Historical records often depict emperors living in luxury, enjoying 3,000 beauties, indulging in wine and carnal pleasures. The princes who inherit the throne are often valued by their fathers, and their mothers are also noble, and they have enjoyed the treatment that princes should have since they were children.
However, in the long history of history, there is an emperor who was not born in a good relationship, he has experienced a period of poverty, on the edge of the court, relying only on the sympathy and help of court maids and eunuchs.
This tragic experience did not dampen the benevolence of his heart, but on the contrary, it shaped his extraordinary mind and made him an accomplished monarch.
In the long course of history, both wise leaders and ignorant rulers have inevitably faced turbulence of various scales. The root cause of these instability may be the intolerance of the people to bureaucratic exploitation, the intensification of political struggles, or inter-ethnic strife.
During the Ming Dynasty, there was a rebellion by ethnic minorities, but unfortunately, this rebellion ended in failure. Before the rebellion and after the defeat, both commoners and nobles were imprisoned by captives, and the families of the rebels were not spared, they were also forced to become captives.
The Ji clan is a member of the Yao clan, young and beautiful. Because his father participated in the rebellion, he was implicated, became a prisoner, was sent to the palace as a palace maid, and changed from a free person to a slave.
In the palace, everything belongs to the emperor, he can control human life as he pleases, and any palace maid may be chosen by him as a partner at will.
Once, Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen was attracted by Ji's appearance, but this attraction was only a temporary desire, and after one night, he forgot about this palace maid completely.
When this incident first occurred, it seemed to be just a passing moment. In the harem, some concubines try their best to regulate their bodies in order to compete for favor, and they may not be able to conceive by all means. Therefore, Ji did not attract much attention. However, unexpectedly, Ji actually conceived a child in just one night.
For Zhu Jianshen, although he has many heirs, most of them have not been able to grow into **. The child born to his favorite concubine died even more.
Therefore, Ji's pregnancy has become a thorn in the eyes of some concubines in the harem, some people don't care, but some people hope to get rid of the child as soon as possible. However, the little secret that the harem wanted to hide would never reach Zhu Jianshen's ears, and he had no idea about the news of Ji's pregnancy.
Ji knew that his status was humble and he could not explain his situation to the emperor, and the fetus in his womb would inevitably face life and death. Sure enough, she soon received a bowl of abortion pills.
Fortunately, the palace maid who sent the medicine was moved by compassion for Ji, because among the people at the bottom, the emotion of sympathy made her keep the child. With the help of some well-connected palace maids and eunuchs, the Ji family successfully concealed the existence of the child and secretly gave birth to the prince Zhu Youjiao.
Unlike other princes, Zhu Youzhu has lived a simple life since he was a child, eating simple food and wearing ordinary clothes. His upbringing was full of hardships, and when he was short of breast milk, he had to rely on rice flour as a complementary food, so he appeared thin and small, even less robust than some commoner children.
Until he grew up, after weaning, his food was still quietly sent by the palace maids and eunuchs. Although his mother was by his side, in order to protect his existence, the time spent with him every day was rushed, let alone taking him out of the room to play.
Zhu Youzhu spent his uneventful sixth birthday safely. Ji feared that he would be murdered, and if possible, she was willing to hide him until she could no longer hide him. However, perhaps it was the heavens that favored this unjustified child, who was fortunate enough to be given a chance to live in the light, even though it all happened in the battle of the harem.
Back then, a eunuch named Zhang Min made a contribution, he not only became a celebrity in the eyes of the emperor's favorite concubine, but also had the opportunity to serve the emperor closely. One day, he saw Zhu Jianshen sad that the princes died one by one, and he was nearly thirty years old and still had no heirs, and immediately realized that this was a rare opportunity. He took the risk and did not hesitate to reveal Zhu Youzhang's existence to Zhu Jianshen and explained what happened in detail.
For a man who is looking forward to the birth of his son every day, it is of course a great surprise to be suddenly told that he has a six-year-old son. And Zhu Jianshen knew that Zhang Min would not joke with the prince, so he believed in the existence of the child.
He couldn't wait for Zhang Min to lead the way, and hurried to the hut where Zhu Youzhu lived, and when he opened the door, he saw the immature face similar to himself, which was the best proof.
Zhu Youzhu has lived in the shadows for six years, and for the first time, he can walk out of the door openly and find his identity. However, contrary to his bright life, his mother and Zhang Min and others, who had helped him, were murdered one after another.
The relatives around him left one after another, leaving him alone and helpless. The only one who can rely on is the father he just met, but this father may have other sons. What's even more cruel is that he can't even bask in grief for too long.
At the age of six, he recognized his ancestors and returned to his ancestors, which means that Zhu Youzhu did not receive enlightenment education before this, and it is really difficult to assess the impact of this blank time on the prince's studies.
If the prince had not been born with the emperor's special attention and had no ambitions of his own, then this period of school dropping out of school might have been just a thing of the past. However, if it is regarded as the object of heir training, then even a few short years, or even a day's homework, cannot be ignored.
At this time, Zhu Jianshen was nearly thirty years old, although he was still in the prime of life in modern times, but for the emperor, it was not small. Under normal circumstances, the prince who has also entered the academy has already made achievements.
Although Zhu Youzhu is over the age of the academy, he must first receive an enlightenment education to keep up with the progress, and for this, he must put more diligence and effort into putting everything else on the back burner.
When he was nine years old, Zhu Jianshen arranged for him to be taught by a famous teacher, and for the highly anticipated Zhu Youzhang, he did not live up to Zhu Jianshen's expectations.
Despite his young age, Zhu has learned to take responsibility. He assiduously studied the art of the emperor, cultivated a heart of benevolence, and remembered the mission of loving the country and the people in his heart.
Although it was a foregone conclusion that he would be crowned prince, no one could have imagined that his ascension to the throne would come so quickly and so suddenly.
In the twenty-third year of Chenghua, Zhu Jianshen's favorite concubine passed away, and most people thought that the emperor would be a little sad about it, but it was nothing more than that.
However, Zhu Jianshen's deep affection is far beyond people's imagination. With the departure of the concubine, his anger seemed to disappear as well. In the same year, Zhu Jianshen passed away, and Zhu Youzhu was only 16 years old at the time, and he shouldered the burden of the country.
For an emperor in a prosperous era, as long as he is not mediocre and relies on the foundation left by his father, it will not be too much of a problem to spend his life in a dull way. However, Zhu Jianshen did not do anything during his reign, and his management of ** was very lax, which led to rampant corruption.
The country he left to Zhu Youzhu not only has nothing to do with the prosperous era, but can even be said to be an unrecognizable mess.
Among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, the first emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and the usurper Zhu Di have always been the focus of much controversy, and the discussion about which of the two of them has achieved greater achievements has never stopped. One is from an ordinary background, with perseverance and extraordinary wisdom, he created his own dynasty. The other seized the throne of his nephew, but after ascending to the throne, he led the Ming Dynasty to prosperity with diligence.
Some people believe that the merits and contributions of the First Emperor are unmatched, and that the successes of subsequent monarchs are based on the foundation he laid, however, the First Emperor has never been able to get rid of an indelible stain. Since he himself relied on the uprising to build the country, he always suspected that the founding heroes had rebels against him, which eventually led to a bad reputation for indiscriminate killing.
Under the rule of Zhu Di, the Ming Dynasty reached its peak prosperity, and the Yongle prosperous era he created was considered to be the first era that could not be surpassed by later generations, and his ability to govern the country was not inferior to his fathers. However, like the First Emperor, Zhu Di was also criticized by people.
In the history of the Ming Dynasty, with the exception of the two controversial emperors, other monarchs were often overlooked. Zhu Youzhu is notable because of his insistence on monogamy, a move that has made his political achievements overlooked.
There are few emperors in history who can save the dynasty from decay and bring it to life, and Zhu Youzhu is one of them.
As a young crown prince who ascended the throne, Zhu Youzhu faced the long-term troubles of the imperial court, and the incursion of foreign forces into the Ming Dynasty became increasingly serious, and the exploited people complained one after another.
If, like his father, he is only interested in pleasure, then he can choose to turn a blind eye and enjoy the glory and wealth only on the dragon chair until the next successor is raised. However, not only was he unwilling to, nor was he intent on becoming a monarch who would be of no benefit to the people.
Despite the dark years of his childhood, this did not make him self-defeating or a psychologically twisted tyrant. On the contrary, the rare warmth and the kindness of the humble people in the deep palace gave him precious solace and planted the seeds of benevolence.
The problems left by Zhu Jianshen include, but are not limited to, the rampant use of various nepotistic mediocre talents in the imperial court.
Zhu Youzhu did not have the support of a strong family force behind him, nor did he have a brother to assist him who could be trusted. As a young emperor with no background support, few people initially regarded him as an important figure, and they underestimated the determination of the new emperor.
The scum of the court was well aware of their own incompetence, and they often formed factions to crowd out the loyal and good, relying on the connections they had accumulated over the years, and they were not afraid of the new emperor.
In the face of these problems, Zhu Youzhu took decisive action, and the first thing to bear the brunt of was to purge the cabinet. He not only decisively fired some **, but also showed the ability to recognize and employ people, and realized that some ** are not really incompetent, but just follow the trend.
For example, Liu Ji, the new cabinet assistant he promoted, was just a mediocre person who could tie up with his boss before, and he never had actual achievements. However, once he was promoted by Zhu Youzhang, he immediately changed his attitude and devoted himself to contributing to the country and the people.
The loyal ministers who were excluded and suppressed saw hope and chose to support Zhu Youzhang. Soon, Zhu Youzhu gathered a group of reliable talents, established his own power, and began to rectify the entire imperial court.
Both civilian and military officials will be dismissed if they fail to pass the rigorous examination. This assessment includes not only character, but also physical fitness and financial status. Under this appraisal system, those hedonistic, lazy and lazy filthy officials cannot escape, and they are replaced by truly talented people.
Zhu Youzhu carried out a radical reform, which restored the righteousness of the imperial court and also allowed the Ming army to re-establish its majesty.
While rectifying internal affairs, Zhu Youzhu also paid great attention to the issue of people's livelihood. Before he took office, the finances were already in a state of deficit, and a number of natural disasters had occurred, resulting in hardship for the people's livelihood.
In order to increase the revenue, he cut court expenses and stopped all unnecessary activities that were harmful to the people. In addition, he abolished the private levies that burdened the people, even exempted some taxes, and sometimes distributed seeds and livestock to the common people, hoping to revive the people's livelihood economy. In terms of flood control and water control, he also attaches great importance to it, and highly appreciates those who have contributed to water control.
Zhu Youzhu has carefully reformed some of the traditional old systems and retained their essence. For example, he reformed the system of opening the Chinese law, which would increase the revenue of the state treasury. Originally, this system meant that merchants transported grain to the imperial court in exchange for salt, but due to land annexation and corruption, the system was used by some people as an illegal means to make huge profits.
In order to solve the problem, Zhu Youzhu directly changed the transportation of grain to payment**, and the merchant only needed to pay the equivalent amount of money to obtain the salt, thus eliminating the cumbersome transportation procedures. As a result, a large number of ** flowed into the state treasury, and the salt industry was able to restore order and get rid of chaos.
He implemented many policies to benefit the people, established the image of Mingjun, won a good reputation in the hearts of the people, effectively alleviated the contradictions between the government and the people, and greatly reduced the uprising.
Realizing that internal and external troubles could not be abandoned halfway, Zhu Youzhu began to pay attention to external threats after stabilizing the domestic situation.
In the process of reorganizing his army, morale has been boosted and it is no longer a plate of loose sand. Although it is not as powerful as the Shengshi army, it also has a certain combat effectiveness. In particular, the militia system promulgated by him trained a large number of young and middle-aged people in advance and made adequate preparations for a possible war.
He succeeded in recovering the Hami region, which had been taken by Turpan, and repelled the foreign tribes who frequently harassed the border, forcing them to dare not take any more risks. However, he did not choose to take advantage of the victory to pursue it, nor did he take the initiative to conquer his neighbors.
During his reign,"Charity"The two words run throughout, winning the love of the people and the convincing of the courtiers. However, this quality not only brought him a good name, but also attracted criticism.
For his charity is not only for the innocent people, but also for the innocent"Enemies"of mercy.
It is rumored that his childhood misfortunes were attributed to Wan Guifei, and although whether this is true remains to be verified, it can at least be confirmed that Wan Guifei and her family were proud of their favor and abused the emperor's favor for personal gain. When ** suggested that Wan Jia be severely punished and the late Wan Guifei should be investigated, he chose leniency.
His failure to take the initiative to pursue the harassing foreigners on the border was criticized by some as weakness, who saw him as lacking the decisive decisions expected of an emperor and missing the opportunity to take the Ming dynasty to the next level.
However, these actions show his heart as an emperor, who does not integrate too much personal emotion into his work, and always implements benevolent government. He has always praised the meritorious heroes, and he will not deliberately torture the criminals, and he is also gracious to the people, and everything he does is based on the interests of the country.
Although he was confused by superstition in his last years and made the mistake of believing his ministers, he woke up in time and was able to generously admit his mistakes, never hide them, and used himself as an example to teach the prince to be meritocratic.
Although his achievements cannot be compared with Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, his broad mind and lofty pattern are not inferior in any way, and even better in some aspects. Under his careful governance, the Ming Dynasty miraculously regained its former prosperity, and was called the "Hongzhi Center" by later generations.
However, Zhu Youzhu suffered from poverty and illness in his childhood, and after succeeding to the throne, he fell into the busy government affairs and his life was exhausted early. He has experienced many twists and turns in his life, but it is only a stage in his life.
He spent 19 years in the dragon chair, and when his abdication came to an end, at the age of 35, he had to pass on the burden to the young prince, and on his deathbed repeatedly told him not to repeat the mistakes of the past and to stay away from the villain.
With the departure of Zhu Youzhang, the prosperity he created single-handedly disappeared like a mirror, and the subsequent Ming emperors could never reproduce such a grand scene. He became the last Ming monarch of the Ming Dynasty to achieve great achievements, and contributed to the last brilliant display of the Ming Dynasty.
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