Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen is more admired for Zhang Juzheng's restructuring!

When Mingshenzong succeeded to the throne, he was still young, and the major affairs of the state were completely decided by the scholar Zhang Juzheng, who actually exercised the duties of the emperor, and he could command Dongchang and Jinyiwei to investigate corrupt officials and corrupt officials; Punishment can be made at any time with powers that previously belonged only to the emperor. It also brought the former independent Metropolitan Procuratorate under control in order to avoid the previous situation of impeachment and impeachment in the sky.

He not only hired water conservancy expert Pan Jitao, famous generals Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, and others, but also sent people to inventory the land of the whole country and establish the 'One Whip Law', and also used science and technology to strengthen administrative discipline. He asked the officials to use their impeachment powers to support his plan and not to attack each other on trivial and superficial issues. Zhang Juzheng demanded that any issues mentioned in the government's report must be resolved on time. He demanded that all taxes owed by the rich must be collected and all bandits must be caught. The central government is also required to take a monthly and semi-annual review of any unfulfilled official duties, otherwise the chief will be punished.

In short, Zhang Juzheng, like Sister Feng in charge of the Ning State Mansion, exerted pressure on the Ming Dynasty to make the state institutions of the Ming Dynasty operate with astonishing efficiency without reforming the administrative institutions. Likewise, he was hated by bureaucrats who were used to living a good life.

Just when Zhang Juzheng was working hard, the Wanli Emperor changed from a child to a young man, the emperor in the palace, once went to Cining Palace, met a palace maid, the palace maid hurriedly asked the emperor to say goodbye, Shenzong called her up, saw her good face, demeanor, asked her name, the palace maid said that her surname was Wang. Shenzong looked at it carefully for a while and asked her for water to wash her hands. The palace maid brought water. Shenzong saw that her hands were slender and white. So he told all the people around him to go down. And then there was a joy.

Emperor Wanli and anyone else did not expect that this incident would profoundly affect the entire Ming Dynasty in the future!

One day a few months later, Shenzong's biological mother, Empress Dowager Li, suddenly ordered a banquet in the palace, and even Empress Dowager Chen (Empress Muzong) came to sit down and eat with Shenzong. During the banquet, he suddenly said: "The Queen of the Palace is fortunate to be in the presence of the emperor and is pregnant. Shenzong blushed when he heard this, and he still had to deny it, saying that there was no such thing. Empress Dowager Li threw the inner living book to Shenzong and said, "You go and see Ming." Have you ever been in vain? "Shenzong had no choice but to canonize Wang as Concubine Gong. Wang's child is the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Changluo.

Soon Zhang Juzheng died, and the officials were driven by him with a whip like a horse pulling a cart and worked tirelessly for ten years. Most of these are not facts, but as the saying goes, "repeating a thousand times in a panic is the truth", plus Wanli remembered that his teacher Zhang Juzheng had forced himself to be strict with his personal conduct and lived a frugal life. And when the teacher himself lived a luxurious and wasteful life, he couldn't bear it anymore, and Shenzong ordered Zhang Juzheng's property to be confiscated. and sent several of his sons to the frontier, and Zhang Juzheng's eldest son was also forced to commit suicide. Meantime. The edict publicly accused Zhang Juzheng of his crimes. Zhang Juzheng's 'criminal acts' were exposed after his death, which had a profound impact on the Wanli Emperor. He no longer trusts anyone, except his beloved Concubine Zheng.

In the first month of the fourteenth year of Wanli, Concubine Zheng gave birth to a son named Zhu Changxun.

At the beginning, Emperor Wanli once imagined that Zhang Juzheng was personally in charge of the world's affairs, but Shenzong soon discovered that at the age of twenty, he lacked political experience and could not control the situation at all. When the imperial historians were ordered to liquidate Zhang Juzheng's followers, they gave any minister they were not accustomed to a 'Zhang Dang' hat, and in the end, even the Wanli Emperor couldn't stand it. He angrily asked the imperial historians: "If the people appointed by the emperor are not to their liking, and they are all corrupt officials, then how many clean officials and loyal ministers do they recommend?" These imperial historians, who were known for their loyalty and bravery, were speechless. Indeed, people who do nothing but blame others can never go wrong.

The Wanli Emperor soon grew tired of state affairs, but it was the 'Fight for the Country' (who was appointed as the crown prince) incident that really led to the fragmentation of the Ming ruling group. Emperor Wanli's favorite is undoubtedly Concubine Zheng Guifei. Legend has it that Zheng Guifei's father once promised his daughter to a Xiucai as a concubine because of the poverty of his family, and the father and daughter hugged each other and cried when they parted. Xiucai was kind-hearted, and he couldn't bear to see this situation, and he was willing not to ask for a dowry. Concubine Zheng was grateful. When he entered the palace and was favored, he told the gods: "The concubine is not a filial piety, how can she serve His Majesty?" Shenzong promoted Xiucai to the county commander, and a few years later became the salt transport envoy.

Concubine Zheng was lively and bold, daring to tease and ridicule the emperor, and at the same time listening to the emperor's grievances and encouraging the emperor to increase his confidence. once said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, you are really an old lady!" ”

Indeed, the Divine Sect was generally a generous person. During his reign, factory guards were rarely allowed to harass officials and civilians.

After Zheng Guifei gave birth to a child, the Wanli Emperor immediately canonized Zheng as the imperial concubine, below the empress and above the other concubines. The son is valued by the mother, and it is logical for Chang Xun to transcend the ordinary and become the crown prince. However, in the eyes of the vast majority of civil officials, this is a seedling that grows, which is naturally not in line with the normal way. University scholar Shen Shixing and others because the emperor's eldest son Chang Luo is five years old, and his biological mother Wang Gongfei has not yet been sealed, and Zheng Guifei gave birth to a prince, that is, Jin Feng, obviously see that Zheng Guifei is favored, and there will be a matter of abolishing the long and young in the future, so they asked for the establishment of the East Palace, in order to respect the temple and re-establish the community.

Emperor Wanli was weak and incompetent, and did not dare to publicly explain his intentions and find all kinds of excuses. The first excuse was that Chang Luo was too young to withstand the torture of various ceremonies, and the second excuse was that the plan of establishing a prince belonged to the emperor's power and no one else was allowed to interfere. But the civil servants refused to give up. While arguing with the ministers, Shenzong suddenly and ingeniously canonized his three sons as kings instead of crown princes on the same day. The ministers did not accept this method, and the Wanli Emperor found a third excuse, that is, the empress was still young and still had the possibility of giving birth; If the queen gives birth to a son, it will be the prince of course and there will be no need for any controversy. All these excuses are invalid, and the officials are becoming more and more intense. Enraged, the emperor ordered retaliation by scolding the officials and court officials who had leaked the news. But it didn't help. At this time, Zheng Guifei's father, Zheng Chengxian, asked for the title of his deceased father, and Shenzong was ready to make him an earl. The Ministry of Rites dismissed the story of the noble concubines of the past dynasties conferring the title of earl to their grandfather, and Shenzong had no choice but to give five hundred taels of silver to the concubine's father.

The civil servants became embroiled in the controversy over the country's capital, as they had to choose one of the two princes as their future master; They know from past experience that a wrong step, even if it is silent at this time, can cost their own lives and even their relatives and friends when the succession issue is finally decided.

If Shenzong was a tyrant like Yongle, he could use massacres to silence civil officials; It was a gentleman like Koji who could skillfully turn the opinions of civil officials; is a hippie like Zhengde, who can not take into account the opinions of civil officials at all; It's an arrogant maniac like Jiajing, he can promote new people to support him, but he can't do it.

The appointment of the crown prince had caused such a serious debate, but the Wanli Emperor lacked the determination to realize his plan. He had promoted his youngest son, but he recognized that the right of primogeniture could not be violated. The indecisive Shenzong resorted to escaping the problem and did not dare to face the contradictions, and finally, he thought of a way that he thought was clever.

If it is like this, the development of the whole country depends on a capable minister, a capable and virtuous emperor, it is like gambling, even if Zhang Juzheng is capable, and then he can see through the main aspects of the development of the entire Ming Dynasty and find the crux of the problem, he is just one person after all!

Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen's restructuring is led by the emperor, which is essentially different from Zhang Juzheng's reform, not to mention that Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen's vision is based on the development of capitalist society! This will also be different in terms of height!

The most important thing is that Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen developed the imperial party! (To be continued......)