I don’t know yet: For readers of Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Qizhen, the following History Encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed introduction. Let’s continue reading~
Most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were controversial, and compared to emperors of other dynasties, these emperors were indeed somewhat unconventional. And Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen, was even more outstanding among them. His level of controversy was definitely among the top ten emperors of the Ming Dynasty. For thousands of years, the question of whether he was a foolish or wise ruler has plagued scholars. So, what is the answer to this question? Let’s take a detailed look below.
There was basically only one emperor’s reign title in the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Qizhen was a very special figure among these emperors. During his reign, there were a total of two reign titles, one was Zhengtong and the other was Tianshun. As for why Zhu Qizhen used two era names, there are many stories behind it, and these stories precisely confirm Zhu Qizhen’s absurdity.
When Zhu Qizhen ascended to the throne, the ministers were already very dissatisfied with him. Why? Because he did not trust the ministers in the court, but instead trusted a eunuch named Wang Zhen from a humble background. Although his ancestor Zhu Di also favored eunuchs, the eunuchs he favored were all of genuine talent. Looking at Wang Zhen again, he didn’t have much real ability. He was quite skilled in playing with the crooked ways of causing chaos in the court. Under Wang Zhen’s instigation, the court at that time was in chaos.
Later, the leader of the Wala tribe, a branch of the Mongolian tribe, also led a large army to invade the border of the Ming Dynasty. Wang Zhen actually urged Zhu Qizhen to personally lead the expedition, and most importantly, Zhu Qizhen agreed. The Manchu court tried their best to dissuade him, but Zhu Qizhen was determined to go to the sideline. The courtiers had no choice but to accompany the emperor to the battlefield. It has been proven that Zhu Qizhen’s imperial expedition was a reckless act. During the march of the army, Zhu Qizhen suddenly regretted wanting to go back and decided not to launch the expedition. The ministers had no choice but to follow the emperor back to the capital.
At this moment, the army passed by Wang Zhen’s hometown. Wang Zhen was afraid that the army would trample on his crops, so he persuaded Zhu Qizhen to take a detour. Zhu Qizhen really listened to Wang Zhen’s words and took a bumpy detour. Who knew that at this moment, Wala came to pursue, and Zhu Qizhen and his courtiers were surrounded by Wala before they could escape. Finally, Zhu Qizhen, the glorious emperor of the Ming Dynasty, became a captive of the Wala, and all the ministers of the Ming Dynasty died. It’s ridiculous that Zhu Qizhen himself was embarrassed and even implicated a group of ministers.
The news of Zhu Qizhen’s arrest was quickly received within Beijing, and the ministers unanimously decided to let Zhu Qizhen’s younger brother succeed to the throne. Zhu Qizhen’s younger brother is named Zhu Qiyu, and he has become an emperor much better than his brother. After capturing Zhu Qizhen, he also assembled a 200000 strong army to prepare for the capture of Beijing. Zhu Qiyu appointed Yu Qian and successfully surrounded Beijing, avoiding the tragedy of the city being destroyed and the country falling. Looking at Zhuqi Town again, after causing a commotion for a long time, not only did he almost lose his ancestral kingdom, but he also wiped out the throne. It’s really ridiculous.
However, Zhu Qizhen was lucky. After staying at Wala for a year, he was brought back by a minister. Although he was imprisoned by his own brother for seven or eight years, fortunately there were still a group of ministers loyal to him in the court. So he took advantage of Zhu Qiyu’s serious illness to regain the throne. As he regained the throne, he naturally felt dissatisfied with the new faces in the court, especially Yu Qian, who was hated by him. In his opinion, it was because of Yu Qian’s instigation that the courtiers supported his younger brother as emperor.
Therefore, the first thing Zhu Qizhen did after coming to power was to kill Yu Qian. This is definitely a typical case of ingratitude. You should know that Yu Qian is a great hero in defending Beijing. Without Yu Qian, not to mention the throne, the country could have been lost. But now Zhu Qizhen has killed this great hero. Isn’t this ingratitude? Besides Yu Qian, other loyal ministers couldn’t escape his cleansing. Even those ministers who supported his restoration later couldn’t escape his clutches. With such a degree of ingratitude, he was undoubtedly the second place among Ming emperors (why not the first place? Because there was Zhu Yuanzhang ahead of him).
If we only look at the above few deeds, then Zhu Qizhen is undoubtedly a foolish ruler, but we cannot judge people unilaterally. At least in other aspects, Zhu Qizhen has done very well. For example, after the Tumu Fort Incident, Zhuqi Town was “invited” to the Wala tribe and became the most noble guest of Wala. The guests here are definitely not polite, he really enjoys the treatment of guests in the Wala tribe. Not long after arriving in Wala, Zhu Qizhen made friends with some of Wala’s generals, and even his younger brother Boyan became his good friend. How good is the relationship between the two?
At that time, he was also unwilling to let Zhu Qizhen return to China, so Boyan directly fought against his brother. Later, when Zhu Qizhen was taken back by the minister, Boyan personally went to see him off. Being able to become friends with enemies to such an extent, it must be said that Zhu Qizhen is quite skilled. This kind of ability to impress the enemy is definitely not something that a foolish ruler can possess.
Everyone says that Zhu Youzhong and Empress Zhang were exemplary couples of the Ming Dynasty, but in reality, the relationship between Zhu Qizhen and Empress Qian is equally deep. After Zhu Qizhen was captured, Empress Qian cried hysterically. In order to redeem her husband, she took out all the valuable things on her body. In order to persuade the courtiers to bring back her husband, she was even willing to die. Although she did not die in the end, she also crippled her leg.
After Zhu Qizhen returned, he was imprisoned by his younger brother in the palace and was not even provided with money or food. Empress Qian, in order to make a living, was willing to do handicrafts and sell money. A dignified empress endured pain for her husband without complaint. Isn’t this kind of relationship deep? After Zhu Qizhen regained the throne, his feelings for Empress Qian remained as good as ever. If Zhu Qizhen is really a tyrant, will Empress Qian still treat him well? Will their relationship be stronger than Jin’s? This is obviously impossible.
In summary, strictly speaking, Zhu Qizhen is not a foolish ruler. He just lacks some decisiveness in certain matters. The imperial expedition was instigated by Wang Zhen, and the killing of Yu Qian was also instigated by Xu Youzhen. Therefore, this can only indicate that Zhu Qizhen’s talent is relatively mediocre, and it cannot be said that he is a completely incompetent ruler. He did not bring any indelible disasters to the people. However, if we were to say that he is a wise ruler, it seems that he is still a bit lacking, but compared to other emperors of the Ming Dynasty, he is still relatively good.
