、奸輔內外弄兵，長安片土，成戰場矣。㴶疏辨，因請疾求罷。帝慰留之。世揚等遂盡發㴶通內狀，刑部尚書王紀再疏劾㴶，比之蔡京。㴶亦劾紀保護熊廷弼、佟卜年、劉一巘等。詔兩解之。未幾，紀以卜年獄削籍，議者益側目㴶。大學士葉向高言「紀、㴶交攻，均失大臣體。今以讞獄斥紀，如公論何？」朱國祚至以去就爭，帝皆弗聽。㴶不自安，乃力求去。命乘傳歸。逾年卒。贈太保，謚文字。

Inner drill grew; Wang Chang also recruited troops and wanted a grand minister in command. Officials said Que colluded with Chao; Hui Shiyang and Zhou Chaorui impeached him for recruiting troops while reaching inside the palace. Que's clients egged on Liu Chao's inner drill. Wang Chang's memorial was thought to come from Que. Eunuchs, in-laws, and wicked ministers armed Chang'an like a battlefield. Que defended himself and begged to resign on grounds of illness. The emperor urged him to stay. They exposed Que's inner dealings; Wang Ji impeached him, comparing him to Cai Jing. Que impeached Ji for protecting Xiong Tingbi, Tong Bunian, and Liu Yizan. An edict told both to stand down. Soon Ji was removed over the Bunian case, and opinion turned harder against Que. Ye Xianggao said Ji and Que's feud disgraced the Grand Secretariat. Expelling Ji over a criminal case—what will opinion say? Zhu Guozuo threatened to resign; the emperor ignored it. Que, uneasy, pressed to resign. He was sent home by imperial courier. A year later he died. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor with the title Wenzi.

㴶弟演，由工部主事歷官南京刑部尚書。

His brother Yan rose from a works director to Nanjing Minister of Punishments.

贊曰：神宗之朝，於時為豫，於象為蠱。時行諸人有鳴豫之兇，而無幹蠱之略。外畏清議，內固恩寵，依阿自守，掩飾取名，弼諧無聞，循默避事。《書》曰「股肱惰哉，萬事隳哉」，此孔子所為致嘆於「焉用彼相」也。

The appraiser writes: Shenzong's age was complacency in time and decadence in omen. Shixing and his like had complacency's ill luck but no cure for decadence. They feared public opinion outside, clung to favor within, clung to office, courted reputation, effected no harmony, and dodged affairs in silence. The Book says 'The limbs are idle and ten thousand affairs are ruined'—Confucius's sigh at 'Of what use is that minister?'

Cite this Chapter