After Emperor Wanli, Zhu Changluo, who succeeded to the throne, could have become a generation of Ming monarchs, but unfortunately died in the palace conspiracy "Red Pill Case". The reason why Zhu Youxiao of Ming Xizong was called the "Carpenter Emperor" was of course because he had no culture, did not know how to govern the country, liked carpenter work and was skilled, but on the other hand, it was also because of the ulterior motives of the Manchu rulers to scandalize the title - the purpose was to belittle the previous emperor in order to contrast the "wisdom" of the Manchu emperor (The emperors of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, including the emperors of other dynasties, really wanted to grasp the poor and weak points among them and name them one by one in a scandalous way, I'm afraid it is not good.)

Ming Xizong Zhu Youxiao (1605-1627), the fifteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the eldest son of Zhu Changluo of Ming Guangzong, his biological mother chose to serve Wang, and Ming Sizong Zhu Youzhen was the half-brother. He ascended the throne at the age of 16 and reigned for seven years.

During the reign of Zhu Youxiao, the Hakka and Wei Zhongxian dictatorships, created unjust prisons such as "Yichou Imperial Prison" and "Bingyin Imperial Prison", and brutally persecuted the Donglin Party members who tried to improve the politics of the Ming Dynasty. Wei Zhongxian's persecution of the Donglin Party continued to provoke popular uprisings. At that time, various social contradictions in the country intensified. The main worry came from the threat of the Later Jin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong. Zhu Youxiao listened to the slander, and after taking the throne, he dismissed Xiong Tingbi, who had the courage to know the army, causing the Later Jin to capture Shenyang and Liaoyang, and the situation in Liaodong became increasingly severe. In March of the first year of the Apocalypse (1621), in order to stabilize Liaodong, Xiong Tingbi had to be used again as the strategy of Liaodong. According to the actual situation in eastern Liaodong, Xiong Tingbi formulated a tripartite layout strategy. However, Wang Huazhen, the governor who held the actual military power of Liaodong, ignored the danger that the enemy was strong and weak at that time, and it was easy to be broken by each other, and strongly advocated dividing the troops to defend and attack in an all-out way. Under the planning of the eunuch party, Zhu Youxiao killed Xiong Tingbi, who adhered to the correct strategy, and the loyal generals Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan were also suspicious and dismissed, and the war situation in Liaodong fell into many crises.

The reason why Ming Xizong liked carpenter work was because he had little education. For a person who is close to illiteracy, not spending time on alcohol and lasciviousness can be regarded as a blessing in misfortune.

The dignified monarch of a country, why didn't Ming Xizong receive education? When it comes to investigation, this is to blame for the partiality of Emperor Wanli. At the beginning, Wanli wanted to canonize Zhu Changxun, but because it did not conform to the ancestral system of "establishing a successor and establishing a long-term succession", it was generally opposed by the courtiers, and the two sides were deadlocked for many years, and the emperor and ministers could not change each other's position. Later, Wanli made a compromise, so the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo was canonized as the crown prince. But Wanli has been indifferent to Zhu Changluo for many years, including Zhu Changluo's son Zhu Youxiao, Wanli is also indifferent, so Zhu Youxiao's education has been delayed - until the age of 16, he did not receive the hungry royal education he should have received a long time ago. In 1620, when Emperor Wanli died, Zhu Youxiao was canonized as the emperor's grandson, and at this time he finally had the opportunity to receive an education. But who would have thought that Zhu Youxiao's father, Guangzong Zhu Changluo, had only been the emperor for a month before he died, and the 16-year-old Zhu Youxiao, who had not yet been canonized as the crown prince, had to be hurriedly enthroned as the emperor. Although Zhu Youxiao at this time could still invite erudite cabinet ministers to give lectures to him, after all, he has long passed the golden age of receiving primary education, and all kinds of political affairs are enough for him to worry about, not to mention that he is a very playful person.

Although it is said that all human beings are created equal before God, each person's natural endowment is still different or even very different. Zhu Youxiao is probably because of his talent and strong hands-on ability, so his playfulness is also reflected in his preference for carpenter work. In the late Ming Dynasty, the furniture was exquisite and gorgeous, and the wealthy families were fashionable to purchase and make high-end furniture, and it is speculated that the folk craftsmen (including porcelain craftsmen) who did good carpentry work at that time were roughly equivalent to today's IT elites. Young people inevitably like to chase fashion and popular things, so it is no wonder that Zhu Youxiao will be addicted to it.

Being an emperor without education at all is of course destined to be a tragedy for Zhu Youxiao himself or for the Ming Dynasty. But this is something that cannot be changed until China's long feudal emperor system is dissolved (or before the introduction of a constitutional monarchy in which the emperor has no real power). Under this premise, the creation of the Ming Dynasty depended on the wisdom of the ministers of the court and the people around the emperor. If you are lucky, there will be drama in the Ming Dynasty, and if you are unlucky, the collapse of the Ming Dynasty may be in advance.

As a result, Zhu Youxiao relied on Wei Zhongxian, a great eunuch whose real name was Li Jinzhong. Regarding Wei Zhongxian and his person, history has long been decided, and everyone knows it better, so I will not go into detail here. It should be emphasized that Wei Zhongxian was clearly responsible for the fall of the Ming Dynasty. But in the final analysis, the root is still in Ming Xizong, who is close to illiteracy and has no interest in state affairs. But who made him uneducated? In this case, the root has to be chased to Emperor Wanli. It is no wonder that later historians said: "The death of the Ming Dynasty is really the death of Wanli." ”

Of course, the so-called carpenter emperor Zhu Youxiao is not completely useless. For example, Zhu Youxiao and his queen Zhang Yan not only have a good relationship, but also respect her, can listen to her words very well, when Wei Zhongxian tried to find an opportunity to frame her several times, Zhu Youxiao behaved very soberly; for example, he did not delay the education of his younger brother Zhu Youzhen at all, perhaps because he felt very sorry for not receiving systematic education, and felt very helpless, so as soon as he became the emperor, he attached great importance to the education of his younger brother who was 5 years younger than him, and grasped it very tightly, and finally passed the throne to his only younger brother. Perhaps it is precisely because of Zhu Youxiao's attitude of absolute protection and full trust to the empress and his younger brother Zhu Youzhen from beginning to end that the Ming Dynasty did not finish playing in his hands early, but still continued for 17 years before collapsing.

In the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), Zhu Youxiao, who fell into the water and fell ill, took the "immortal medicine" and died at the age of 23. The name is Datian, the Taoist Dun filial piety, the friend Zhang Wenxiang, the Wu Jing, the Mu Zhuang Qinyi Emperor, and the temple name is Xizong. Buried in the Ming Ming Tombs.