In the final years of the Longqing era, the Ming dynasty faced domestic turmoil and foreign threats. The treasury was empty, land consolidation was rampant, and the borders were under constant threat. Ten-year-old Zhu Yijun ascended the throne as the Wanli Emperor, leaving a power vacuum at court while Grand Secretary Gao Gong ruled with an iron fist. Zhang Juzheng, the second-ranking grand secretary, joined forces with Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao, using far-reaching strategy to bring down Gao Gong and claim the position of chief grand secretary. He took up the banner of reform to “save the Ming from its decline.”
Once in power, Zhang Juzheng imposed sweeping reforms with an iron hand. The “Examination and Accountability System” cleaned up officialdom and dismissed officials who shirked their duties. “Land Surveys” confronted the interests of the gentry, and he personally traveled south to burn account books as a warning. The “Single Whip Reform” consolidated taxes and labor levies into silver payments, replenishing the treasury. During this time, he resisted pleas on behalf of the old guard from mentors such as Xu Jie, relied on Hai Rui to implement local reforms, and reached an understanding with Qi Jiguang: civil officials would govern, while military men would command the army. Revenue from the reforms funded border defenses in Jizhou, while Qi’s troops safeguarded the reforms. In just a few years, the Ming treasury was full and the borders were secure.
However, the reforms threatened the interests of countless powerful groups, and the conservatives bombarded him with impeachments. As the Wanli Emperor grew older, he began to resent Zhang Juzheng’s “harsh discipline” and grew suspicious of his “overwhelming power at court.” The exposure of Feng Bao’s corruption planted the seeds for a reckoning. In the tenth year of the Wanli era, Zhang Juzheng fell gravely ill from overwork. Even from his sickbed, he continued revising reform regulations. Before he died, he clasped the Wanli Emperor’s hand and entrusted state affairs to him, but he never got to finish his final admonition.
After Zhang Juzheng’s death, the Wanli Emperor vented his anger by punishing him, confiscating his family’s property and exiling his relatives. The conservatives seized the opportunity to abolish the “Examination and Accountability System,” shelve the land surveys, and reduce the “Single Whip Reform” to a name alone. Qi Jiguang was stripped of his authority and dismissed, the Qi family army was disbanded, and Jizhou’s border defenses collapsed. The achievements of the reforms vanished without a trace.
