-- The book continues --

After Zhu Di was furious, he asked Xu Miaoyun to explain how the eleventh emperor of the dynasty was.

Xu Miaoyun looked at Zhu Di meaningfully, took a sip of wine, and talked about Ming Shizong Zhu Houxi.

Zhu Houxi, the grandson of Zhu Jianshen, the nephew of Zhu Youzhu of Ming Xiaozong, the son of Zhu Youqi, the king of Xingxian, and the cousin of Zhu Houzhao of Ming Wuzong.

Zhu Houzhao died and had no children to succeed to the throne, according to the ancestral motto of "brother to brother and brother to brother", Zhu Houxi, the son of King Xing, who was 14 years old at the time, inherited the line, and the year name was Jiajing.

Soon after Zhu Houxi ascended the throne, because of the issue of the honorific title and rituals surrounding his biological father's Xingxian Wang, a political incident known as the "Great Rites Debate" was set off. Later, in order to alleviate social contradictions, Zhu Houxi adopted reform measures such as reforming the old malpractices and revitalizing the program and discipline, ordered the return of some occupied civilian land, and eliminated more than 100,000 military academy craftsmen, which was known as the "Jiajing New Deal" in history

In July, Jinshi Zhang Xuan made a statement, asking Ming Shizong to "inherit the unification without heirs", asking to respect his biological father, and to set up a temple to dedicate the king to the Beijing Division, and Ming Shizong ordered the courtiers to assemble. Yang Tinghe and others fought against the sparseness, but Ming Shizong did not allow it. Ming Shizong ignored the opposition of the courtiers, and in October, he posthumously honored his biological father Xingxian Wang as Xingxian Emperor, his grandmother Xianzong Guifei Shao Shi as the Empress Dowager, and his mother Concubine Cixiao Xian Empress Xingxian as Xingxian Empress.

In the first month of the first year of Jiajing, Ming Shizong ordered Xiaozong to be the emperor's examination, the Empress Dowager Cishou as the Holy Mother, and the Empress Xingxian as the parents of his birth.

This matter was until the seventeenth year of Jiajing, the tablet of Emperor Xingxian was promoted to the Taimiao, ranked above the Ming Wuzong, and the tomb of the king was changed to the tomb, and the event of the Great Rites Discussion ended with the victory of Zhu Houxi.

Zhu Houxi succeeded to the throne, and a series of maladministrations during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Qing Dynasty were clarified, and a clear situation appeared politically. The re-employment of the ministers who were convicted of outspoken advice during the Zhengde period will be halved next year's land rent, and all taxes that have not been paid before the 15th year of Zhengde will be exempted.

Politically, Zhu Houxi was diligent in government affairs, rectified the government program, and implemented new policies. The power of the ceremonial supervisor was reduced, the eunuchs were abolished, the supervision system was strictly enforced, and the functions and powers of the factory guard and the legal department were strictly divided. Attaching importance to the appointment of Zhang Xuan, Xia Yan and other virtuous ministers, he learned the lessons of the previous dynasty's eunuchs who were in power and disorderly government, strictly controlled the eunuchs, and the centralization of power was revived and strengthened, so that the government was completely new.

Economically, Zhu Houxi severely punished corruption and perverted the law, surveyed the Huangzhuang and Xunqi Manor, and returned the land to the people. In the Ming Dynasty, from Hongzhi to Zhengde, some people occasionally mentioned the seriousness of land loss, but it has not yet attracted the general attention and discussion of the government and the opposition.

Culturally, Zhu Houxi rectified the imperial examination system to ensure the healthy development of the election; advocate the simultaneous use of three ways to stimulate morale; We should rectify the school administration and strengthen the educational function of the school. Correct the title and enshrinement of Confucius.

"Capitalism" began to sprout, culture and science and technology flourished unprecedentedly, and a large number of outstanding literary works and outstanding figures emerged

In the middle of Zhu Houxi's reign, the government became increasingly corrupt, because the country has been peaceful for a long time, he wanted to use Taoism to deify himself, good immortality, the priests, Taoist priests used the superstition of Ming Shizong's dream of immortality and the phenomenon of Lingrui, repeatedly deceived Ming Shizong, fooled Ming Shizong, so that every year continued to build Zhaijiao, resulting in huge expenses.

Zhu Houxi followed the example of Song Huizong and added the title of Dao to himself and his parents: his father was "the Emperor Xuanyuan Daodao, Zhehui Shengzun, Kaizhen Renhua, the Emperor of the Three Days of Jinyun Supreme Jade Hall, the Master of the Immortal Law."

His mother is "the three-day Golden Rhuscent Supreme Jade Hall Chief Immortal Dharma Master Xuanyuan Moral Zhehui Our Lady of Heaven Palm Immortal Miaohua Yuanjun",

Zhu Houxi called himself "Lingxiao Shangqing Tong Lei Yuanyang Miao Yifei Xuan Zhenjun", and then added "Nine Heavens Hongjiao Puji Shengling Palm Yin Yang Gong Dao Siren Ziji Immortal Weng - Yang Zhenren Yuan Xuan Xuan Ying Enlightenment Fu Demon Loyal Filial Emperor Jun", and then added "Taishang Da Luo Tianxian General Palm Five Thunder Dazhen Xuandu Realm Wanshou Emperor".

…………

Hearing this, Zhu Di's face was already dark, but he didn't stop Xu Miaoyun and let her continue.

In the second year of Jiajing, the "battle for tribute" broke out, and since then, the coastal security has fallen into crises many times, and the Ming Dynasty announced the suspension of all trade.

In the third year of Jiajing, a number of Datong mutinies broke out.

In the fourteenth year of Jiajing, the Liao-Dong Mutiny broke out, and the Guangning War Rebellion occurred, in the north of the Great Wall, the Tatar-Tatar leader Altan Khan continued to invade the border, and the troops were often tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, and the corrupt army of the Ming Dynasty could not resist the Tatar-Tatar cavalry at all.

In the nineteenth year of Jiajing, Ji Nang attacked Datong and killed Zhou Qi, the commander of the Ming Dynasty. In June, the Warat tribe attacked the border plug. In July, Ji Nang entered Kou Wanquan's right guard, and the chief military officer Bai Jue met him at Xuanping and defeated him.

In the twenty-first year of Jiajing, more than a dozen palace maids, headed by Yang Jinying, were determined to kill Zhu Houxi, but they failed, and the history is known as the "Renyin Palace Change".

Zhu Houxi moved to the Wanshou Palace in Xiyuan and did not dare to live in the dormitory in the Forbidden City. After the change of the palace maid, Ming Shizong attributed the turn of danger to the effect of the mystery, and was more enthusiastic about fasting and praying.

Zhu Houxi bowed to Taoist clothes, "thinking that it was a matter of praying for eternal life"; The concubines and concubines "are all feathered and yellow-crowned, chanting spells, and are cold and hot day and night".

In the twenty-second year of Jiajing, I answered many times to attack and harass. In August, Altan Khan invaded Yansui. In October, Duoyan entered the prison and killed the garrison Chen Shun.

In the twenty-fifth year of Jiajing, I replied to Khan, sent envoys to negotiate peace and ask for tribute, but Zhu Houxi repeatedly refused.

In the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing, in order to force Ming Shizong to agree to the mutual market, I answered and led the army to commit Datong, and the chief soldier Zhang Da and the deputy chief soldier Lin Chun were both killed in battle.

Qiu Luan, who was appointed as the chief soldier of Xuanda because of bribing Yan Song's son Yan Shifan, was afraid and helpless, so he bribed me with a lot of money to make him move to Kou Tasai and not to commit Datong. In August, I moved my troops to the east, on August 14, I entered the ancient north mouth, killed and plundered Huairou, Shunyi officials and people were innumerable, the Ming army was defeated at a touch, I answered the long drive into the interior, camped in the lonely mountain (now northeast of Tongzhou), Rukou and other places in the east of the Luhe River, and the Beijing division was under martial law.

…………

"This Yan Song, he actually gave him so much power, he was so angry with me, how could I have such a descendant............" Zhu Di couldn't help but interrupt Xu Miaoyun.

And Xu Miaoyun said after appeasing the angry Zhu Di: "Yan Song is the first of the 196 traitors in the Ming Dynasty, and he relied on the favor of Zhu Houxi, who was a young man, and he leaned towards the government and the opposition for 20 years!" ”

Yan Song, the word Weizhong, the number Jiexi, Yuanzhou Prefecture Fenyi Jieqiao Village (now Jiang-Xi-Province-Fenyi County) people.

Yan Song's father is a poor talent who did not take the exam, but Yan Song's talent is higher than his father, I don't know how much, he entered the county school at the age of nine, passed the county exam in October, was lifted at the age of nineteen, and entered the Hanlin Academy at the age of twenty-five.

Soon Yan Song's mother died, Yan Song resigned as an official to keep filial piety, at that time, one of the eight tigers of the eunuch Liu Jin controlled the court, resulting in Yan Song ten years can not return to the court, after Liu Jin was killed, the thirty-seven-year-old Yan Song went north to Shuntian, and later Zhu Houxi became the emperor addicted to cultivating immortals, plus all the affairs were handed over to Xia Yan and others, Yan Song began to tie up Xia Yan and others.

In Xia Yan's recommendation, Yan Song took power step by step, and later because of the incident of the "Great Rites Discussion", Yan Song first supported Zhu Houyu and won Zhu Houxi's trust, Yan Song began to form a party for personal gain, framing Zhongliang, and at the same time, Xia Yan was also beheaded under Yan Song's frame.

Yan Song served as the first assistant of the cabinet, and in the late Jiajing period, the side affairs were abolished, the military salary was swallowed, and the troubles gradually rose, and the eighty-one-year-old Yan Song was framed and stepped down by the second assistant Xu Jie and Lan Daoxing.

After stepping down, Yan Song's son Yan Shifan was beheaded and his family property was confiscated. swallowed up military salaries and abolished border defense, which aggravated the trouble of "Northern Tiger and Southern Tiger"; Recruiting power and accepting bribes, wantonly embezzlement, further corrupting the rule of officials, and intensifying the social contradictions at that time.

In the forty-first year of Jiajing, when Yan Song was eighty-seven years old, he died of hunger and serious illness.

At the same time, during the Jiajing period, the "Southern and Northern Captives" were always a scourge of the Ming Dynasty, and many civil uprisings broke out in various places. At this time, industry and commerce developed along the southeast coast, while the sea ban was still enforced, and the struggle between the coastal people and the Wang Zhi clique and the imperial court was very eye-catching.

With the increase of Ming Shizong Zhu Houxi's age, coupled with the long-term use of arsenic, mercury, realgar, cinnabar pills, Zhu Houxi's body deteriorated.

On December 14, the 45th year of Jiajing, Zhu Houxi died in the Qianqing Palace at the age of 60.

——To be continued——