In an old Korean historical document, there is a passage that reads: "Shang said: 'What is the emperor's favor?'Shi Bi said: "The skill of the bow horse is also." If you hear about the change of the Tartars, you will want to go to them. Therefore, although there are side newspapers, most of them are not heard of by the emperor. The "Shang" here refers to the monarch of the Lee dynasty at that time, Zhongzong, that is, the ruler of Joseon, and the "emperor" is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, that is, Zhu Houzhao. In this account, Zhongzong asked Shibi what the emperor was fond of, and Shibi replied that the emperor was fond of archery and horses, and was especially obsessed with the skills of war. Once he heard that there was a change in the Tartars (referring to the Mongols in the north of the Ming Dynasty), the emperor would personally ask for it, so even if there was a war report, it was rarely reported to the emperor.
This may seem exaggerated, and it is inconceivable that as the leaders of the country, ministers should not report to the monarch when the country is violated. However, this may have been the case at the time, as the Zhengde Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao, was known for his belligerence and often led his armies in person, even being nicknamed the "pro-conquest madman". Zhu Houzhao was not a tyrannical monarch, and his conquests were not fought to occupy land or kill civilians, but purely out of a love of personally commanding armies in battle.
Zhu Houzhao has always been a fun-loving emperor, and since his father had only one son, he was favored in the family. When he was young, he was made the crown prince, and he was deeply favored by his parents and developed a playful personality. His idols were the ancestors of the family, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, and he admired their bravery and dreamed of being like them.
In order to realize his dream of conquest, Zhu Houzhao awarded himself the official position of "Governor and Military Affairs Mighty General and Chief Military Officer", titled "Zhenguo Gong", and established the Zhenguo Mansion. He was often away from the palace and lived in the Zhenguo Mansion, always keeping an eye on the border and ready to fight in person at any time. In the twelfth year of Zhengde, the Mongol prince Boyan led troops to harass the northern border of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Houzhao was excited when he learned about it, and he was eager to lead the army in person.
Although the ministers at that time were frightened to stop Zhu Houzhao, because the previous Tumubao incident had left a shadow on them, Zhu Houzhao insisted on taking the expedition in person and did not allow the ministers to follow. Eventually, despite the worries of his ministers, Zhu returned unharmed, and even defeated the enemy on the battlefield and succeeded in driving out the Mongol army.
Although this pro-campaign was considered a success, it made the ministers of the DPRK and China fearful. The Son of Heaven has repeatedly personally conscripted, and even small-scale disputes have made the ministers unbearable. The country cannot be left without a king for a day, and if something goes wrong, the court will fall into chaos. As a result, when there was a dispute on the border, the ministers rarely reported it to the emperor, and Mujong's enthusiasm for the pro-conquest also spread to Korea, and it was recorded in the history books of Joseon.