Chapter 795 Lin Xian Case
[In the 19th year of Hongwu, the Japanese incident occurred when Lin Xiantong, the commander of the Mingzhou Guard, was recorded. The general record in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" is that Hu Weiyong had taken Lin Xian, the commander of the Ningbo Guard, as a confidant, and then demoted him to the Japanese country on fabricated charges. In fact, it was Let Lin Xian work in Japan to plot rebellion.
Three years after Lin Xian's activities, Hu Weiyong waved his hand and reinstated him. Before Lin Xian left, he made an agreement with the Japanese king about rebellion. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, the Japanese king sent a tribute team of 400 people to hide gunpowder and swords. , but they didn’t expect that by the time they arrived, Hu Weiyong’s head had already fallen to the ground, so they had no choice but to let it go.
Later, when the Lin Xian incident occurred, Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and pursued the Hu Weiyong case again. As a result, a group of officials were implicated and executed. The Japanese Tonglu case also involved many Jiangnan powerful men, who were executed for the same crime.
Nowadays, generally speaking, people tend to believe that Hu Weiyong's connection with the Japanese was a fiction. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was using the topic to investigate dissidents.
But if you study the original text of the Lin Xian case, you will find that there are many interesting points in it.
First of all, the source of records of Lin Xian's case is "Da Gao San Bian·Commanding Lin Xian and Hu Dang Ninth" written by Lao Zhu himself, so it was later recorded in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" when the Qing court compiled its history.
Nowadays, the authenticity of the connection with Japan is questioned. First of all, the ancient Japanese country was far away, and it would be too unreliable to rely on it for help;
Secondly, "Da Gao" belongs to Lao Zhu's one-sided words. Isn't it a compilation of love?
The most important thing is what we have said before. The period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Japanese Kingdom did not end until the 25th year of Hongwu. At that time, the Japanese Kingdom not only did not have a Japanese king recognized by both sides, but even Prince Huailiang, whom Zhu Yuanzhang blamed, died in the 5th year of Hongwu. He was sent to the countryside to farm. He died of illness in the 16th year of Hongwu's reign. There was no way he could be the "Japanese king" who conspired with Hu Weiyong.
Although there are loopholes in the Lin Xian case left in the imperial edict, Lao Zhu’s records on the case revealed two clues:
During the Hongwu period, the Japanese "falsely claimed to pay tribute" more than once; there were indeed insiders in the Ming Dynasty who were colluding with the Japanese.
As for "Falsely claiming to pay tribute", we have mentioned before that it belongs to the relationship between the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Japanese Kingdom. The local famous names and even pirate merchants of the Japanese Kingdom used the name of the envoy to deceive and defraud. Although they could not produce the tribute form, they were all received by the Ministry of Rites and brought to Zhu Yuanzhang. before.
Zhu Yuanzhang in Da Gao reflected on this and believed that the reason why the Ministry of Rites let in all kinds of cats and dogs was because of the intervention of an insider, using the name of Japanese civil strife to cover up the situation so that the Japanese could come and go freely as long as they used the banner of envoys, making it convenient for them to cause trouble.
What can support this is the incident of the Ningbo Shipping Department being suddenly closed down, recorded by Shen Defu in the mid-Ming Dynasty in Volume 12 of "Wanli Yehuobian". It plays a very important role in it. It is unreasonable to close suddenly. The reason recorded by Shen Defu is "Ningbo is also close to Jidian, so it is for the defense of the people."
Looking back again, Lin Xian, the protagonist in the second stage of the Hu Weiyong case, was the commander of the Ningbo Guards.
If we push the time back to before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, etc. who were entrenched in the Yangtze River Basin and competed with Zhu Yuanzhang for supremacy, all attached great importance to Ningbo.
After these forces were wiped out by Zhu Yuanzhang, most of the remaining troops fled to the sea through Ningbo, which eventually led to the "Japanese invasion and plundering of every lure island" in the early Ming Dynasty.
In the Lin Xian case, Zhu Yuanzhang most likely realized that the Japanese pirates were no longer stragglers. They were familiar with the coastal terrain and could advance and retreat freely in Ningbo. Furthermore, before Hu Weiyong was overthrown, whatever cats or dogs claimed to be Japanese envoys could be sent to the emperor by the Ministry of Rites. , Ningbo's problem was already very serious in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.
As for the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang concluded that Hu Weiyong passed away from the Japanese, Shen Defu said another eight words when describing the reasons for the dismissal of the Ningbo Shipping Department, which may be the best explanation: "Close to the capital, or take a look."
In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, even if Hu Weiyong had no access to the Japanese, he must have had contact with Zhang Shicheng and other remnants through Lin Xian's window in Ningbo. This may also be the reflection of Lin Xian's case in "Da Gao San Bian". Zhu Yuanzhang believed that Lin Xian initially This is a reasonable explanation from Zhang Shicheng's subordinates.
Whether it was colluding with the Japanese or colluding with the remnants of the Ming Dynasty, there was not much difference to Zhu Yuanzhang. They were both ironclad evidence of treason. The crime of colluding with the Japanese also had more of an easy-going flavor.
Then the real story of Lin Xian’s case can be pieced together:
Between the sixth and eighth years of Hongwu's reign, the powerful Hu Weiyong took Lin Xian as his confidant. After Liu Bowen died of illness, Hu Weiyong, whose position was already stable, began to prepare a backup plan.
In the ninth year of Hongwu, under the arrangement of Hu Weiyong, Lin Xian was sent as an envoy to the Japanese state on a minor charge. This work lasted for three years. Lin Xian may have really contacted the Japanese state, or he may have just contacted the rebels under the guise of the Japanese state. Ming forces.
In the eleventh year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang began to issue an edict that "the affairs of the departments under the Six Ministries should not be concerned with Bai Zhongshu Sheng", that is, the memorials of the Six Ministries could be sent directly to the emperor without showing them to the prime minister. In fact, this can already be seen As a signal for Zhu Yuanzhang to take action.
In the twelfth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong, who felt the crisis, recalled Lin Xian and prepared to cause trouble. However, in this year, incidents such as the occupation of the city as tribute envoys, the private killing of grooms, Wang Guangyang's concubine and the loss of his daughter, etc. broke out one after another, and the Hu Party quickly After the fall, Lin Xian, the back-up man, became useless.
It was not until the Jinyiwei was formally established in the fifteenth year of Hongwu that this hidden thunder officially exploded in the eighteenth year of Hongwu.
Zhu Yuanzhang also took advantage of the situation to eliminate dissidents and solved a major case. 】
In the Huagai Hall, the busy imperial guards felt particularly strange.
According to later generations, the Jinyiwei was established in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, but according to their own experience, the Jinyiwei was officially established in the thirteenth year of Hongwu.
The difference was hard for them to detect for a while, but they were mentioned by later generations, and it seemed that the Jinyiwei had contributed a lot to the incident of Lin Xian, the commander of the Mingzhou Guard, which was a traitor, which made them feel proud.
But in any case, they all knew clearly that some of them would set off for Mingzhou that day after the secret meeting was over.
And from the few words of later generations, it is not difficult to find that there are probably many dangers around Mingzhou. In addition to Lin Xian, the commander of the guard in the local area, there are also the remnants of the anti-Ming who are vaguely mentioned in the mouths of later generations, and the Japanese pirates who are in cahoots with them.
And the Jiangnan tyrants who were affected by the Lin Xian case are probably also hidden around Mingzhou.
But even so, the Jinyiwei envoys in the Huagai Palace did not feel afraid, but felt a little excited - if it was not dangerous, how could the Jinyiwei be known as the sharp sword of His Majesty?
Just as the Jinyiwei envoys thought, Zhu Yuanzhang's face was covered with clouds at this moment, and the entire Huagai Palace seemed to be covered with an invisible layer of frost.
"The Ministry of Rites is working together inside and outside, and the Haiwei is colluding with the rebels!"
"Looking like a bandit, he is indeed a bandit!"