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Chapter 167 Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Houcong

[The most playful emperor in the Ming Dynasty, who lived in a leopard room instead of a palace, understands Zhu Houzhao's life in one breath. History of Zhu Houzhao in the Ming Dynasty]

The most playful emperor in the Ming Dynasty was none other than Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao. He became emperor at the age of 15, but refused to attend court honestly. Instead, he named himself a mighty general and dreamed of leading troops to war all day long.

He lived in a private room instead of the palace, and he was always thinking about how to sneak out of the palace. He also often left his ministers behind to go out and play. In this video, let us walk into the life of Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty Zhu Houzhao in chronological order.

Zhu Houzhao was the eldest son of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youtang, and Empress Zhang. Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty was one of the most devoted emperors in Chinese history. He only married Empress Zhang in his life. The couple ate and lived together, just like an ordinary couple.

The couple had two sons and one daughter, the eldest son was Zhu Houzhao. The daughter and the younger son died young, and only Zhu Houzhao grew up. Therefore, Xiaozong and his wife devoted a lot of love to this son.

Zhu Houzhao grew up carefree. The young Zhu Houzhao was very smart and could always learn quickly what his teacher taught him. He should have become a good emperor, but the eunuchs around him ruined this smart child. In Zhu Houzhao's view, these playmates were much cuter than those old gentlemen who were full of "knowledge".

The days of carefree life are always short-lived. In 1405, Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youtang, died suddenly of illness, and the 15-year-old Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne. However, Zhu Houzhao was not very adaptable to the new role of emperor. He only knew that no one would be able to control him anymore. He indulged himself every day, often went out of the palace to play, and liked to wield swords and guns, ride horses and shoot arrows, and neglected the affairs of state.

The "Eight Tigers" around Zhu Houzhao also came to the fore. The so-called "Eight Tigers" refers to the eight eunuchs who served in the Eastern Palace, headed by Liu Jin. In order to please Zhu Houzhao, the eunuchs would present hawks, dogs, singing and dancing and other plays every day. At that time, the Eastern Palace was jokingly called the Hundred Plays Theater.

The young Zhu Houzhao could not resist these temptations and gradually indulged in them, neglecting his studies and work. The Eight Tigers gained favor by accompanying Zhu Houzhao in his entertainment, rose to power overnight, and began to interfere in government affairs, with Liu Jin being the most powerful. This naturally caused strong dissatisfaction among the civil servants. Soon they jointly wrote to the emperor to ask him to severely punish the Eight Tigers.

This shocked Zhu Houzhao. He didn't understand why these playmates were so unpopular with the civil officials. The Eight Tigers didn't sit still and cried in front of Zhu Houzhao. After crying and making a fuss, Zhu Houzhao, who was already hesitant, softened his heart. The next day, Liu Jin gave these ministers a lesson.

Since then, the Eight Tigers became more arrogant, and Liu Jin was so powerful that he even got the nickname "Emperor Liberation". However, Liu Jin was not happy for many years, as a rebellion by a vassal king would sound the death knell for him.

In 1510, the Prince of Anhua in Ningxia rebelled, and Zhu Houzhao sent eunuch Zhang Yong and Ming official Yang Yiqing to judge. During the judgment, Yang Yiqing discovered that the fuse of the rebellion was Liu Jin's plan to reorganize the army, which triggered a series of chain reactions such as local officials oppressing soldiers, and finally enabled the Prince of Anhua to gather people to rebel.

Yang Yiqing had long been dissatisfied with Liu Jin's chaotic politics, and it happened that Master Dong had a grudge against Liu Jin, so the two hit it off and planned to overthrow Liu Jin. After returning to BJ, Zhang Yong found an opportunity to accuse Zhu Houzhao of Liu Jin's many crimes, but Zhu Houzhao pretended not to hear anything.

Zhang Yong then asked, "If Liu Jin usurps the throne, where should Your Majesty go?" This awakened Zhu Houzhao, who ordered the arrest of Liu Jin overnight and handed him over to the court for trial. The Jinyiwei who went to search Liu Jin's house found armor, crossbows and other items in Liu Jin's house. Zhu Houzhao was furious and ordered Liu Jin to be executed by slow slicing.

However, although Liu Jin died, Zhu Houzhao did not settle down to be a good emperor. Instead, he built a leopard house outside the palace and played in it every day. The leopard house not only kept leopards, but also tigers, hawks, dogs and other rare animals. Of course, enjoying himself in the leopard house was far from enough. He often went out incognito and even went out to play.

This made the cabinet ministers very anxious. The generals guarding the gate did not dare to open the gate. What if the emperor went out and met the Mongols? What should they do? The cabinet ministers caught up with Zhu Houzhao, who returned to Beijing in a depressed mood. But they could not catch up with the emperor next time.

Zhu Houzhao liked riding, shooting and hunting since he was a child. He always wanted to conquer the northern desert and gallop on the battlefield like Emperor Yongle. He named himself the Grand Tutor, the Duke of Zhenguo, and the Mighty General, and also gave himself a pseudonym, Zhu Shou. Zhu Houzhao also ordered the officials of the six ministries to give Zhu Shou a salary and official seal, and built an official residence.

The officials of the six ministries were also at a loss for words. Who made this person the emperor? They had no choice but to listen. In 1517, the leader of the Mongol Tatars, the Little Prince, led his army to invade. This time, Zhu Houzhao successfully escaped from the pass and fought a battle with the Little Prince in Yingzhou. The Little Prince didn't know who the enemy was, but he knew that the Ming army on the other side was getting braver and braver, and he couldn't resist it. He had no choice but to order a retreat.

After that, the little prince never attacked the Ming Dynasty again. Zhu Houzhao was very happy and returned to the court to reward the meritorious officials. Unexpectedly, he was overwhelmed by the memorials from the civil officials. Zhu Houzhao still did his own thing and went out to play from time to time. Two years later, Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao rebelled. When the report and documents were sent to Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao was ready to go to Jiangxi to personally attack Ning Wang.

But before Zhu Houzhao could get excited for long, another memorial came, telling the court that the Ning Wang Rebellion had been quelled by Wang Shouren. Wang Shouren was actually the famous Wang Yangming, who had many disciples and had a significant influence in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Yangming's philosophy of mind spread far overseas and was introduced to Japan, Korea and other countries.

The most famous idea proposed by Wang Shouren was the unity of knowledge and action, and in fact, Wang Shouren did it in practice. After the Ning Wang rebellion, Wang Shouren quelled the rebellion in just 35 days and captured Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao.

But Zhu Houzhao was extremely disappointed. He wanted to catch the Ning Wang himself. At this time, the favorite ministers around Zhu Houzhao came up with a bad idea, asking Wang Shouren to release the Ning Wang and then let the emperor catch him again. Wang Shouren didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he simply handed the Ning Wang over to the eunuch Zhang Yong and let Zhang Yong settle the matter. A few months later, Zhu Houzhao came to Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

The last emperor who had been to Nanjing was Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zhanji, a hundred years before Zhu Houzhao. Zhu Houzhao made a lot of trouble along the way, causing chaos along the way. During the sacrificial ceremony in Nanjing, Zhu Houzhao had Prince Ning released, and then ordered him to be captured again.

This was Zhu Houzhao's personal judgment. However, Zhu Houzhao did not know that his life was already counting down. On the way back to BJ, he accidentally fell into the water and became seriously ill.

In 1521, Zhu Houzhao died in the Leopard House at the age of 31. He was posthumously named Wuzong and buried in Kangling. What happened to the Ming Dynasty after Zhu Houzhao's death?

——"A very smart emperor, but he just loves to play. The way the Yingzhou victory was fought is not something a fool could have done."

——"He never lost a battle. The Leopard House was equivalent to his own power. The eunuchs restrained the civil officials. The civil officials could not control the emperor and directly let him fall into the water."

——"I heard that Liu Jin didn't die on the first day of the Lingchi, and even drank two large bowls of porridge when he returned to the cell."

[The emperor who loved to be a god, understand the life of Zhu Houcong, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, in one breath. Zhu Houcong, the history of the Ming Dynasty]

When you can only choose one between the throne and your parents, which one would you choose? However, the emperor who was the most playful and the most fond of cultivating immortals in the Ming Dynasty, during his 45 years in office, not only famous generals and ministers initiated the Jiajing New Deal, but also treacherous ministers and flatterers provoked civil unrest.

In this video, let us walk into the life of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao, in chronological order.

Zhu Houcong was born in the Xingwang Mansion in Anlu, Huguang. His father, Zhu Youyuan, was the fourth son of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao, left no offspring, so the court had to come to Hubei to look for him according to the order of the family tree.

At that time, the 15-year-old prince of Xing, Zhu Houcong, was made the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Houcong was sitting in the palace, and the throne came from heaven. The sudden surprise made him dizzy. So he happily came to Beijing with his friend Lu Bing to become the emperor. However, as soon as he arrived outside Beijing, he was no longer happy.

The court officials asked Zhu Houcong to enter the palace from Dong'an Gate, live in Wenhua Hall first, and then choose an auspicious day to ascend the throne. This made Zhu Houcong very unhappy, because this was prepared for the crown prince to ascend the throne, and he was here to be the emperor, not the crown prince. Zhu Houcong insisted on entering the palace from Daming Gate, and the two sides were deadlocked and deadlocked.

Finally, Empress Dowager Zhang stepped in and asked the ministers to persuade Zhu Houcong to ascend the throne in the suburbs, and then welcomed Zhu Houcong to enter the palace from the Daming Gate to ascend the throne. This time, Zhu Houcong honestly completed the process of ascending the throne.

After bowing to Empress Dowager Zhang and changing the reign title to Jiajing, Prime Minister Yang Tinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief. But what he didn't know was that this young emperor who succeeded to the throne from an external vassal was much more difficult to deal with than the previous emperor Zhu Houzhao. A wrestling match between the emperor and the civil officials was about to begin.

Before Zhu Houcong had even warmed up to the throne, the Minister of Rites Mao Cheng submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting that Emperor Xiaozong be appointed as the Emperor's father, and Zhu Youyuan, Zhu Houcong's biological father, could only be regarded as Zhu Houcong's uncle according to the clan system.

In addition, Zhu Houcong's mother, Jiang, was still alive. If he recognized Emperor Xiaozong as his father, Zhu Houcong would have to recognize Empress Dowager Zhang as his mother, and his biological mother could only be called aunt.

It seems that he can only choose between the throne and his parents, but Zhu Houcong wants both. However, the opponents he faces are a group of civil officials who are well-read in the books of sages. If it comes to patriarchal ethics, how can Zhu Houcong, who is only 15 years old, win over them?

At this time, a Jinshi Shangshu who was still an intern in the Ministry of Rites said that Yang Tinghe and their demands were unreasonable, and that Your Majesty's throne was legal and legitimate, and there was no need to recognize someone else as your father.

This Jinshi was named Zhang Cong, who passed the imperial examination eight times before he was admitted. Seeing that the young emperor was unwilling to listen to the opinions of the civil officials, Zhang Cong, who was 8 years old at the time, wrote a letter to support the emperor and provided the emperor with a theoretical basis for recognizing his biological father as his father. Zhu Houcong was very happy that he finally had a helper, but Yang Tinghe disagreed and sent Zhang Cong to Nanjing with a stroke of his pen.

After Zhang Cong went to Nanjing dejectedly, he found another helper, Gui E. Later, Wang Yangming's disciple Fang Xianfu and others also joined in, writing letters to support the emperor and recognizing their biological father as their father.

Both sides argued loudly, citing classics, but the chief minister Yang Tinghe was keenly aware of a fact: the emperor was the emperor after all, and Zhu Houcong could turn a deaf ear to the officials no matter how they shouted. Even if all of them quit, Zhu Houcong could quickly fill in. Anyway, not all scholars in the world cared about who the emperor knew as his father. On the surface, it was just a dispute over status, but in fact it was a dispute over power.

Yang Tinghe retired at the height of his career and returned home, but his son Yang Shen, who was young and energetic, brought a group of civil servants to intercept Zhang Cong and Gui E, who had just returned to BJ, at Zuoshunmen, hoping to resolve the dispute through physical means.

However, Zhang Cong did not enter the palace through Zuo Shunmen, but Gui E did. However, when he saw Yang Shen and dozens of people wandering around Zuo Shunmen, he immediately ran away. Yang Shen's plan failed, but he did not give up. After a court meeting, he instigated everyone to cry and make a scene at Zuo Shunmen, including seven or eight high-ranking officials.

Zhu Houcong was shocked by this, and then he became extremely angry. He sent out the Jinyiwei to suppress these masters. Seeing that the emperor was serious, they hurriedly ran away, and Yang Shen, the leader, was unlucky. Not only was he beaten, but he was also exiled from Beijing to Yunnan.

The three-year-long dispute over ritual ended with Jiajing's victory. Zhang Cong, Gui E and other heroes who had contributed to the discussion of ritual naturally entered the cabinet to assist in government affairs and introduced a series of reform measures.

This included improving the imperial examination and education systems, eliminating redundant officials, reducing the privileges of royal family members and relatives, abolishing the eunuchs stationed in various places, and resolving the Hami crisis, thus ensuring stability in the northwest.

However, as Zhang Cong fell out of favor, Xia Yan was killed, and Yan Song became the first minister, the political atmosphere began to deteriorate. In 1542, Xia Yan was excluded by Yan Song, lost Zhu Houcong's trust, and was dismissed from his post. Soon after Yan Song entered the cabinet and entered the highest power center of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Jinying and other palace maids assassinated Zhu Houcong in the middle of the night, which is known in history as the Renyin Palace Change.

——"He trained himself to be like a crane, and in the middle of the night, the palace maids strangled his neck."

——"This assassination attempt directly panicked the Taoist priest Jiajing, and he stopped attending court from then on."

Although the assassination attempt failed, Zhu Houcong never entered the palace again, and never went to court again. Instead, he moved to the Western Garden and spent all day making elixirs and practicing Taoism. Six years later, Xia Yan was framed by Yan Song and was ordered to be beheaded in public by Zhu Houcong. This was the only prime minister in the history of the Ming Dynasty to be beheaded. After his death, Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan became even more unscrupulous in the court.

In 1550, the Mongolian Khan Altan went south to plunder, and the Ming Dynasty actually fought all the way to Beijing. The last one to fight Beijing was the Oirat 100 years ago. At that time, Yu Qian was in charge of the northern part of Beijing and repelled the Oirat.

This time, Altan Khan looted outside the northern city of Beijing for eight days, and finally left after the Ming Dynasty agreed to its request for tribute. The Ming Dynasty lost face. Yan Song, as the chief minister of the cabinet, also had a lot of responsibility, but Yan Song pushed the Minister of War out as a scapegoat.