The rise and fall of historical dynasties and their changes, as well as the vivid historical figures, have left deep imprints in the long river of history. Next, the History Encyclopedia editor will take you into the story of Zhu Houzhao.
The Ming Dynasty can be said to be a great dynasty in history. Zhu Di once said, “The emperor guards the country’s borders, but the king dies and the country falls. It is admirable. For this reason, Emperor Yingzong of Ming was captured by the Wala because Beijing was the most border area at that time. Beijing also developed during the Ming Dynasty. In fact, there were many controversial emperors in the Ming Dynasty. What were they?
The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, carried out extensive killings of founding heroes after the founding of the country, and only one person escaped the execution. Therefore, in later generations, Zhu Yuanzhang was also widely discussed. Another reason is Zhu Di, the only prince in history who successfully rebelled and seized his nephew’s kingdom. Zhu Yunwen’s life and death have always been a mystery, and the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is also the most talked about. However, I believe that the most talked about one is Zhu Houzhao, the Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty.
In historical books, there can be two evaluations of Zhu Houzhao, which can be said to be two extremes. One is that he was a good emperor, decisive in handling affairs, and during his reign, he made many achievements, such as killing Liu Jin, the rebellion of Prince Ning, and the conquest of the Mongolian prince. He was not wrong for the people, and also had military power, often living and eating with soldiers. Another type is that he is a debauched emperor who is fond of playing and martial arts. So there are many controversies.
In fact, although Ming Wuzong was fun, he didn’t make a fuss. He just loved to play and didn’t like the palace, so he built his own palace outside and named it Leopard House. He raised many beautiful women and even had prostitutes inside. In fact, this was all influenced by Liu Jin and others. He didn’t have much bad intentions himself, but rather he advocated freedom of thought and didn’t want to be restricted by ministers. Moreover, he was approachable and not like other emperors who had a lot of aura. He was a person with personal colors.
Although Zhu Houzhao enjoyed playing around, his achievements could not be erased because he liked to live outside. At that time, the Xuanfu, which is now Datong, was where he often resided. Once, when the Mongolian Tartars invaded, Zhu Houzhao was very excited because he liked to fight, so he returned to the capital to prepare for a personal expedition. However, due to the Tumu Fort Incident, everyone was very worried and was not allowed to go. He had to go on a campaign under the name of General Zhu Shou, who was actually leading his own troops.
Fortunately, Zhu Houzhao also achieved success. He personally killed an enemy and ultimately drove away the Mongolians. From then on, Zhu Houzhao went on expeditions under the name of Zhu Shou, including when he later went to quell the rebellion of Prince Ning.
Zhu Houzhao enjoyed playing and once fell into the water, leaving behind his illness. In the end, he passed away in his leopard house at the age of only 31. As there was no successor, he had to pass on the throne to his cousin Zhu Houzhao, the famous Emperor Jiajing.
Although the evaluation of Zhu Houzhao in later generations is absurd, he is never ambiguous in major events. This can be seen from a series of major events that occurred during the Zhengde period, and many talented people emerged under his rule, such as Wang Yangming, which are commendable aspects of Zhu Houzhao.
