The Ming Dynasty poet Wang Yude's "Six Songs of Wanli Palace" seems to show us a debauchery, poor and extravagant Wanli Emperor, and the Mingshenzong who worked hard in the history books, had the demeanor of a generation of Ming monarchs, and created "Wanli Zhongxing". And the historical record of "not going to the court" in Chinese history created by him is even more talked about by future generations. So why did he ignore the government for 28 years?Today I will take you into the real history of the Wanli Emperor.
In 1572, Zhu Yijun, who was only ten years old, ascended the throne and reigned for 48 years, making him the longest-reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Because he was too young when he succeeded to the throne, ten years before Wanli, his teacher Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant of the cabinet, presided over the cabinet management of the government, and he implemented a series of reform measures, which made the country's atmosphere look new. However, he has been in charge of the government for 14 years for 28 consecutive years"No suburbs, no temples, no courts, no seeing, no criticism, no talking"。Although the emperors of the Ming Dynasty had their own characteristics and hobbies, they were indeed too strange like Emperor Wanli...
Some people say that Zhu Yijun is addicted to wine, and some people say that he is addicted to opium, but they think that these two statements are not credible, and then I will talk about my own opinions for your reference:
1. Disappointment with the civilian clique and confrontation with "not going to the DPRK".
Many people believe that Shenzong retaliated because of the stalemate with the cabinet over the establishment of the crown prince.
When Shenzong was 20 years old, he accidentally happened to be a palace maid surnamed Wang and gave birth to his eldest son, Zhu Changluo. According to convention, Zhu Changluo should be made the crown prince. Later, Shenzong met the woman he loved most in his life, Zheng Guifei, and gave birth to the third son of the emperor, Zhu Changxun, who loved the third son of the emperor and wanted to make Zhu Changxun the crown prince.
This idea was opposed by the cabinet and ministers, on the grounds that it was not in accordance with the etiquette law to abolish the elder and establish the young, and the eldest son of the emperor should be appointed as the crown prince. In order to establish the crown prince, Shenzong and the entire civil official group were confronted and confronted, which made Shenzong very annoyed. Later, Shenzong passively confronted his ministers with "not going to court".
Until the twenty-ninth year of Wanli (1601), Shenzong was worried that once he was in turmoil, he had to appoint Zhu Changluo as the crown prince, which was protracted"Guoben"The controversy was brought to an end.
According to this version, the main reason why Shenzong did not go to court was because the imperial power was suppressed by the civil and official groups, so he was passive and confrontational.
But there are two things that the Divine Sect has done that are worthy of affirmation, one is that no one has been killed because of this incident;The second is not to go to the court is not to be the shopkeeper, in the past 28 years, many national events have been handled very properly: the famous "Wanli Three Great Marches" have all happened in the past 28 years. Among them, in the Battle of Ningxia, the Ming army defeated the rebellious Mongols;In the Battle of Korea, the Ming army defeated the Japanese who invaded Korea;In the Battle of Banzhou, the Ming army defeated Yang Yinglong, the Tusi of the Guizhou rebellion. The victory of the three major battles is naturally inseparable from the bloody battles of the front-line soldiers, but it also reflects from the side that the relationship between the Wanli Emperor and the ministers has not reached the point of being out of control, otherwise it is impossible for the court to unite with one heart and all to achieve victory.
Two: The leg is disabled, and the self-esteem is at work.
In 1958, the excavation of the Dingling Tomb of the Wanli Emperor began, and after opening his coffin, historians made a major discovery: "Whether it is the painful shape of Wanli's right leg curled up in the coffin, or the fact that the right leg is significantly shorter than the left leg after the bones are recovered, it is enough to show that the emperor did suffer from a serious foot disease during his lifetime." ”
Perhaps this is the main reason why Emperor Wanli did not go to court for 28 years. The book "Edict to the Record" of Shen Shixing, the first assistant of the Wanli Dynasty, also recorded that Wanli "had a swollen face and was difficult to walk", and it can be seen that an important reason why the Wanli Emperor did not go to court was probably worried about ruining the emperor's majesty in the hearts of the ministers. Therefore, Emperor Wanli's serious leg disease has affected his daily life, so he can't go to court, but he still insists on reading and reading in the palace, handling state affairs in every detail, so that the country can maintain normal operation.
Whatever the reason for the Wanli Emperor not to go to court for 28 years, it is undeniable that during his reign, there were no eunuchs and no relatives interfering in politics, and the party struggle between Qingliu was also controllable, and the internal and external wars were all victorious. Facts have proved that Wanli is still handling national affairs with his heart and controlling the court situation, which is much stronger than his grandfather who also does not go to the court and is dedicated to Xuan Xiu, Emperor Jiajing.