Hello everyone, this is the history encyclopedia editor. Today, I will tell you the story of Zhu Youxiao. Welcome to follow.
On the twelfth day of the eighth lunar month in 1627, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Huang Liji, and others wrote a memorial to greet the emperor. The eunuchs of the Mingxi sect issued an edict, ‘Yesterday I summoned King Xin, and my heart was greatly pleased and my body felt slightly at ease.’. But no one expected that a few days later, Ming Xizong would die in the Qianqing Palace at the age of only 23. Among all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Xizong did not have the shortest reign time (seven years), but he had the shortest lifespan. Why did a 23-year-old young man die suddenly?
Ming Xizong’s name was Zhu Youxiao, and he was the eldest grandson of Emperor Wanli. His father was Ming Guangzong Zhu Changluo. After the death of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Changluo ascended to the throne, but he died of illness after only one month in office. Thus, at the age of only 16, Zhu Youxiao became the 15th emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty and changed his reign to Tianqi. Although Zhu Youxiao came from the royal family, he did not receive a good education. As an emperor, he did not have the sense of responsibility of an emperor and did not like to handle political affairs.
At that time, there were two famous people around Zhu Youxiao, one was eunuch Wei Zhongxian, and the other was his wet nurse Ke Shi. Although Ke Shi is a woman of the lower class, she has been responsible for taking care of her since Zhu Youxiao was born. Therefore, Zhu Youxiao actually treats Ke Shi like a mother, and their relationship is very deep. Wei Zhongxian formed an alliance with the Ke family, and with the help of the Ke family, he also entered the core of the Ming Dynasty and became the eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, Bingbi.
During the reign of Emperor Ming Xizong, the eunuch group led by Wei Zhongxian controlled the government, while Emperor Ming Xizong almost ignored the government because he had a more important hobby, which was carpentry. In fact, Zhu Youxiao is very intelligent, but he applies his talents to woodworking. It is said that the wooden works he creates are exquisitely designed and can be called exquisite works. Besides being a carpenter, Ming Xizong also enjoyed playing, but he never thought he would end up playing with him to death!
The incident occurred in August of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign. Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty, accompanied by Wei Zhongxian and Ke Shi, came to Xiyuan (now Beihai Park) to enjoy himself. Ming Xizong and two eunuchs boarded a small boat, sailed into the lake, and arrived at the deepest part of the lake. At this moment, a strong wind suddenly blew up, causing the small boat to capsize and Ming Xizong and three others to fall into the water. Wei Zhongxian, Ke Shi, and others were still on the shore, witnessing the entire process and were frightened to the point of losing their face.
Afterwards, a group of eunuchs, including Wei Zhongxian, jumped into the water to rescue Ming Xizong. Due to the distance, two eunuchs who followed Ming Xizong drowned, and Ming Xizong was also on the brink of death, but he finally escaped death. However, from then on, Ming Xizong’s physical condition began to have problems, always being sickly and crooked. On May 6th of the second year, Ming Xizong’s condition worsened and he began to be unable to attend court.
6、 During July and August, Ming Xizong was unable to get out of bed and had swelling all over his body. During this period, Huo Weihua, the Minister of War, presented the “Immortal Formula Spirit Dew Drink” to the emperor. At first, Ming Xizong thought it was pretty good and even gave it to his trusted eunuchs to take. But Ming Xizong’s condition did not improve. On August 11th, Ming Xizong, who knew he had little time left, summoned his younger brother, Prince Xin Zhu Youjian, and said, “My younger brother should be Yao and Shun.
Regarding the death of Ming Xizong, some people believe that there was some conspiracy behind it, but I don’t think that’s the case. Firstly, Ming Xizong’s health has never been very good. In February of the fourth year of Tianqi, he was once “restless”. Secondly, the incident of falling into the water destroyed the body of Ming Xizong. From the drowning of eunuchs who followed Ming Xizong, it can be seen that Ming Xizong also drowned for a long time. Although he did not die, he was still on the brink of death. In addition, due to limited medical conditions at the time, the 23-year-old Ming Xizong ended his absurd life like this.
