Wei Zhongxian is already full-fledged, powerful, and blessed the world, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty all look up to him. In order to win the favor of Wei Zhongxian and ensure that he could enjoy the glory and wealth, Pan Ruzhen, the governor of Zhejiang, came up with an extremely absurd idea to build a shrine for Wei Zhongxian, that is, to build a temple while people were still alive. After his recital was handed over, Wei Zhongxian immediately issued an edict in the name of Xizong, agreed to Pan Ruzhen's request, and gave the name Pude to the ancestral hall.

When Pan Ruzhen saw that the speculation had worked, he immediately collected silver taels from the people to build the temple, causing many people to go bankrupt. Under the full supervision of Pan Ruzhen, Wei Zhongxian's first ancestral hall appeared on the shore of the West Lake in Hangzhou. The scale and sophistication of this ancestral hall are no less than that of the imperial palace, and the statue of Wei Zhongxian is the size of himself, with a body made of pure gold, a facial feature made of jeweled agate, and the clothes he wears are also extremely gorgeous.

On the day of the inauguration of the Pude Temple, Pan Ruzhen led the local civil and military officials to bow to the statue of Wei Zhongxian. After the establishment of the Pude Temple in Hangzhou, all parts of the country have followed suit, there are Puhui Temple in Suzhou, there is Dexin Temple in Songjiang, there is Zhan'en Temple in Yangzhou, there is Zhande Temple in Huai'an, and there are Maoxun Temple, Guangren Temple, Longen Temple in Beijing......

There are countless ancestral halls established throughout the country, and the scale is also grander than the other. It costs at least tens of thousands of taels of silver to build a shrine, and the maximum amount reaches millions of taels, which brings endless suffering to the common people. As a result of the construction of the ancestral hall, thousands of houses were demolished in Kaifeng alone, and even more, more than 10,000 houses were demolished in some places, so that the people had no fixed place to live and had to wander outside.

Some upright officials opposed this kind of practice of bringing disaster to the country and the people, but they could not escape Wei Zhongxian's poisonous hands. People like Hu Shirong, Geng Ruji and others lost their lives because they opposed the cultivation of the ancestral hall.

Wei Zhongxian's arbitrariness led to the corruption of officials during the Apocalypse, and the bureaucratic apparatus was basically paralyzed. The Later Jin regime established by Nurhachi took the opportunity to move south at this time, and soon captured large areas of eastern and western Liao. Yuan Chonghuan led his army to defeat Nurhachi's army, who was seriously wounded in the battle and died of illness in Shengjing after retiring from the army, and the court boasted of this battle as a great victory for Ningjin.

Yuan Chonghuan, who led the troops in a bloody battle, did not give a reward because he refused to take refuge in Wei Zhongxian, but Wang Shaohui, the secretary of the ministry, in order to curry favor with Wei Zhongxian, said that this was all Wei Zhongxian's proper use of people and should be rewarded, and Xizong issued an order to reward Wei Zhongxian.

In the winter of that year, the Imperial Palace, the Middle Pole Palace, and the Jianji Hall were built one after another, and Li Yongzhen and Zhou Yingqiu played to praise Wei Zhongxian's exploits. Therefore, Xizong decreed that Wei Zhongxian should be appointed as the lord of the throne and the third class of grace, and his nephew Wei Liangqing was named the Marquis of Suning by Suning Bojin, and was hereditary under the command of Jinyiwei. Even Wei's children, who had just been able to speak, were knighted, Wei Liangdong, who was only three years old, was named Dong'an Hou, and his two-year-old nephew Wei Mingyi was named An Pingbo.

The most ridiculous thing is that rare animals were found in Shandong, and the governor Li Jingbai drew a picture and reported it to the imperial court. Huang Liji, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, said when drafting the holy decree: "This is all because of the good virtue of the factory father, so the auspicious beast can appear." ”

Although Wei Zhongxian is powerful, he relies on Zhu Youxiao, who is ignorant of political affairs, and if this backer falls, he will lose the basis for giving orders. In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, Xizong was seriously ill, and Wei Zhongxian clearly realized that only by keeping Xizong could his position be consolidated, so he tried his best to regulate Xizong's body. Empress Zhang was also very anxious about this, and there were rumors at that time that Wei Zhongxian was plotting to usurp the throne, which made the empress uneasy.

Xizong was absurd and did not leave a son, Xizong's fifth brother Xinwang Zhu Youzhen was respectful, and Empress Zhang thought that he could entrust him with great things, so she wanted to recommend Xinwang to Xizong as the heir to the throne. However, Wei Zhongxian and others have always guarded inside and outside the palace, so that Empress Zhang has not been able to do so. Until one day, Wei Zhongxian left Xizong's bed for something, and Empress Zhang took the opportunity to summon Zhu Youzhen, the king of letters, to enter the palace to face the saint.

Xizong lay on the sickbed and said to King Xin weakly: "I hope that my brother can become a monarch like me in the future, Wei Zhongxian is a loyal minister, and he should be reused." King Shin only knelt on the ground and prostrated his head, but did not make a statement.

At the age of twenty-three, Ming Xizong died, and King Zhu Youzhen inherited the throne, called Ming Sizong, and was named Chongzhen. At this time, Wei Zhongxian had no backer, and felt that his life could not be saved, and his henchmen were also terrified. Wei Zhongxian thought twice and decided to launch a palace coup d'état and seize the throne. When conspiring with Cui Chengxiu, the secretary of the military department, Cui Chengxiu thought that it was impossible for a different surname to ascend the throne, and if he really wanted to launch a mutiny, the armies from all over the country would inevitably come to attack, so Wei Zhongxian had no choice but to give up.

After Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, he knew the power of Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family, and also knew that the cunning Wei Zhongxian had deep roots and many henchmen, and if he was not careful, he would be poisoned by him, so he used paralysis tactics and said: "Qing assists my imperial brother, and his hard work is high, but Qing is a minister, and he cannot be awarded a knighthood." I want to make my nephew Wei Liangqing the prince of Jinning, and give me iron coupons as my reward for Qing. Wei Zhongxian was relieved after hearing this.

But it didn't take long for Emperor Chongzhen to dismiss Cui Chengxiu, the secretary of the military department, and demoted Pan Ruzhen, the governor of Zhejiang, to a civilian on the grounds that the establishment of a shrine would cost the people and money. He also ordered the Hakka clan to be sent out of the palace, which was a prelude to Chongzhen's elimination of Wei Zhongxian's forces. At this time, many officials saw Emperor Chongzhen's intentions, and they impeached Wei Zhongxian one after another, asking the emperor to eradicate Wei Zhongxian and other traitors.

Jiaxing Gongsheng Qian Jiazheng impeached Wei Zhongxian for ten crimes: "On an equal footing with the first emperor, framing Empress Zhang, making internal exercises, making troops in the court, destroying the ancestral system, taking over military power, controlling Cao Yun, and disrupting the government...... Favoritism, bribery and favoritism. ”

Emperor Chongzhen immediately dismissed the sergeants who had gathered Wei Zhongxian to train in the palace, and removed Wei Zhongxian from his posts as the chief supervisor of ceremonies and the governor of Dongchang. Chongzhen issued an edict and ordered Wei Zhongxian to go to the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum to serve as a eunuch who burned incense and guarded the ancestral mausoleum.

At this time, Wei Zhongxian still had illusions, carrying the treasures he had looted and a thousand good horses, and set off under the escort of his henchmen. When Wei Zhongxian passed through Fucheng, he heard that Emperor Chongzhen had ordered him to be executed, and in addition to panicking, his heart was desolate, thinking that life was better than death, so he hanged himself with his godson Li Chaoqin that night.

When Chongzhen learned that Wei Zhongxian had committed suicide, he ordered Wei Zhongxian's head to be hung in the river for public display, confiscated all the family property, and then executed the Hakka family. Not long after, the imperial court promulgated the Imperial Decree of Rebellion, immediately executing six chief evildoers, executing 19 people after the autumn, confiscating 11 people, dismissing 44 people, and allowing 129 people to redeem themselves as citizens after three years in prison.

Although the eunuch Wei Zhongxian died, he was tyrannical and arbitrary in just seven years, which caused serious consequences to the society at the end of the Ming Dynasty, which directly led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty seventeen years later.

A large explosion occurred at the gunpowder depot of the Wang Gong Factory in the southwest corner of Beijing, killing and injuring more than 20,000 people. At that time, the Houjin in the northeast gradually occupied the Liaodong region, Nurhachi led the army to attack Ningyuan, and the Ming army under the command of Yuan Chonghuan relied on the strong city to resist the enemy, and finally defeated the Houjin army and wounded Nurhachi, known as Ningyuan's great victory. Soon after, Nurhachi died, and his son, Emperor Taiji, ascended the throne.

Ming Xizong accidentally fell into the water and fell seriously ill, and soon died due to Huo Weihua's medicine, and the king of letters, Zhu Youzhen, succeeded to the throne, that is, Ming Sizong, and the year name Chongzhen. After Chongzhen ascended the throne, he was determined to eradicate the eunuch party and reform the government, he ordered the construction of the ancestral hall to be stopped, forced the Holy Lady Keshi to move outside the palace, and finally sent to the Huanyi Bureau to be executed. Wei Zhongxian was ordered to go to Fengyang to guard the mausoleum, and Wei Zhongxian hanged himself with his henchman Li Chaoqin on the way, Ming Sizong hung his head in his hometown in Hejian, and other members of the eunuch party were deposed or executed. However, Chongzhen's suspicious employment, self-righteousness, and indecisiveness led to the situation becoming more and more erosive.

Ming Sizong, Zhu Youzhen, year name Chongzhen, the sixteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the son of Guangzong Zhu Changluo, and the younger brother of Xizong Zhu Youxiao.

Emperor Chongzhen, was named King Xin when he was young, after the death of Emperor Xizong, because he had no heirs, according to the ancient brother and brother, King Xin sat on the throne of the emperor who did not belong to him. The emperor's position was originally longed for by everyone, but at this time, the Ming Dynasty was already full of holes and was terminally ill.

What's more, Zhu Youzhen grew up in the deep palace since he was a child, and he did not understand the intrigue of officialdom and factional disputes, let alone the battlefield arrangement, and the strategy of killing and attacking. But Zhu Youzhen, who has no experience, relied on his determination to continue the Ming Dynasty for 17 years, which can be regarded as a big miracle.

At the time of Xizong's death, it was the most rampant period of the activities of the Kewei group, and the Hakka family and Wei Zhongxian were each other's insiders, causing trouble in the harem and controlling the government, which not only killed Emperor Xizong, but also pushed the Ming Dynasty to the abyss of destruction.

King Xinwang Zhu Youzhen naturally knew it, so after announcing the accession of King Xin, Zhu Youzhen moved from King Xin's mansion to Ouchi, and he didn't dare to eat the meal prepared for him, but he spent the most dangerous days with the dry food he secretly brought from home, and the sinister in the palace can be seen.

At the beginning of Emperor Chongzhen's accession to the throne, although he hated Wei Zhongxian's dictatorship, after all, he was fledgling and did not dare to act rashly, so Taoguang was vague and waited for the opportunity, Wei Zhongxian, who was at the peak, did not put this child in his eyes, thinking that he was just a young offspring like his brother Xizong, and would not do much, so he was even more rampant, and even asked various places to establish shrines for him, and the evil had been brought to the world.

The court complained inside and outside, Emperor Chongzhen seized the opportunity, first got rid of Cui Chengxiu, who Wei Zhongxian relied on as his right and left hand, and then killed Wei Zhongxian's minions, so that Wei Zhongxian was isolated and helpless, and then an edict belittled Wei Zhongxian Fengyang to guard the mausoleum, Wei Zhongxian knew that he was guilty, and hanged himself on the way. Emperor Chongzhen eradicated the Wei Zhongxian group with laughter and laughter, and once made it possible for the Zhongxing of the Ming Dynasty, but a series of subsequent mistakes made him fail to realize the dream of Zhongxing in the end.

At that time, the biggest enemy of the Ming Dynasty was still the Later Jin in the northeast, that is, the later Manchu Qing regime, at this time the Qing Taizu Nurhachi had died, and Emperor Taizong Taiji reigned. Wars broke out between the two sides many times, and the results of the wars mostly ended in the defeat of the Ming army, and a court in Nuoda could not find a decent marshal, and Emperor Chongzhen was of course unwilling to this, so he thought of Yuan Chonghuan.

This person, who is called Yuan Changcheng by the people, was the one who injured the Qing Taizu Nurhachi with a cannon in Ningyuan City. Due to the persecution of the eunuchs, he was forced to resign, and this time he was re-employed by Emperor Chongzhen, and he was naturally full of ambition, hoping to restore the Ming dynasty through his own efforts. As soon as he took office, he arranged the defense of the northeast in an orderly manner, so that Houjin did not dare to peep into the front line of Xuningjin.

But after all, Yuan Chonghuan's enemy is the thriving Houjin regime, the resourceful and decisive Huang Taiji, and more importantly, Yuan Chong's master is Emperor Chongzhen, and being anxious and suspicious is Chongzhen's Achilles' heel, which determines that Yuan Chonghuan cannot have enough time to display his ambitions, and what is even more tragic is that Huang Taiji's small counter-plot will effortlessly kill him.