In the history of the Ming Dynasty, a controversial monarch was Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. The "Tumubao Incident" that occurred during his reign not only became a stain on his personal history, but also a shame for the entire Ming Dynasty. But what is even more puzzling is that despite his frequent mistakes in decision-making during his reign, he was given the nickname "Yingzong" by his son Xianzong after his death. Such a decision does not seem to be in line with historical facts, and it is worth pondering.
In the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, the Mongol coalition army invaded the border of the Ming Dynasty on a large scale, resulting in the unfortunate death of Wu Hao, a general of the Ming army. When the bad news reached the capital, the government and the opposition were shocked. At that time, the great eunuch Wang Zhen was the regent of the autocracy, and he suggested that Zhu Qizhen, who was only 23 years old, follow the precedent of the Northern Expedition of the Yongle and Xuande dynasties and personally lead the army to the Northern Expedition to Mongolia. However, Zhu Qizhen had just ascended the throne, his domestic and foreign affairs were weak, and he was facing sudden border troubles, and his rash decision to go on the Northern Expedition was even worse.
As regent, Wang Zhen's military experience was far from being comparable to that of the previous emperors. However, the young and impulsive Zhu Qizhen listened to Wang Zhen's suggestion and took more than 100,000 troops and important ministers of the court out of the capital and set out to conquer Mongolia. This decision not only exacerbated the political emptiness of the dynasty, but also plunged the entire country into crisis.
It was in the autumn wind of the Mobei Gobi, and the Ming army encountered the famous "Tumubao Change" in history. Under the defeat, more than 100,000 outstanding troops were lost, the important ministers of the court and the central government died on the battlefield, and Zhu Qizhen himself was captured and became a hostage of the Warat Department. This fiasco was undoubtedly a shame in the history of the entire Ming Dynasty, and it plunged the whole country into a deep crisis.
When the news of the defeat of Tumubao reached the capital, the government and the opposition were shocked. The Mongol army did not stop there, and continued to advance to the heart of the Ming Dynasty, using the captured Zhu Qizhen to exert pressure on the Ming Dynasty. At this critical juncture, Yu Qian, the hero of the protector of the country, stepped forward and cooperated with Wang Zuo, the secretary of the military department, and others to bravely resist the Mongol invasion.
Yu Qian, a scholar from a scholarly family, took off his robe, put on his armor, and led the Ming army to engage the Wara army many times, and finally achieved a key victory. His decisive actions saved the Ming Dynasty from crisis and became a hero of the time.
However, although Yu Qian's heroic resistance alleviated the crisis for a while, Yingzong was still imprisoned in the Mongolian steppe, and in the capital, Emperor Jingtai officially ascended the throne, and the Ming Dynasty saw the two dynasties stand side by side. However, the reign of Yingzong after the restoration was full of civil strife and turmoil, and eventually his son Xianzong deposed Emperor Jingtai in a coup d'état and re-established Yingzong as emperor, but all this was only a temporary peace.
After the restoration of Yingzong, although the political situation improved, he was still a mediocre monarch in the end. He imprisoned his great benefactors Yu Qian and Emperor Jingtai and eventually ordered them to be killed, leaving an indelible stain. However, despite this, his son Xianzong still whitewashed history for him, calling him "Yingzong", trying to cover up the mistakes and mediocrity of his life.
In the history of the Ming Dynasty, the title Yingzong is full of irony. A generation of faint monarchs misled the country and owed the country social welfare; Lack of cultivation in a lifetime eventually leads to chaos. However, the wheel of history does not stop because of a faint king. The rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty can be seen from this, and for the contradictory title of Yingzong, future generations will have their own thoughts and judgments.