Those things in the Ming Dynasty (full) Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 2 Ten Thousand Kingdoms Come to the Dynasty _ Chapter 12 Zhu Zhanji is a good comrade
Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 2 Ten Thousand Kingdoms Come to the Dynasty _ Chapter 12 Zhu Zhanji is a good comrade
Zhu Zhanji was a good emperor, not a little good, but a great one.
He was diligent in political affairs, restored production (don't blame me for talking nonsense, good emperors are all the same), and cared about the sufferings of the people. He often went to private visits to the people, but it was definitely not the way Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River. He visited incognito and did not show off.
, do not apportion to the local area, do not increase the burden on the local area, and only travel with guards every time.
One time, he went to pay a visit to his father's grave. When he came back, he passed by Changping (today's Changping District, Beijing) and saw several old farmers working hard in the farmland. Naturally, the emperor liked such model workers very much.
He asked his guards to call a farmer over to question him and asked why they were working so hard. It was estimated that the farmer didn't know his identity, so the emperor got an answer he would never have expected.
The farmer answered him: We farm in the spring, we work in the summer, and we can harvest rice in the autumn. If we are lazy at any time, our life will not be settled this year, and we will not even be able to pay the land rent. To support my wife and children, we can only work non-stop every day.
Got to work.
Zhu Zhanji sighed. Only then did he realize that the reason these people were working so hard was not for his country, the country, and the country, but just to survive.
This answer also made Zhu Zhanji very embarrassed, so he had to smooth things over and said: "Then you can rest in the winter."
This time it was the farmer's turn to sigh, and he said: "In winter, the government sends down corvees, and we still have to go out and do our best."
Zhu Zhanji looked at the farmers in the fields who could not straighten their waists. He felt deeply and ordered his guards to prepare to return to the palace.
The farmer must not have known the identity of the man who asked him, and he never imagined that his conversation with this man would be passed down in history.
Zhu Zhanji returned to the palace, wrote an article overnight, described his experience, and sent it to the ministers. He said emotionally: "The people work so hard to make a living, how can we not cherish the people's strength?
.”
Of course, it is not certain whether His Majesty the Emperor's exclamation will be able to touch the following power-savvy veterans, but from this story we can see that Zhu Zhanji is a sensible person and one who can understand the sufferings of the common people.
people.
In fact, because his grandfather Mr. Zhu Di was so powerful, he would beat anyone who dared to disobey him. Sometimes he would even take the initiative to find trouble for others. Although it was indeed very impressive, it also added a lot of trouble to the people.
To bear the burden, the army needs food, migrant workers, and a lot of money. Zhu Di himself neither farms nor makes money, so he will ask for it from the lower-level officials. Naturally, the officials will not farm the land, so they will spend all their money.
The burden is placed on the common people.
Therefore, in the late Yongle period, many places had already experienced the phenomenon of fleeing from famine, and production had also suffered great damage. Zhu Zhanji did not have as great ambitions as his grandfather, but he knew very well that it was time to recuperate.
Fortunately, his father left him assistants like "San Yang". Faced with the current situation of poor people's livelihood, Zhu Zhanji was eager to try and do something big.
But before he could do anything, he had to take care of someone first.
Finally rebelled!
Mr. Zhu Gaoxu finally couldn't bear it anymore.
He lamented that he had found the wrong job and had nothing to do well, so he chose to be a conspirator. Although the competition in this industry was not fierce, it required extremely high quality. Although he had successful people like Yao Guangxiao as his glorious role model, there was no guarantee.
own success.
If you want to be a successful bad guy or conspirator, the key is to improve your own quality.
Zhu Gaoxu's quality is not good. He has been engaged in conspiracy for decades but has achieved nothing. Several emperors are rising and falling in front of his eyes. Now even his junior Zhu Zhanji has come to power. As a conspirator, Zhu Gaoxu's career is a failure.
Yeah, it's really a bad mix.
What is even more unacceptable is that it has become an open secret that he wants to rebel. From the emperor to the common people, everyone knows that this gentleman wants to rebel. The biggest feature of the career of a conspirator is that he works secretly and underground.
In comparison, Mr. Zhu Gaoxu can be regarded as a shame in this industry and is quite ridiculed by his peers.
Nothing has been achieved in more than twenty years, and the rebellion has become known to everyone. All of this has not only insulted Mr. Zhu Gaoxu's personality, but also insulted his IQ.
I don’t want to wait any longer, and I don’t want to endure it anymore. Brother, is it easy for me to have been around for more than 20 years?! I’m rebelling!
Although Zhu Gaoxu was excited, he did not lose his mind. Before the rebellion, he sent his confidant Mei Qing to find someone in the capital. He believed that with many years of friendship, this person would be able to stand on his side. As long as he could
Pull this person over and great things will happen!
In July of the first year of Xuande (1426), Mei Qing sneaked into the capital to find Zhu Gaoxu's good friend Zhang Fu.
Zhang Fu received him warmly, and after talking about their friendship, he asked Zhu Gaoxu clearly about his intentions and Mei Qing's purpose of coming. Zhang Fu had nothing to say about his character. He was a straightforward person. He didn't even have time to give Mei Qing a place to sleep.
Qing arranged for him to be tied up and sent to Zhu Zhanji overnight.
Friends? Friendships? Bah! Current Affairs!
Zhu Zhanji knew the news, but did not want to take action. He hoped for a peaceful resolution.
In order to achieve this goal, he sent Lieutenant General Hou Tai to find Zhu Gaoxu in Le'an, Shandong Province, hoping that the other party could rein in the situation.
But what happened next was really surprising.
Hou Tai came on the emperor's order, and was greeted by the arrogant Zhu Gaoxu. This rebel brother was so arrogant that he sat facing the emperor's envoy to the south. His posture seemed to indicate that I am afraid of who I am rebelling against.
What Zhu Gaoxu said below is obviously from his heart:
"During the Jing Dynasty, without my efforts, how could I be today? As a result, Emperor Taizong (Zhu Di) believed the slander and sealed me in this place. Renzong wanted to use gold and silk to win over me, and the current emperor wanted to use the ancestral system to suppress me. How could I
You may live here for a long time!”
Then, he took the initiative to show his troops, horses and weapons to Hou Tai, and said blatantly: "These can rule the world! Go back and tell your master (repay your master), and arrest those traitorous ministers who instigated him."
Give it to me, and then talk to him again (Xu Yi wants to do what I want)."
Look at these words, the so-called "return to your Lord", "Xu discuss what I want", give three points of shame, but want to open a dyeing workshop! The word shameless is well deserved.
From ancient times to the present, scoundrels like Zhu Gaoxu have a common characteristic. They are obviously engaged in conspiracy themselves, but they always like to accuse others falsely to save face for him, but they are shameless.
There is really no need to be reasonable in dealing with such a scoundrel. The best way is to give him a loud slap in the face.
In fact, you are very fragile
At this point, there was no need to fight, so Zhu Zhanji held a military meeting to discuss how to quell the rebellion. At that time, the ministers all believed that Xue Lu, Marquis of Yangwu, should be sent to lead troops to quell the rebellion, and Zhang Fu was very active, hoping to
Bring 20,000 troops to wipe out his old friends.
However, Yang Rong raised objections. He believed that under the current circumstances, if the emperor went on a personal expedition, he would definitely be able to defeat Zhu Gaoxu in one fell swoop.
Zhang Fu was not convinced and started arguing with Yang Rong. The two sides couldn't argue, and things came to a crossroads again.
Zhu Zhanji was also undecided. It would be easier to send troops out to fight, but it could not guarantee victory. Although his own expedition was impressive, it was too dangerous and could not guarantee safety.
When he was hesitating, Minister Xia Yuanji only used one sentence to strengthen Zhu Zhanji's belief in his own expedition:
"Has the Emperor forgotten about Li Jinglong?"
Li Jinglong? Yes, that’s the loser Li Jinglong.
When Emperor Jianwen handed over military power to this loser, he was completely defeated. Thinking of the outcome of this loser, Zhu Zhanji immediately made up his mind to fight in person!
Who says Li Jinglong is a loser and a waste? Judging from this incident, a loser and a loser are also useful. At least his stupidity has served as a warning to future generations, which is a great merit!
On August 10, the first year of Xuande (1426), Zhu Zhanji personally conquered Le'an. The army moved quickly and arrived outside Le'an City on August 20.
Zhu Gaoxu is certainly a scoundrel, but if a scoundrel wants to do something, he can't rely on cheating. He still needs some skills.
He originally thought that Xue Lu was leading troops to quell the rebellion, but he didn't take it seriously. He didn't expect that his good nephew would come in person. He panicked and organized soldiers to resist, but few obeyed his orders.
At this time, Zhu Gaoxu realized that he was so fragile.
Zhu Zhanji was really not a man to be taken lightly. During the journey, he once asked his ministers: "How do you think Zhu Gaoxu will act?"
A minister replied: "Le'an is too small, he may attack Jinan to resist the large army."
Some ministers also said: "He has been in Nanjing for many years and will definitely lead his troops south."
Zhu Zhanji smiled and shook his head and said: "What you said is wrong. Although Jinan is very close, it is not easy to attack. Moreover, the army is marching quickly, and he has no time to attack. Nanjing is even less possible. The families of his men
We are all in Le'an, how can we be willing to go south?"
"He will always be waiting for me in Le'an."
This is indeed the case. Zhu Gaoxu has always been in Le'an, not because he wants to fight to the death, but because he has nowhere else to go.
After the army arrived, they did not attack by force. They only shot at the defenders in the city with muskets and bows and arrows. Although they did not do anything serious, their momentum was very frightening. The defenders in the city had no fighting spirit in the first place, so they became even more distraught and fled one after another.
Zhu Zhanji fully understood the battlefield situation and the psychology of the soldiers, and sent people to tie the edict to arrows and shoot them into the city. The edict stated the principle that the culprit must be punished, and the coordination was never asked, and Zhu Gaoxu was thoughtfully marked with two goals: capture alive and kill.
After raising the price, the people in the city were immediately ready to make a move. Even the guards around Zhu Gaoxu had their own plans. When they looked at Zhu Gaoxu, their eyes were like looking at a golden pig head.
Zhu Gaoxu was so embarrassed that he had to send someone out of the city to deliver a message, expressing his willingness to leave the city and surrender. He just hoped to have one night to say goodbye to his relatives and surrender.
This is what Zhu Gaoxu said and what he did.
The next day he was about to open the city gate and surrender to Zhu Zhanji, but his subordinate Wang Bin grabbed him and said some righteous words to him:
“I would rather die in battle than be captured (I would rather die in battle than be captured)!”
Zhu Gaoxu was stunned. He was ready to surrender, but this subordinate was still so brave. He suddenly became energetic and said that he would live and die with the city!
After delivering an impassioned speech, Zhu Gaoxu walked back to his command position with his head held high.
Then he changed a path, sneaked out of the city, surrendered to Zhu Zhanji, and delivered his surrender speech:
"My crime deserves to be punished by death, and it is up to the emperor to punish me (I am guilty of a crime that is worthy of death, only by His Majesty's order)!"
This farce ended here.
Zhu Gaoxu is a complete buffoon. He cannot succeed as a conspirator, and his rebellion has failed. Not only does he have no quality, but he also has no character. A month ago, he boasted of "repaying your lord" and "doing what I want".
A month later, it became "I will die for all my sins, only by His Majesty's orders."
If you are not a good person, you cannot even be a bad person. Such a living treasure really makes people speechless.
Zhu Gaoxu, your name is Weak.
In this farce, Zhu Gaoxu played the role of a clown, but this play also inadvertently created a little person.
After Zhu Gaoxu came out and surrendered, according to the rules, the emperor had to send someone to punish him for his crimes. In layman's terms, it was to curse people. Of course, it was impossible for the emperor to do this job himself.
So the emperor assigned a censor around him to complete the job of scolding people. But what the emperor never expected was that the censor he randomly assigned actually scolded famously and brilliantly.
After receiving the order, the censor stepped forward and faced the formerly powerful prince. Without any fear, he began to cite his crimes. His curses were loud and clear, and he could match his stern expression. Everyone turned their attention to him.
(The main word is brand-new and the voice is powerful).
Zhu Gaoxu's fragile mind was hit hard again. Under the fierce offensive of the censor, he was scolded so much that he could not lift his head and lay on the ground shaking (trembling on the ground).
This scene left a very deep impression on Emperor Zhu Zhanji. He determined that this person must be a talented person. After returning, he immediately ordered this person to be sent to patrol Jiangxi (note, not the governor).
It was the censor's duty to inspect other places, and it was not considered a high promotion. However, the emperor's move was obviously to train this person and then reuse him.
In history, it is not uncommon for evil villains to rely on some accidental flashes of performance to gain the favor and trust of the emperor, thereby causing harm to the country (such as He Shen), but the facts proved that this time, Zhu Zhanji was not wrong.
This censor with a loud voice is indeed a rare talent.
Twenty years later, he will step forward, work hard to save the country from danger, and accomplish great things, which will last forever.
The name of this censor is Yu Qian.
The end of farce
Although the rebellion ended in a very dramatic way, the fun did not end there. Mr. Zhu Gaoxu will stage a sequel to the comedy "Zhu Gaoxu's Rebellion" with his funny performance.
Zhu Zhanji was indeed a kind man. Although many people persuaded him to kill Zhu Gaoxu, he did not do so. He just locked him in a cell at Xi'an Gate. It was said that he had been extremely benevolent to Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Gaoxu just happened to be a human being.
An unrepentant person.
One day, Zhu Zhanji remembered his uncle and went to visit him. The two of them didn't say a few words when Zhu Gaoxu suddenly stretched out his kick and knocked Zhu Zhanji to the ground.
Every time I see this place, I am always puzzled. I always can't figure out how Zhu Gaoxu thinks and whether his head is full of mush.
Since the legs can be hooked, it means that the two of them are very close. Whether you bump him, bite him, pinch him, or kick him, it will all have some effect. You don't have to use so many methods, but just hook him.
It's like a prank played by a few-year-old child, which really makes people dumbfounded.
The farce was not over yet. Zhu Zhanji, who had been tricked, was very angry, and the honest man was also angry, so he ordered Zhu Gaoxu to be covered with a three hundred kilogram copper vat, which meant that he would not be allowed to move anymore. But what happened next
Things are really incredible.
Mr. Zhu Gaoxu suddenly stopped being a comedian and started practicing weightlifting. He was so strong that he actually lifted the cylinder up. However, because his head was covered and he could not see clearly, he could only stagger around.
Just stay there, why do you have to move?
If you move, your life will be lost.
Zhu Zhanji witnessed this farce from beginning to end. He couldn't bear it anymore, so he sent someone to hold down the vat, then found a lot of coal, pressed it on the vat, burned the coal red, and executed Zhu Gaoxu.
This method of execution is very similar to the preparation of the famous Jiangnan dish beggar's chicken, but the name has to be changed to "beggar's pig (Zhu)".
In this way, Mr. Zhu Gaoxu ended his colorful life. His life, from a conspirator to a comedian to a weightlifter, was all a series of failures, but we really have to thank him for his funny actions.
What makes our history so colorful.
I have doubted the authenticity of this record several times, because it is really difficult for me to understand the behavioral patterns and reasons of Mr. Zhu Gaoxu, and I suspect that he is a mentally disturbed person. But in history, human behavior is indeed very strange.
Difficult to understand.
Regardless of whether Mr. Zhu Gaoxu was mentally healthy or not, and whether the historical records were true or not, Zhu Zhanji finally got rid of this last burden and went to be his wise king wholeheartedly.
Zhu Zhanji's reign was not long, only ten years, and including his father's reign, it was only eleven years. However, the short eleven years he and his father ruled were recognized by later generations of historians as
The "Reign of Ren and Xuan", comparable to the "Reign of Wen and Jing", was a prosperous era in Chinese history.
Why does it have such a high evaluation? Where does the prosperous age come from? It comes from recuperation and tranquility to nourish the people.
In fact, the common people in feudal society are not bad at self-development. Even if you don't provide them with ideological education, they still know that they need to eat, make money, and live a good life.
If overwhelmed people have a chance to breathe, they will work hard.
Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty was such an emperor who did not disturb the people. He did not have the talents and strategies of his grandfather, but he knew very well that the people were also ordinary people and had to live their lives, so they should be given room to survive.
During his ten years in power, he worked diligently every day, worked overtime, listened to the opinions of ministers, and handled various government affairs. He was able to properly handle the conflict with Mongolia and stayed as quiet as possible without troops. Therefore, during his reign
, nothing major happened.
This is not a good thing for people like me who tell stories, but for the people back then, it was a blessing.
A good emperor is like a good referee on the modern football field. He can be seen everywhere, running tirelessly, but never easily interrupting the rhythm of the game. Even if there is a violation, he can stop it in time and exit in time without any interruption.
Make yourself the protagonist on the field.
Such referees are good referees.
Do not interfere with the lives of the people, increase their burdens, do what they should do, govern the people like water, and make the best use of the situation. This is the highest state of the emperor's governance.
Such an emperor is a good emperor.
Zhu Zhanji was a good emperor through and through, and from the perspective of governing the country and bringing peace to the people, he was much better than his grandfather.
Zhu Zhanji’s pain
Zhu Zhanji was a wise king and a good emperor, but he also had his own pain.
Is there anyone in the world who can make the emperor suffer?
Yes, such people do exist. They are the ministers who kneel down and worship in the main hall on weekdays and appear to be respectful.
These ministers are by no means as obedient as they appear. Behind their humble postures, there is a behemoth with terrifying power.
Since the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination has created many civil servants and established the civil service system. After hundreds of years, this system finally came to fruition in the Ming Dynasty and developed a by-product. Those elites who relied on the imperial examination to make the leap to Longmen passed through their fellow countrymen.
, the relationship between classmates and colleagues formed an extremely powerful group - the Civil Service Group.
Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi was recognized as an honest man and a good emperor, but this good emperor was severely scolded by a minister named Li Shimian. Zhu Gaochi had a good character, how could he scold him? This is another question.
Where to start?
It turned out that Mr. Zhu Gaochi did several things. After he ascended the throne, he wanted to change his maids and the new king ascended the throne. This request seemed not too much. In addition, he also renovated the palace (which was not large in scale). In the end, due to physical discomfort, he had
I haven't gone to court to see the ministers for several days.
These things didn't seem to be a big deal, but Li Shimian wrote a long letter, scolding the emperor. The whole text was very logical, and he didn't use curse words. It was of a very high level. The excerpt is as follows:
The so-called renovation of the palace - "This is what is called saving the people's power."
The so-called selection of maids - "This is what is called being cautious about lust." (This sentence is rather cruel)
The so-called absence of going to court for a few days - "This is the so-called diligent person." (You, Li Shimian, have never rested?)
It's not over yet, the most cruel words are at the end, the concluding remarks - "This is the so-called serious scholar."
The above, translated into popular language, can be understood as a person who is extravagant and lustful, a lustful person, passive and slow in work, and not doing his job properly.
Although the big fat Zhu Gaochi had a good temper, he couldn't help but beat Li Shimian. His anger was justified. He worked diligently. Although he had these small problems, he was put on such a big hat.
Hat, it's really embarrassing. After all, it was still a feudal society back then, but this Li Shimian did have some modern democratic consciousness. He regarded the emperor as a cadre, so he reprimanded him like this. No wonder Fatty Zhu was angry.
Fatty Zhu was so angry that he fell ill, but Li Shimian survived despite being beaten. When Zhu Zhanji succeeded to the throne, he released the man who had scolded his father and praised him.
Got him.
Frankly speaking, these things Li Shimian said do need to be corrected, but as an emperor in a feudal society, these behaviors are not worthy of such a big label. In fact, behind these so-called outspoken opinions,
, has a complex historical and political background.
Li Shimian's behavior is not isolated, he represents a group of people, and this group of people is the civil servant group.
The characteristics of the Civil Service Group are as follows:
1. Read poetry and books, especially Neo-Confucianism, and study the so-called sages’ ways all day long.
Second, adhere to the principle of being lenient with oneself and being strict with others, and demand others according to the standards of a saint (part).
Third, he is good at swearing, fighting, and gang fights.
Motto: It doesn't matter if you are killed, your name will remain in history.
It should be noted that this is just a general characteristic of the civil service group, and it does not deny the positive significance of the civil service group. In fact, a large number of outstanding civil servants are strict with themselves.
Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty worked hard, was not lewd, and had no other entertainment. Normally, there should be nothing to blame, but civil servants who were good at studying problems still found loopholes.
Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty did not have any particular favorite activities, but he had a small hobby-fighting crickets in his spare time. Although this is not a healthy cultural and sports activity, it is not a bad hobby. The emperor also has his own way of leisure, you can't
Let him do a set of radio gymnastics every day for entertainment.
But even this little hobby was criticized many times by civil servants. Later, someone who was unscrupulous actually gave this good emperor, who was half-dead from work and country, the nickname "Emperor Cricket".
It's really too much.
The behavior of these people can be described as excessive. No matter who becomes the emperor, I am afraid that he will not be able to bear it. If you want to beat him, you can still let him. It was an honorable thing to be beaten for speaking out for justice.
Li Shimian is an example. After being beaten, he not only showed no regrets, but also felt complacent and was deeply proud of being beaten.
During the Xuanzong era of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the civil servant group was further developed, and the power of the cabinet became more and more powerful. The so-called "voting plan" appeared.
The draft, also known as the decree, refers to the ministers drafting opinions on how to deal with various memorials, attaching these opinions to the memorials, and sending them to the emperor for inspection.
The emergence of the memorials was inevitable. Zhu Zhanji obviously did not have the work energy of his ancestors. He was still too busy after working all day. It was impossible to read and deal with many memorials one by one, so he arranged for cabinet personnel to browse the memorials on his behalf.
And put forward suggestions for handling, so that he will be much more relaxed.
Some people may ask, in this case, what power does the emperor have? Isn't he being sidelined?
Please rest assured about this. Except for a few exceptions, emperors throughout the ages were not idiots. They gave cabinet votes and powers just to make them work. The emperor also had a back-up plan specifically used to suppress the power of the cabinet.
This is followed by the power of consent.
Don't forget that ministers only work for the emperor. If a decree can be implemented, the minister can only put forward his opinion, and then write a request for approval from the leader and send it to the emperor for review. If the emperor disagrees, you will just write a thousand words.
Thousands of words of writing are of no use at all.
Zhu Zhanji grasped this point well. He effectively mobilized the enthusiasm of the ministers and asked them to work hard, but blocked the possibility of their servants deceiving their masters and turning around. All memorials that have been drafted can only be passed through voting.
Only the emperor's instructions can be implemented.
Since the emperor used a red pen to give instructions, this power of the emperor was called "praising the red".
At this point, by the time of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's power was officially divided into two parts: "voting for approval" and "banning for red". Zhu Yuanzhang would never have imagined that in less than thirty years, the political system he had worked so hard to manage would be destroyed.
Easily broken and modified.
In the history of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, the power of "voting for proposals" has always been occupied by cabinet ministers, but the power of "banning red" has not always been in the hands of the emperor. Soon, this power will be transferred to another person.
Occupied by a group of people who ascend to the political stage.
These people are eunuchs.
Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty had never done any bad things in his life, nor was he a womanizer. Except for his fondness for fighting crickets, which was said a few times, he had no bad deeds, but there was one exception.
Some people of later generations even believed that the wrong thing done by Ming Xuanzong paved the way for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
What on earth did he do that was so outrageous and inhumane?
To put it bluntly, it was nothing. He just engaged in some educational work - teaching eunuchs to read.
In the first year of Xuande (1426), Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty suddenly ordered the establishment of an "internal study hall" to teach eunuchs to read. Everyone should know that in China, where the concept of family inheritance is extremely serious, those who become eunuchs have no choice but to make a living.
They were just eating, so naturally these people had little education, and the purpose of Zhu Zhanji's opening of the school was precisely to educate these eunuchs about their illiteracy.
But he would not have thought that this cultural enlightenment movement not only eliminated the illiteracy of the eunuchs, but also eliminated the last obstacle that prevented them from entering the political arena.
You know, it is not difficult to be a bad person, but it is very difficult to be an extremely bad person. An uneducated bad person who does petty theft, robbery and other activities can only harass his own neighbors at most.
Ordinary people, but bad people who have read books can bring disaster to the country and the people, and harm all directions.
Judging from the subsequent development of the matter, Zhu Zhanji's move indeed cultivated many top bad guys.
Many people believe that Zhu Zhanji's measure was indeed wrong, but its original intention was just to let these eunuchs learn some culture and had no other intention.
Is this really the case?
I don't think so. In my opinion, Zhu Zhanji did it intentionally. From a legal perspective, he knew that his behavior would lead to the eunuch's participation in power, but he hoped or allowed this result to happen.
The emperor was kind but not stupid, and his move had a political purpose.
To reveal the secret behind his behavior, we must bring up the following topic:
How are eunuchs made?
First of all, I want to explain that this topic has nothing to do with physiological aspects, nor does it explore the life-threatening knife. I only talk about this special group and the real reasons for participating in politics.
Everyone is very familiar with the term eunuch, and most people also add the word "death" in front of this title. It is very refreshing and easy to understand when scolding people.
In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, it was not easy to become a eunuch. The so-called eunuch was the leader of the eunuchs, and not everyone was qualified to be called a eunuch.
Not to mention eunuchs, it is not easy to be an ordinary eunuch. In the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs were a popular job.
You know, in this world, it is not easy to make a living. Even if you have the courage to take that stab, you still need the luck to enter the palace. Don't think that being a eunuch is as simple as being a eunuch. You also need to go through selection and interview. Official
The castration facility only castrates those who have been selected. To put it bluntly, if others look down on you, you are not even qualified to be castrated.
In the Ming Dynasty, people often castrated themselves without official permission, and then ran to Beijing to work as eunuchs. Many of them were not selected and returned home to spend their lives. Of course, there were also successful ones (such as the famous Wei Zhongxian
).
In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, because there were too many people who wanted to be eunuchs, many people who were interested in joining the eunuch career did not have the chance to be dealt with by the official government, so they killed their descendants on their own with fearless courage, but later they failed to enter the palace. They could not
After getting married and starting a business, they can only wander around. These people naturally become a destabilizing factor in society.
In order to deal with this situation, the later Ming Dynasty government issued a very special decree:
Self-castration is strictly prohibited!
All I can say about this is that this is a wonderful world.
There were many levels of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty. When they first entered the palace, they could only serve as pawnbrokers, long-term attendants, and ministers. If they performed well, they could be promoted to eunuchs. The higher the eunuchs were, the younger eunuchs. The immediate superior of the younger eunuchs was the famous eunuch.
The far-off eunuch.
It can be seen that it is not easy to become a eunuch.
Eunuchs have specialized agencies, with a total of twenty-four yamen, each consisting of twelve supervisors, four bureaus, and eight divisions. Only the eunuch who is the highest commander can be called a eunuch. Each of these twenty-four yamen has its own division of labor, not only dealing with palace affairs.
, and also handle some government affairs.
In fact, among these eunuch yamen, there are also hot and cold grades. The more powerful ones have all the power in the world, while the less powerful ones are as light as a feather. If a eunuch who has just entered the palace wants to get ahead, he must first see which department he is assigned to.
If you are assigned to the ceremonial eunuch or the royal horse eunuch, congratulations first, your future as an eunuch will be bright. If you continue to work hard, it is possible to honor your ancestors or be infamy for thousands of years.
Because these two supervisory bureaus are the most powerful eunuch agencies, the ceremonial supervisor is responsible for internal and external affairs and is equivalent to the emperor's personal secretary. As we said before, the emperor gave the power of voting to the cabinet and retained the power of approval.
Red power.
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, because there were too many documents, Zhu Zhanji did not have time to read them all, so he asked the person in charge of the ceremony to copy them according to the draft content, and exercise the power of approving red papers on his behalf.
This person who ghostwrote for the emperor had a special title—Eunuch Bingbi, the Supervisor of Liturgical Affairs.
Therefore, the only power in the world that could suppress the power to vote for the cabinet fell into the hands of eunuch Bingbi.
In the late Ming Dynasty, when the emperor did not care about the government, some eunuchs would make their own decisions and issue decrees randomly. The officials below could not file a complaint even if they wanted to. Because the memorial you complained could only go to the emperor at most, but the person who reviewed the memorial on behalf of the emperor could not
This is probably the person you want to sue, so can you sue him?
It can be seen from this that eunuch Bingbi is really in a high position and has great authority.
But this eunuch Bingbi is not the most powerful eunuch. There is another eunuch above him - the eunuch Si Li eunuch.
This is easy to understand. In China, where seal culture is very developed, no matter how much you write, there is nothing you can do if I don’t stamp it for you.
And once the eunuch in charge of the Si Lijian concurrently serves as the eunuch of Dongchang (such as Feng Bao and Wei Zhongxian), he will be really powerful and powerful. In fact, almost all the famous eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty came from the Si Lijian. If there were famous eunuchs at that time
In the exhibition hall, the Director of Ceremonies must be the place with the most portraits.
The ceremonial supervisor is the only one who comes out of prison.
As an ambitious young eunuch, you should idolize these people, work hard, and strive to stay famous in history! (Of course, generally speaking, it is a bad reputation)
If you are lucky enough to be the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, it means that your eunuch career has reached its glorious peak. You have become a leader among eunuchs and a successful person among eunuchs. If you happen to do some bad things,
Then your reputation will not be limited to the current generation, but will be passed down from generation to generation for everyone to talk about and reviled after dinner.
If you were not able to enter the Si Li Jian but entered the Royal Horse Jian, then I would also like to congratulate you. This is also a good place. Although there are not as many celebrities as the Si Li Jian, there are still quite a few, such as the famous Wang
Zhi, Gu Dayong, etc. are all good examples for you.
It must be noted that this so-called Royal Horse Supervisor does not manage horses, but manages royal military symbols. At this point, everyone should also know why the Royal Horse Supervisor is a promising department.
The ceremonial eunuchs and the imperial eunuchs were both civil and military, and became the most prominent eunuch departments. All the eunuchs in the palace tried their best to enter these two departments.
There are good things and bad things. If you are unfortunate enough to be assigned to the Zhidian Supervisor and the Duzhi Supervisor, you will be miserable. Because although these two supervisors have impressive names, they only manage one thing - cleanliness.
Not only were the conditions in these two prisons difficult, no one looked down upon them, they didn't even have office space (and they didn't seem to need it), and they also had to clear leaves in the fall and snow in the winter, which was very hard work.
Naturally, such a department cannot attract many young eunuchs.
After introducing the history of eunuchs’ struggles, let’s talk about eunuchs’ participation in politics.
In the minds of many of us, eunuch politics probably looks like this:
On a dark and stormy night, in a gloomy house, several ferocious-looking eunuchs were plotting under very weak candlelight.
An eunuch smiled evilly (standard expression) and said to the person next to him: "Shang Shu Wang so-and-so is hindering our plan to seize power, and we want to kill him!"
At this time, another eunuch also smiled evilly (to keep his appearance) and said: "I think we should kill the waiter Zhang first."
Finally, the leader of the eunuchs (usually the worst one) spoke: "Follow the plan, get rid of all those loyal ministers, and then replace the emperor. Let's take over the throne!"
In the past, this was the image of eunuchs in people's minds. As long as eunuchs were mentioned, they would be associated with bad guys. Then the loyal ministers in the court fought unremittingly against the bad guys for justice and ideals. Success means that justice finally defeats evil.
Failure is a human tragedy.
Is this really the case?
I don't think so. People tend to pay too much attention to the behavior of so-called loyal ministers, but rarely find the terrible things about these ministers.
In our previous topic on how to make a prime minister, we analyzed the separation of prime ministerial power and monarchical power in the Ming Dynasty, and used a tug-of-war metaphor. The emperor and ministers stood on both sides of the rope, constantly tug-of-war. Zhu Yuanzhang was an excellent athlete.
, with good physical strength, no one could beat him when he was alive.
His son Zhu Di was also an athlete. Although he established a cabinet, he was still able to take the initiative.
When Zhu Zhanji arrived, the situation was completely different. The civil servant group was so powerful that even the emperor could do nothing to them.
In the impression of many of us, the emperor can do whatever he wants and no one can control him. But in fact, it is not easy to be the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Those ministers are like a swarm of flies. Not only do they have to ask you
Opinions, and sometimes even sarcasm and satire on you, it's hard for you to do anything to him.
Akihito was kind-hearted, but he got angry when he was scolded for trivial matters. His son Zhu Zhanji was well-behaved and only liked fighting crickets, but he was also criticized by those people as a crime. The common people had their own hobbies, but the emperor was not allowed to have them.
At the other end of the rope is an extremely huge force. Those ministers who we think are extremely upright have sufficient power to control the government. They have knowledge, strategy, ability to do things, and many colleagues.
At this end of the rope, there was only the emperor.
The emperor's so-called supreme power is nothing in the eyes of the big men in the civil service group. If he scolds you or ridicules you, it is for the sake of national affairs, but his advice is offensive to the ears. Can you say that he is wrong?
Moreover, these gentlemen cannot be killed or beaten easily. If you kill them, how can you do the official work alone?
The old model worker Zhu Yuanzhang can naturally stand up and say: Kill them all, I can do it!
But Zhu Zhanji couldn't say that.
So twenty years after the death of Emperor Taizu, the rope lost its balance, and the cabinet group that had obtained the right to vote became stronger, and the emperor alone would not be able to support it. If this continues, he will be at the mercy of the ministers.
Zhu Zhanji, who was struggling to hold on, was pulled over step by step. At this moment, he saw a person standing next to him, so he said to the person: "Come and pull out with me!"
From then on this man took part in the tug-of-war and became an important part of the game.
This person's name is eunuch.
Eunuchs are more reliable
I believe everyone now understands the emperor's pain. He is not omnipotent. He also demands people. The ministers are well-read in poetry and books, but they are not so obedient. To check and balance these disobedient people, the emperor can only choose eunuchs.
Are all eunuchs really bad people?
At least the emperor didn't think so. In his opinion, these people were very good. They grew up with him, took him to fly kites, played with him, rode him as horses, and were very obedient.
We often misunderstand the relationship between eunuchs and emperors. In fact, many emperors who grew up with eunuchs regard eunuchs as their relatives. If you were the emperor, would you like someone who talked about everything from childhood to adulthood?
, playmates who are very obedient, or ministers with serious expressions who often criticize themselves and interfere with their actions?
I think everyone will choose the former.
The power of the civil servant group in the Ming Dynasty has reached a very rampant level. They not only interfere in government affairs and criticize the emperor (some of them are really deliberately trying to find fault), but they also monitor the emperor's private life. They are not allowed to skip work and go out for fun, they are not allowed to be lustful, and they are not allowed to be greedy.
Although they themselves did these things, they did not allow the emperor to do them (such as Zhang Juzheng).
Therefore, the emperors were left with only one choice:
Let the eunuchs check and balance the ministers.
If we understand this, we don't need to be surprised by Wang Zhen's favor, nor should we be indignant at the arbitrary power of Liu Jin, Wei Zhongxian and others.
Because their emergence is inevitable for the development of the political system of the Ming Dynasty. Without Wang Zhen, there would still be Li Zhen. Without Liu Jin, there would be Xu Jin.
This is how the eunuchs were forcibly pulled into the emperor's political chariot. They were not born evil villains, and the behavior of the civil servants was not necessarily any better than them. It was just that they were born lowly and had some psychological problems, so their behavior
It is more extreme and more likely to be disgusted by people.
Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, there were many bad eunuchs and many good eunuchs, but what is very magical is that no matter how rampant the eunuchs were, they could not endanger the status of the emperor himself. You must know that the dynasty with the most powerful and arrogant eunuchs in Chinese history was not
Ming Dynasty, but Tang Dynasty.
In the late Tang Dynasty, the eunuchs completely controlled the power of the country and could even establish and depose the emperor. They were the supreme ruler of the country. In the Ming Dynasty, although the eunuchs had exclusive power and formed cliques, the emperor only needed to write a small letter to deal with them.
Notes (Wuzong of Ming Dynasty).
After the above analysis, we should have a general understanding of the purpose of Ming Xuan's religious eunuchs studying. This smart emperor would not do unnecessary things.
What he wanted to cultivate was not eunuchs with culture and pursuits, but warriors.
The soldiers who fight for him are enough to fight against the soldiers of the civilian clique.
Eunuchs are just pawns in the hands of the emperor, nothing more.
In this way, Zhu Zhanji dispersed the concentrated power of his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang. The power of voting was given to the cabinet, and the power of approving the red was delegated to the eunuchs. However, it must be noted that because the power of approving the red was very important, so the Ming Dynasty
Although the emperor entrusted eunuchs to write for him, he never relaxed his grip on this power. Of course, there were exceptions, as represented by the following three people: a naughty boy, a slacker, and an engineer.
It can be seen that this is a stable political power system. The struggle between the power to vote and the power to criticize is actually a struggle between the civil servant group and the emperor and his agents, the eunuchs.
In other words, if anyone can control both the voting rights and the red approval rights, he is the real emperor!
Is there such a person?
It should be said that there are indeed some. In my opinion, three people have done it. Although the ways and reasons for them to obtain two major powers at the same time are different, it happens that the reigns of these three actual controllers of the country are
, which corresponds exactly to the three dynasties mentioned above that did not grasp power representatives.
These three emperors whose surname is not Zhu are respectively: "Li Emperor", "Chief Living Grand Master", and "Nine Thousand Years Old".
These three brothers will also be the protagonists in our subsequent articles. Let’s first talk about what “chief living master” means.
The highest civil official in the Ming Dynasty was not a minister, but had three honorary titles - Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao. Although these three titles are all of the same rank, they are also different in size, among which Taishi is the largest. As we all know, the so-called honorary titles
Many times they are given to the dead, and those who can get these three titles after death are also very powerful people.
Of course, there are some more powerful people who have received these three titles while they were alive, and the first living person to be named the highest civil official and grand master was this man who controlled the power. In addition, he
He was also named Taifu. The only person in the Ming Dynasty who had the honor of "living Taishi" and "living Taifu" was this person. This shows how powerful this person was.
In a sense, the political structure of the late Ming Dynasty was built on the foundation laid by Zhu Zhanji. This structure cannot be said to be good or bad, because it seems to be the only way to check and balance the forces of all parties.