He is a traitor.
Yan Song (1480-1567), whose courtesy name was Weizhong, whose nicknames were Mian'an, Jiexi, Fenyi, etc., was from the Jiangyou ethnic group of Han nationality and was a native of Fenyi County, Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province. He lived in the 18th year of Hongzhi (1505). ) Jinshi of Yichou Branch.
He was a famous powerful official in the Ming Dynasty. He was good at ruling the country for 20 years. He gradually became the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, a bachelor of Jinshen Palace, a young master and the crown prince's grand master, a young master, and a bachelor of Huagaidian Palace. At the age of 63, he became the prime minister and entered the cabinet. Yan Song has profound attainments in calligraphy and is good at writing Qing Ci (actually ghostwritten by others).
In the 40th year of Jiajing (1561), Wu Peng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, became an official. Yan Song ordered the court to promote his relative Ouyang Bijin. Emperor Shizong hated this person and was furious when he saw the list and threw him to the ground. Yan Song gave a secret message, "It is said that he must enter the real minister's close relatives, and he wants to see his country, so as to comfort his elders."
Shizong agreed to him out of affection. When the contents of Yan Song's secret revelation came out, many officials were shocked. Some people said that he "competes with the master, and Wang Jiefu (Wang Anshi) is insignificant."
A few months later, Shizong ordered Ouyang Bijin to become an official, which was a serious warning to Yan Song. His son Yan Shifan was his right-hand man, but since the death of Yan Song's wife, he can no longer participate in politics. Yan Song received imperial edicts from Emperor Shizong and often did not understand them.
In the 41st year of Jiajing (1562), there was a Shandong Taoist named Lan Daoxing who was famous in Yanjing for being good at supporting the sizu. "The treacherous minister is making trouble", Yan Song happened to be passing by. Shizong grew tired of Yan Song and his son.
In the end, the power of the Yan family and his son was overthrown by a few words from Lan Daoxing. Yan Shifan was sentenced to be beheaded and cried loudly before the execution, while his father Yan Song had his family property confiscated, demoted his official position and returned to his hometown. Home can be returned.
He died two years later at the age of eighty-seven. When he died, he left food in the tomb. There was no coffin to bury him in, and no one came to express his condolences.
The "History of the Ming Dynasty" lists Yan Song as one of the six traitorous officials in the Ming Dynasty, saying that he "only wanted to flatter others and steal power without profit." Through operas, literary works, and historical classics, the image of Yan Song as a traitor has been deeply rooted in the people.
Extended information:
In the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, Yan Song, the treacherous prime minister who had stolen power for more than 20 years, finally failed and fell. His son Yan Shifan was killed in the capital, and people were happy. Although Yan Song's head was saved, he was expropriated. Loss of registration means confiscating the entire family property.
It is said that when Dongchang and Xichang raided Yan Song’s home, they kept an account, which was later printed into a book titled "Tianshui Bingshan Record", which recorded the records of this huge corruption criminal in Chinese history. One, twenty years of plundering, accumulated a mountain of wealth. The title of this book comes from the semantic meaning of "the sun rises and the iceberg sets".
Yan Song started his career quite late. He was already in his early sixties when he was very successful, and half of his life was buried in the ground. However, when he picked up money, he was like a hungry tiger descending from the mountain, never getting tired of it. Although this person started late, he had a high understanding of corruption, quick actions, evil methods, and a big appetite. As soon as he entered the cabinet, he coaxed Jiajing into a circle and immediately pushed out several colleagues, such as Zeng Xian and Xia Yan.
Upright ministers such as Yang Jisheng and Shen Lian were killed. From then on, he served as the first assistant and ruled for 21 years. This period was also a period when Jiajing had a falling out with his ministers, simply ignored the affairs of the court, moved to Xiyuan to refine elixirs, and refused to go on strike in court. None of the courtiers could see him. Yan Song alone was favored by the Holy Spirit, so he had the opportunity to corrupt himself and do whatever he wanted.
Yan Song’s son Yan Shifan was a scum ten times worse than him. The two worked together, selling their official positions, bribing the public, extorting, committing many crimes, plundering people’s wealth, and amassing money like crazy.
According to "Tianshui Bingshan Record", only his residence in Beijing and his hometown in Jiangxi Province were confiscated, including:
One, 3185 pieces of pure gold utensils, The weight is more than 11,000 taels;
Two, 857 pieces of jade;
Third, 267 pairs of earrings and earrings;
Four, more than 14,300 pieces of satin, silk and velvet ;More than 27,300 fan handles;
Fifth, there are more than 3,300 houses and shops in Nanchang and Fenyi.
The total value is approximately RMB 300 million to RMB 400 million.
People's Daily Online - How much has the treacherous Prime Minister Yan Song been greedy? Total RMB 300-400 million
Baidu Encyclopedia - Yan Song