The Wanli Emperor was still a child, and the Great Ming was on the brink of collapse. Zhang Juzheng held up the heavens with one hand, acting as a ruthless autocrat to carry out a world-shaking rescue. He controlled waterways to clear sediment and open the empire's arteries, measured fields and surveyed acreage to strengthen its foundations, used the Examination and Evaluation System to rouse its weary officials, and reorganized border garrisons to defend its frontiers. The Renwu Copper Mountain plot concealed three decades of venom. It gnawed at the dams, infiltrated the Nine Frontiers, conspired with palace eunuchs, and sought to destroy the lifeblood of the capital. Jiangling poured his heart and soul into the fight, baiting the tiger with his own life and setting a trap to strike back at the conspirators on his deathbed. His grip on the court, his ruthless autocracy, and his willingness to ruin his own reputation in pursuit of swift results earned him both praise and condemnation.
And yet!
Consider the great Renwu case. Had he not used himself as bait and carved a deadly trap in blood, had he not pierced the heart of the Copper Mountain plot, buried in the depths of the palace's depravity, the poison festering in the realm would not have been purged, and the rot in the Nine Frontiers would have remained. Beneath the new dikes lay not only the fruits of corruption, but also thunderous explosives capable of toppling the empire! How could such demons be executed by ordinary means? In extraordinary times, only an extraordinary man would do!
He made his broken body the fuel to burn away the selfishness of a dying age. He wielded his authority like a blade to cut through the raging tide of filth! Though he died, the dynasty's life was extended by sixty years. The northern invaders were held back for a time, the grain routes of Jiangnan reopened, and the common people were granted a brief respite. Was this not a way to prolong the dynasty's life? Was this not the strength to hold back the collapsing heavens?
The historian's brush is like a blade: some condemn his overbearing authority, while others lament his utter exhaustion. Yet the last drop of Jiangling's blood was forged into the cold iron of Copper Mountain, becoming the foundation of the Nine Tripods! The annals are mottled, his achievements shining bright. The realm could have done without Zhang Jiangling, but the reign of the Wanli Emperor could not have done without this ruthless autocrat, who prolonged the dynasty's life by tearing out his own bones and single-handedly turning back the heavens!
The sun and moon hang in the sky, the rivers flow east. His merits and failings remain beneath the palace steps, written in the blood and toil of the people.
