The First Assistant Through the Ages: Zhang Juzheng

This book is a biographical novel that focuses on the life of Zhang Juzheng, detailing Zhang Juzheng's official career. His life can be summarized as follows: becoming a Jinshi at a young age, entering the Hanlin Academy for the first time, studying next to the prince, becoming the second assistant to the first assistant, following the path of a whip, having a breeze with two sleeves, reforms will eventually pay off, and he will leave his name through the ages. In this book, you can see the intrigues and wits of the six chief ministers Xia Yan, Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Li Chunfang, and Zhang Juzheng. You can also see the manipulation of power by the three emperors Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli. You can also see the power game and social laws in the prosperous age. Zhang Juzheng's life story is a real-life adventure of a lifetime in officialdom. From ancient times to the present, it is not necessary to use great wisdom to solve problems, but often small cleverness can win the day. The ups and downs of Zhang Juzheng in officialdom can be summed up as follows: there is no right or wrong method, only the speed or slowness of the results. Let's see how he used unscrupulous tactics to save the world. Perhaps by understanding Zhang Juzheng's life, we can also understand how we should live this self-consistent life.