The emperor also has monogamy, can you believe it? Before, I didn't believe it, but after reading the story of Ming Xiaozong, I believed it.
From ancient times to the present, power often spawns desire, especially the emperor who is at the top of the power, and the power is even more ruthless and ruthless.
For most aristocrats, marriage and love are just chips, goods circulating in that special market, waiting for the price to be sold. Emperors are not spared, they are born with money and power, and thus lose a lot of freedom belonging to ordinary people, for them, feelings and grace are often only a means of checks and balances of rights, and the women around them are also chess pieces or dolls.
In many examples in history, today is still the favorite concubine of the Yanguan harem, and tomorrow may be a cold palace sin woman with a white silk but half a life, so for many people, it is not easy to accompany the emperor for a lifetime, and how dare they look forward to a lifetime of one or two.
In China's thousand-year history, few emperors can do only one person, even if they love him, they will not delay his harem beauty for three thousand.
But there is one person who is an exception, and that is the one I want to explain today that there is only one person in his harem, and that is Empress Zhang.
They were the only empresses in history to follow the "monogamous system", and Emperor Mingxiaozong never took a concubine except Empress Zhang in his lifetime, and he was also a lifelong favor to his wife.
However, Empress Zhang, who was extremely happy in the first half of her life, was desolate in the evening after the death of her husband and son.
Zhu Youfan was the ninth emperor of Daming and the third son of Emperor Mingxianzong Zhu Jianshen, Zhu Youfan was a lord of Zhongxing, who took over the stormy world from his father, but after ruling very much, the history was called "Hongzhi Zhongxing".
I think that Zhu Youfan only married one wife, which is inseparable from his miserable childhood, he has seen the pitiful situation of the unfavored woman, and he has also seen the weak human feelings of this empress, so he does not want his other heirs to repeat the same mistakes.
Zhu Youfan's childhood was very tragic, when her father Zhu Mishen favored Wan Guifei alone, but because Wan Guifei lost her children, she did not allow Zhu Jianshen to have children with other concubines, and many unborn children were killed by her, and Zhu Youfan escaped from death in such a big environment.
Zhu Youfan's mother herself was the daughter of Theoshi of Guangxi Ji, and after the Toast Rebellion was put down, the Ji clan was captured in the palace to become the palace maid in charge of guarding the emperor's book collection, and the Ji clan was quickly favored by Zhu Mi.
No, Ji Shi was pregnant, which aroused the envy of Wan Guifei, so she asked the palace maid to get rid of the child in Ji's belly, the palace maid could not bear to move, and the Guifei Ji clan was not pregnant, and the belly bulge was only caused by illness, successfully deceived Wan Guifei's trust, and Ji Shi escaped a disaster.
In order to solve the troubles, Wan Guifei found an excuse to beat Ji Shi into the cold palace.
Although the Cold Palace was bitterly cold, it was not eye-catching, so Ji Shi gave birth to Zhu Youfan under the eyes of Wan Guifei.
Under the protection of the eunuch Zhang Min and others, Zhu Youfan was secretly raised until he was six years old, until one day when the old emperor Zhu Jianshen was sad because he had no heirs, Zhang Min dared to seize the opportunity to tell him about the child hiding in the Cold Palace.
Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen was very happy, and immediately took the child back to the palace, looking at the thin and pitiful son in front of him, Zhu Jianshen was very guilty, and gave him the name Zhu Youfan, and the next day he immediately made the six-year-old Zhu Youfan crown prince, and his mother Ji Shi was crown princess.
However, due to the power of Wan Guifei, Ji Shi died violently in the palace not long after, and the eunuch Zhang Min swallowed gold and died.
In order to save the life of this only little emperor grandson, her grandmother Empress Zhou took Zhu Youfan to her palace for support, and only then did she barely save Zhu Youfan's life.
Six years of seclusion and the sudden death of his mother have cultivated Zhu Youfan's tenacious character, but also let him see the sadness of becoming an imperial heir, and he does not want anyone to repeat the same mistakes.
His father, Zhu Jianshen, loved Wan Guifei against heaven and became a poison for his life.
In the spring of 1487, Wan Guifei died of illness, and Emperor Mingxianzong Was deeply sad, unable to sleep at night, not thinking about tea and dinner, and died depressed after only eight months.
After his father's death, he left behind a stormy imperial court, but fortunately, Zhu Youfan successfully ascended the throne and became the ninth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, with the era name "Hongzhi".
During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Zhu Youfan carried out strict reforms, changed the decline of the Yingzong Dynasty, and realized the first Zhongxing of the Ming Dynasty, Guotai Min'an, political clarity, and history called "Hongzhi Zhongxing".
Empress Zhang was chosen by Emperor Mingxianzong Zhu Jianshen for her son.
In the seventh year of Chenghua, that is, in 1471, Empress Zhang was born in Xingji County, Hejian Province , Beizhi (present-day Cangxian County, Hebei Province) where her father Zhang Luan was a superintendent of the State Son.
In 1487, Emperor Mingxianzong elected a concubine for the crown prince, and the intelligent and beautiful Zhang clan was elected to the Eastern Palace of the Crown Prince, and he married Zhu Youfan. In September of the same year, after Zhu Jianshen's death, Zhu Youfan took the throne, and Zhang Shi naturally became empress.
The history books record that Empress Zhang was very lively and lovely, and she did not regard Zhu Youfan as a high-ranking emperor, but as an ordinary husband-in-law, with both pampering and resentment. Zhu Youfan, who lacked warmth since childhood, obviously ate this set, was attracted by the small warm little run-ins in Zhang's life, and became more and more fond of Empress Zhang, and the two were tired of being together every day.
After Zhang Entered the Palace, coinciding with the death of the former emperor, as the emperor Zhu Youfan needed to keep filial piety for three years, there was no concubine for three years, and only Zhang's ear sideburns were grinding for three years, so that Zhu Youfan liked this kind of folk couple life.
Three years later, when Zhu Youfan's uncles again proposed to choose a concubine for the emperor, Zhu Youfan said: "The intention has been decided, do not worry about uncles", and never took a concubine again.
Like Empress Zhang and the folk couple, Zhu Youfan slept and slept together every day, and his daily leisure was to read poetry and paint together, listen to the piano and dance, talk about the past and the present, sing with her husband and wife, and share the day and night, and the feelings were deeply envied.
First, live together every day.
In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor and empress could not live together, according to the system, the emperor lived in the Qianqing Palace, the empress lived in the Kunning Palace, the emperor only summoned her when she was in the presence of empress, and afterwards the empress had to return to kunning palace to live.
However, Zhu Youfan, because of his love for Empress Zhang, lived with her day and night, like a folk couple. In the "Records of the History of The Victorious Dynasty Tong Shi", it is written, "Lovingly, living together in the palace, having no other favors, like a folk couple".
Second, feed the medicine.
The history books record that Empress Zhang was once ill, the doctor prescribed medicine, Zhu Youfan personally went to the sickbed to feed the medicine to Empress Zhang bite by bite, and after feeding the medicine, she gave the queen mouthwash and gargled. After the queen fell asleep, he even endured the cough, afraid of waking up the queen, what kind of fairy husband.
Third, reward the queen's mother.
Zhu Youfan not only favored Empress Zhang, but also was very good to her mother's family.
Empress Zhang's mother, like the mother of an ordinary lady of the people, could enter the palace at any time to visit Empress Zhang, stay overnight and eat in the palace, and after Empress Zhang's father died, she was also given the title of Duke of Changguo, and was the first foreign relative of Daming to be posthumously awarded the title of Duke of Guo, and also made Empress Zhang's two younger brothers Zhang Heling the Marquis of Shouning and Zhang Yanling the Title of Jianchang Bo.
However, Empress Zhang was somewhat pampered and arrogant, and never restrained her foreign relatives, and the two brothers of the Zhang family were often pampered and arrogant, and bad things were done.
Fourth, not close to the female color, the heirs are all born to Empress Zhang.
Zhu Youfan not only did not have a concubine but also did not spoil others, he had only two sons and one daughter in his life, all of whom were born to Empress Zhang, and was the emperor with the fewest heirs in the Ming Dynasty, which was also the reason for Zhang's desolation in his later years.
Because zhu Youfan was persecuted by Wan Guifei when he was a child, he has been living in the cold palace, lack of clothes and food, his body is not good, coupled with excessive mental tension, physical and mental exhaustion, after becoming emperor, because of overwork, the body has been operating under high loads for many years, and finally dragged down the body.
In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, that is, in 1505, Zhu Youfan died in the Qianqing Palace, died young, only thirty-six years old, passed on the throne to his son Zhu Houzhao, the year name Zhengde, Empress Zhang became the empress.
Here I would like to raise the issue of Zhu Youfan's heirs.
Zhu Youfan had only Empress Zhang in his lifetime, and bore him two sons, a daughter, the younger son died early, and only the eldest son, the later Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao, survived.
Empress Zhang honestly cannot be regarded as a good empress, and does not restrain foreign relatives externally, resulting in relatives in the family chaos and killing, and the husband is favored and proud of the internal affairs, and the son is not well educated.
After his son Zhu Houzhao took the throne, he knew to have fun all day, and she did not advise, and he even built a "leopard room" for himself in the palace, which contained many happy households and beautiful women for his own day and night entertainment, and did not do the right thing.
In the fourteenth year of Zhengde, that is, in 1519, the Zhengde Emperor traveled to Jiangnan under the pretext of the imperial conquest of the King of Ning, and played for two years.
When passing through Qingjiangpu, the playful emperor saw that there were many fish in the water, and his heart suddenly arose, so he learned to fish with the fisherman. There were too many fish in a net, he was particularly happy, desperately dragging, the result was dragged into the water by the fish, frightened too high fever does not retreat, too many fish caused the boat to lose its balance, Wuzong fell into the water. Frightened by excessive high fever, he soon contracted pneumonia and died not long after returning to the capital. This year is, Zhengde sixteen years.
Emperor Wuzong had no heirs and no brothers, and after his sudden death, the throne was suspended, causing a crisis in the government, and finally Empress Zhang could only welcome Zhu Houxi, the son of Emperor Xiaozong's younger brother Zhu Youxi, as emperor, for Emperor Ming.
After Emperor Mingshizong succeeded to the throne, it also triggered the "Great Ceremony Discussion" incident that shocked the government and the opposition, which was also known as the Emperor Bokao and The Imperial Aunt Incident in later generations.
Originally, Emperor Ming shizong entered the throne as the heir of Emperor Xiaozong, and should have honored Emperor Xiaozong as the emperor, and his father Xingxian Wang as the emperor's uncle Kao Xingguo, but Sejong insisted on seeing it, and despite the opposition of his subjects, forcibly honored his biological father Xingxian as "Emperor Gongmuxian Emperor", his birth mother Jiang Shi as "Empress Dowager Zhangsheng", posthumously honored Emperor Xiaozong as "Emperor Bokao", and Empress Zhang was honored as "Emperor Zhaosheng Cishou Emperor Empress".
The "Great Ceremony" incident that caused the government and the opposition to shake lasted for three years, but finally ended with the victory of Emperor Ming.
Later, Ming Shizong also welcomed his mother Jiang Shi into the palace with the courtesy of the empress dowager, and the two empresses of the harem stood side by side, and the sword was fierce, and Empress Zhang, the imperial aunt, could imagine the situation in the palace, and it was difficult to move.
The two empresses were not compatible, and slowly Emperor Mingshizong no longer treated this imperial aunt with courtesy.
Isolated and helpless, Empress Zhang pinned all her hopes on the matriarch, but unfortunately, her relatives in the family did not argue, and the two younger brothers Zhang Yanling and Zhang Heling were overbearing and notorious, and soon they were impeached by courtiers, and Sejong dismissed them from their posts and arrested and imprisoned.
Empress Zhang was eager to save her brother and begged Sejong bitterly, but Ming Shizong was not moved. Empress Zhang was sad all day, secretly weeping, and eventually depressed and lonely.
Empress Zhang, whom Zhu Youfan loved all her life, went through her life lonely, without a husband and no children, which can be described as lonely and bitter, this is her life, mourning and mourning!
I'm A-Qing, see you tomorrow!
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