On July 21, the 48th year of Wanli (1620), Emperor Wanli died of illness. The crown prince Zhu Changluo succeeded to the throne and changed his name to Taichang, so it was customary to call him Emperor Taichang.

On the first day of the first month of August, Emperor Taichang ascended to the great ceremony, "Jade Shoes are peaceful", "Chong Cui has no sick appearance", that is, walking, normal demeanor, and no symptoms of disease.

On July 22 and 24, the 48th year of Wanli, Emperor Taichang issued 1 million taels of silver to reward the border guards in Liaodong and other places, dismissed the mining tax and the tax, withdrew the mining tax envoy, added the cabinet ministers, and operated the center, "the government and the opposition were moved". originally thought that the new monarch would succeed to the throne and would do something, but he didn't want to ascend to the throne only ten days after the ceremony, that is, on the tenth day of the first month of August, Emperor Taichang couldn't afford to fall ill.

The next day, the celebration was also canceled. "Guoyi" records: Zheng Guifei "entered the eight concubines, and she was tired of illness". "The Record of Sins" also recorded: "And ascended to the pole, and the concubine entered the beautiful woman to serve the emperor." Within ten days, the emperor fell ill. "

On August 14, Emperor Taichang became seriously ill and summoned Cui Wensheng, an internal official, for treatment. After taking the medicine prescribed by Cui Wensheng, he began to have diarrhea, which may have been acute gastroenteritis in today's words. There are many times a day and night, and some say that they have diarrhea thirty or forty times a day and night.

On August 29, Emperor Taichang summoned the cabinet ministers and asked, "Where is the medicine of the Honglu Temple officials?" The first assistant Fang Congzhe and others replied: "Li Kezhuo, the Cheng of Honglu Temple, claims to have an elixir, but the ministers dare not believe it. Here's a little explanation. Honglu Temple is in charge of the court, guests, etiquette and other things of an institution, Honglu Temple is called Honglu Temple, four products. His deputy is Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, Wupin. Honglu Temple is one level lower, six grades, roughly equivalent to the current department-level cadres. Emperor Taichang ordered the eunuchs around him to summon Li Kezhuo into the palace quickly. Li Kezhuo's diagnosis was completed, and Emperor Taichang ordered him to take medicine quickly. The ministers repeatedly instructed Li Kezhuo to use medicine carefully, and Emperor Taichang kept urging him to hurry up and take medicine.

By noon, Li Ke burned a red pill. Emperor Taichang drank the soup first, panting. When the medicine is in, that is, there is no wheezing. So he praised Li Kezhuo as a "loyal minister". The ministers were all uneasy and waited outside the palace gate. A eunuch happily came out to spread the word: after the emperor took the red pill, "warm and comfortable, thinking of eating and drinking". (History of the Ming Dynasty: The Biography of Han Yi)

Ritan (Shen time, 3~5 o'clock in the afternoon), Li Kezhuo took another pill.

The next day (the first day of September), Emperor Taichang died.

At this time, he inherited the throne for a whole month. The palace case caused by the "Red Pill" is known as the "Red Pill Case" in history.

Emperor Taichang succeeded to the throne on the first day of August, and died on the first day of September, which is of course a big event, and the government and the opposition are talking about it. Some people say that he died by taking red pills, while others say that it has nothing to do with red pills; Some people say that old diseases are not cured, and some people say that it is caused by fatigue; Some people say that it is confusing by the female pet, and it is Zheng Guifei who deliberately harms her; Some say it's a medication error. Some ministers discussed "rewarding money" because of Li Kezhuo's entry into the red pill gong; Some ministers thought that "Li Kezhuo's crime cannot be punished" and discussed "punishing him for one year"; Some ministers discussed and sent him to the court because "he can burn non-medical officials, and he is not a person who knows the medicine and knows the pulse"; It was not until the fifth year of the Apocalypse (1625) that Wei Zhongxian went to the "Three Dynasties Classics", so he was exempted from being scorched.

Li Kezhuo's case has been quarreled for eight years and has become one of the topics of party contention in the Apocalypse Dynasty.

After the death of Emperor Taichang, Emperor Tianqi succeeded to the throne. One of the problems faced by the Emperor of the Apocalypse after his accession to the throne was the issue of the era name. Wanli died, Taichang ascended the throne, and the next year was changed to the first year of Taichang. Taichang died, the apocalypse ascended the throne, and the next year was changed to the first year of the apocalypse. In this way, the two era names of Taichang and Tianqi overlap.

Later, I came up with a way, before July of the forty-eighth year of Wanli, it was the forty-eighth year of Wanli, August to December was the first year of Taichang, and the second year was the first year of the Apocalypse. After the death of Emperor Taichang, the bones were not cold, and the "palace transfer case" occurred.