In 1449, in a major battle on the North China Plain, the main force of the Ming Dynasty army was destroyed by 200,000 troops, and the emperor was also captured.
The victorious Mongol army quickly marched south to surround the Beijing Division, and the Ming Dynasty, which had just been established for more than eighty years, was about to collapse.
In the moment of crisis, the soldier waiter stepped forward and tried to turn the tide. The name of this waiter is Yu Qian.
Yu Qian
01 Typical Confucianism
Yu Qian was brilliant from an early age, especially reading the works of Su Wu, Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang and others, and Yu Qian, who had been immersed in the books of the sages for many years, grew into a typical Confucian.
Yu Qian's academic performance was remarkable, not only achieving good results in various examinations, but also writing a famous passage "Lime Yin" that has been sung through the ages.
Yu Qian is not a small town writer, on the contrary, he comes from a family of officials and eunuchs, tall and white-skinned, white-eyed, typical of high wealth and handsomeness.
But it is such a "high-quality man" that the process of examination and becoming an official is not smooth, because he is too "typical" as a Confucian.
Yu Qian stills
Yu Qian was a clean official, very idealistic, and he did what he taught in poetry. When he embarked on the career path, Yu Qian suffered a lot of losses for the sake of the word incorruptibility.
At the age of 23, Yu Qian was ranked first in the examination for entering Beijing, but in the subsequent temple examination, the ranking fell to 92.
This is not because Yu Qian's examination room is abnormal, nor is it because the examiners are blind to pearls. On the contrary, it is because Yu Qian has played a normal level, and the examiners cannot rub "sand" in their eyes.
The role of the temple examination is to select officials among those who pass the examination, and generally speaking, as long as it is played normally, the temple examination is just a formality.
Yu Qian, who is good at exams and has real talent and practical learning, can get a good rank as long as he writes articles in a decent manner.
But Yu Qian was not so conservative, and he firmly believed in the teachings of the sages, both had his own views on real problems and dared to write out the dissatisfaction in his heart.
The main examination of the temple examination was Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, who was full of self-confidence and arrogance, and when he saw Yu Qian criticize the shortcomings of his court in the examination paper, he felt very unhappy, so he gave Yu Qian a low score.
According to the Chronicle of the First Zhongsu Gong, Yu Qian "was wounded with a strategy, and when the axis was placed in the ninety-second place of the third rank".
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di
Yu Qian, who had suffered a loss once, should also understand that the emperor was not as wise and divine as described in propaganda, and being an official in the imperial court could never be as clear as described in the book of sages.
However, in the face of the blow of reality, Yu Qian chose to stick to his original intention. Right or wrong aside, when a person is at odds with the group, it is easy to be pressured by the group.
When Yu Qian was patrolling Henan and Shanxi, someone reminded him to pay attention to the unspoken rules of the official field, spend money to dot dots, and even if he did not send money, he could send some local specialties, especially when he went to Beijing for official business.
Yu Qian was not moved, but wrote a poem: silk mushrooms and incense, the capital and civilian revolt. Qingfeng twice sleeved up to the sky, so as not to make Lu Yan's speech short and long.
Yu Qian, who wrote this poem, is famous again, and like his "Lime Yin", the "two sleeves of clean wind" he created this time has also become a good story that has been passed down through the ages. Hearing this poem, a eunuch named Wang Zhen was not pleased.
Wang Zhen was known as the first generation of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, and during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, the power fell to the opposition. In Wang Zhen's view, the amount of money paid by the minister is a matter of "ability", and the amount of money given or not is a matter of "attitude".
Maybe Wang Zhen has this line in his heart: "Do I want money?" What I want is attitude! If you don't bribe, it means that you are not my person. ”
It is also strange to say that Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hated corrupt officials the most and was not soft on punishment, but the corrupt officials of the Ming Dynasty were still like carp across the river, and by the time of Emperor Yingzong, the official field was already a miasma.
Eunuch Wang Zhen
Corrupt officials are very unhappy with humility: "You are so incorruptible, you do not take bribes from the lower and do not bribe the superior, you are loved by the people, and how can we be greedy in the future?" ”
Not long after, Yu Qian was charged with a crime and put in prison, allowing Yu Qian, who has "two sleeves of fresh wind", to taste a prison flavor.
Wang Zhen did not like Yu Qian, but the officials and people of Henan and Shanxi loved him and asked for forgiveness for Yu Qian. Coupled with the intercession of the king of Henan and Shanxi, Yu Qian was imprisoned for three months and released.
After Yu Qian was released from prison, he was demoted to the post of Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and this treatment still caused great indignation among the people, and the officials and people of Henan and Shanxi continued to intercede for Yu Qian.
In the face of the surging public opinion, Wang Zhen could not sit still, so he reinstated Yu Qianguan and continued to patrol Henan, Shanxi, and the following year (1447), Yu Qian served as a soldier's attendant.
02 The Noble Ones of the Ages
The reason why Yu Qian is so deeply loved is not only because he is honest, but also because Yu Qian is a capable minister who has done a lot of practical things during his tenure.
In the early years, Yu Qian served as an imperial historian, mainly responsible for supervision. It should be noted that due to historical reasons, the imperial history of ancient China had greater supervision power in their hands, which allowed them to interfere in local affairs.
After Yu Qian served as imperial historian, he was ordered to inspect Huguang and Chuangui, and found that the troops had killed Liang and made meritorious deeds, pacified the border ethnic areas, and made important contributions to consolidating the border.
In Jiangxi, Yu Qianwei made private visits, went deep into the fields to visit the sufferings of the people, rehabilitated and rescued hundreds of people from unjust prisons, and sent fifteen law-breaking officials and sons of the clan to prison.
During Yu Qian's tour of Shanxi and Henan, he organized officials and people to control the flooding of the Yellow River, fight drought and locust plagues, and also withstood great pressure to reduce taxes and servitude for the local people.
History books generally praise the behavior of lightly dispensing with thin endowments, but it is not so easy to do so.
Due to the rules laid down by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue mainly came from agricultural taxes – although Zhu Yuanzhang's intention was to avoid arbitrary government taxes – but the result was a lot of pressure on farmers.
Zhu Yuanzhang
To make matters worse, most of the farmland of the Ming Dynasty was occupied by the clan and the army, and the clan and the army were not taxed, which led to the peasants who only owned a small amount of land having to bear the national tax.
Who does not want to make a good reputation by taking advantage of the thin endowment, but if it is really light and thin and the government finances will fall into difficulties. In this context, Yu Qian successfully helped the people of Henan and Shanxi provinces to avoid taxes.
In addition to tax cuts, in order to resist the disaster, Yu Qian also implemented a grain leveling system, and set up a righteous warehouse and a peace warehouse to provide relief to the victims. The flat grain system means that the government usually buys a large amount of grain from the rich households, and then sells the grain at an equal price in the event of a disaster.
Yu Qian's practices, which can still be seen even in modern China, have played a major role in disaster relief and peace and price suppression.
While actively coordinating money and grain to help the victims, Yu Qian also paid attention to maintaining social order, and he ordered all localities to resettle displaced people and prohibit expulsion.
During the Ming Dynasty, household registration management was strict, and peasants were prohibited from moving freely. The Ming Dynasty law stipulates that "farmers do not go out of a mile, go in and out, and know each other's ways of work and rest."
Anyone who leaves his hometown must hold a "road guide", and the government will set up checkpoints on the traffic arteries to check pedestrians, and those who do not have a road guide or have problems with the road will be punished.
The peasants of the Ming Dynasty were always tied to the land near their hometown, and they could not leave at will even if they encountered disasters, which was also one of the important reasons for the civil uprising of the Ming Dynasty.
Yu Qian's approach seems to be resisting the pressure of national law to relieve the victims, but also to alleviate social contradictions and maintain the stability of Daming.
During the disaster relief, Yu Qian also reflected a high level of scientific literacy. He knew that there would be a great epidemic after the catastrophe, and during the flood and drought, he set up a pharmacy to stop the epidemic.
After the catastrophe, Yu Qian did not embark on the path of inaction. In fact, the most important work of the ancient government was to recruit soldiers and collect taxes, and the fewer the officials, the more popular the government became.
Ancient Pharmacy
Yu Qian prefers to "toss", but his "toss" makes the people like.
Yu Qian planted trees on both sides of the main roads in Henan and Shanxi, drilled a well every three or five miles, and built a pavilion next to the well. It is convenient for nearby villagers to use water for domestic use and for pedestrians to rest.
In order to resist disasters and increase grain production, Yu Qian organized the construction of water conservancy facilities. In addition, Yu Qian also guides farmers to run side businesses, which can both generate income and improve the resilience of individual families to risks.
According to Li Lian's "Chronicle of the Ruins of Fenjing", "the teaching of the people's tree art, the mulberry jujube of the field house, and the elm of the road have all achieved great results", "Those who can canal and weir in the territory, the people are chiseled and built, with irrigation, and the people are profitable." ”
Yu Qian is capable and loves the people, and he is deeply loved by the people of Shanxi and Henan while exercising his supervisory duties to crack down on adulterers and punish those who commit adultery.
03 The Prime Minister of Salvation
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di did not like Yu Qian and only arranged a Seven Pin Imperial History for Yu Qian, but his grandson Xuanzong liked Yu Qian.
In 1426, Emperor Xuanzong's uncle Zhu Gaoxu, the King of Han, referred to Zhu Di's approach and also had to take part in the "Battle of Jingnan", and after failure, he was arrested and imprisoned.
Zhu Gaoxu was a man of high temper and was afraid. Yu Qian took over the trial of Zhu Gaoxu, and under the verbal reprimand, Zhu Gaoxu's momentum was completely overwhelmed, and he fell to his knees and trembled and replied to his death penalty.
Zhu Gaoxu
Emperor Xuanzong felt that Yu Qian was a talent that could be created, and within five years, he promoted Yu Qian to the position of Sanpin Commandery and served as the Right Attendant of the Army and Inspector of Henan, Shanxi.
Under a relatively wise monarch like Xuanzong, Yu Qian could have made a big show, but unfortunately, Xuanzong died after ten years of reign. The reigning Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen was young, and the state government was controlled by the eunuch Wang Zhen.
Wang Zhen was tyrannical and arrogant, and regarded major state affairs as a child's play. Not only did it cause a miasma of smoke above the court, but it also plunged the Ming Dynasty into the disaster of annihilation.
In 1449, the Mongols continued to harass the Daming border. The young Yingzong did not understand border defense military affairs, and at the instigation of Wang Zhen, he sent an army of 200,000 to march in person.
Yingzong Zhuqi Town
Although these 200,000 troops were all elite of the Ming Army, the large army was in a hurry, the preparation for war was seriously insufficient, and the intelligence, battle plan, logistics, and organization were all in a mess.
Yu Qian's immediate superior, Bingbu Shangshu Kuang ,兵部尚書埜埜, tried his best to advise him not to go to war, but Emperor Yingzong only trusted Wang Zhen and did not take the objection.
Not only Kuang Wei, but most of the six Shangshu and the Hundred Officials of Literature and Military Affairs were opposed, but the opposition of so many people was not as good as Wang Zhen's words alone.
Wang Zhen not only insisted on sending troops, but also took Kuang Wei and nearly a hundred other high-ranking officials with him on the expedition, but Kwong, like other officials, had no right to interfere in military operations, and all actions were decided by Wang Zhen alone.
Wang Zhen brought the main officials of the Central Committee of the Ming Dynasty to the battlefield together, in order to talk about the noodles? Is it to gamble with the opponents? I don't know, the only thing that can be determined is that Wang Zhen does not understand military affairs.
The outcome of the war was tragic, and the Mongol army, under the command of the leader Ye Xian, defeated the strong with weakness and eliminated the 200,000 most elite army of Daming.
Emperor Yingzong was captured, more than fifty high-ranking officials such as Kuang Dai died in the rebellion, and the power center of the Ming Dynasty also suffered a fatal blow.
The victorious Mongol army surrounded the Jing Division with Yingzong, and for a time the Ming Dynasty was panicked, and Xu Heng and others even suggested moving the capital to Nanjing.
The history of the Jin and Song dynasties moving their capitals to Nandu was extremely tragic and humiliating, so did the Ming Dynasty repeat the tragedy of history?
Yu Qian, who remained in the Beijing Division, became the supreme commander of the Ming Army due to the death of his superior, and had to take on the heavy responsibility of cleaning up the mess.
Yu Qian's means were as fast as thunder, and he quickly installed Emperor Yingzong's younger brother Zhu Qiyu the Prince of Qi as the new emperor (i.e., Emperor Jing), invalidating his attempt to threaten Daming with Emperor Yingzong's surrender.
Yu Qian quickly cut through the chaos, cleaned up all of Wang Zhen's henchmen, and drove away Xu Heng and other cowardly officials who suggested moving the capital, thus unifying the thinking of the court and stabilizing the morale of the army.
As the head of the military, Yu Qian severely rectified military affairs and boldly used young and guilty officers such as Shi Heng. At the same time, Yu Qian ordered reinforcements from all over the country to quickly enter the king of Jingqin.
The Mongol army that attacked the Kyoshi found itself kicked at the iron plate. Yu Qian did not adopt the common infant city holding tactic (that is, holding the city and waiting for reinforcements), but actively defended and attacked.
During the day, the defenders of the Beijing Division lined up outside the city to fight the Mongol army; at night, Yu Qian sent an army to sneak into the Mongol garrison.
In the course of the battle, Yu Humble took the lead in the battle, personally put on armor and stood at the head of the queue to inspire the soldiers, and ordered: Those who retreat first will be beheaded, and those who retreat first will behead their generals; the army will ignore those who will retreat first, and the rear team will behead the front team.
After five days of fierce fighting, the Mongol army was killed and wounded, unable to fight again. Coupled with the arrival of Ming reinforcements, the Mongol army was forced to withdraw.
Before the Mongols withdrew, they tried to extort a sum of money from the Ming Dynasty with the captured Yingzong, but Yu Qian refused. The Mongol army was helpless and soon released Yingzong unconditionally.
The heavily battered Mongol army no longer had the strength to organize large-scale incursions. Since then, the Ming Dynasty has survived the biggest crisis since the founding of the country, and Yu Qian has successfully extended the life of Daming for nearly two hundred years.
04 Heroes of tragedy
The crisis of the dynasty was lifted, but Yu Qian's crisis arrived. As a typical Confucian student, Yu Qian's heart only had the state society, he worked for the country, he was clumsy in seeking himself, and he never prepared any back road for himself.
During the battle against the Mongol army, Yu Qian supported the establishment of King Wu as the new emperor and refused the extortion of the Mongols, making it impossible for Yingzong to return early, offending Yingzong.
After the situation stabilized, emperor Zhu Qiyu of Jing did not fulfill his promise when he ascended the throne and made his son the crown prince instead of Yingzong's son, which made Yingzong hate Yu Qian even more.
Unfortunately, Emperor Jing's efforts to depose the crown prince did not gain widespread support. Only one year after the establishment of the new crown prince, the new crown prince Zhu Jianji fell ill and died, and Emperor Jing could not afford to fall ill.
Seizing the opportunity, Emperor Yingzong, with the help of Xu Heng, Shi Heng, Cao Jixiang and others, launched a palace coup to regain the throne, imprisoned Emperor Jing, and arrested Yu Qian.
As the commander of the Ming army and the first hero to save the Ming Dynasty, did no one help him in the coup? There really isn't, Yu Qian is a Qing official, a loyal minister, and even more a lone minister.
Emperor Jing ascended the throne with the help of Yu Qian, but he was suspicious of Yu Qian, who held great power. He knew that Luo Tong and the others were at odds with Yu Qian, but he arranged for Luo Tong and the others to divide Yu Qian's military power.
Shi Heng was a general promoted by Yu Qian during his resistance to the Mongol army, and became one of the main generals of the Ming army because of his outstanding military achievements.
Perhaps gratefully, in 1451, Shi Heng recommended Yu Qian's son to the imperial court as an official, and Yu Qian, who was just not righteous, did not agree, and even impeached Shi Heng for this matter.
Shi Heng
In this way, Shi Heng and Yu Qian formed a vendetta and became the main participants in this palace coup.
Yu Qian also vigorously fought corruption in the Ming army, cracked down on lawbreaking officers, and did not shy away from relatives, even the officials he personally promoted were also dealt with, and some were killed.
Anti-corruption and army consolidation are good things, but the general environment is not good, and Yu Qian's actions have not received widespread support, but have offended the officer corps of the Ming Army.
As the top military commander of the Ming Army, Yu Qian did not even have a warm relationship with the senior generals and low-level officers of the Ming Army, which doomed him to not get the support of the army in the coup.
Yu Qian did not form a party for personal gain, did not participate in any faction, and he did not have any allies above the court, and he could not prevent the restoration of Emperor Yingzong.
At that time, Wang Zhen thought that Yu Qian was not his own person to fight, in fact, Yu Qian was not a person, he only regarded himself as a person of Daming, and was the first loyal servant of Daming.
Emperor Yingzong also wanted to kill Yu Qian, but considering Yu Qian's exploits to Daming, yu could not bear it and wanted to spare Yu Qian from dying.
Xu Heng remembered the shame that Yu Qian had brought to himself and was unwilling to let Yu Qian go. When Xu Heng first suggested moving the capital, Yu Qian said that he should be killed, and in the anger of the courtiers, Xu Heng lost his face and ruined his future.
Xu Heng
Xu Heng hoped to be forgiven by Yu Qian, but his impression of the officials was too bad, and even with Yu Qian's recommendation, he could not be reused. Xu Heng did not reflect on himself, and felt that yu Qian was still a troublemaker.
Xu Heng wanted to kill Yu Qian, and said to the hesitant Yingzong, "Don't kill Yu Qian, this move is nameless." ”
Xu Heng's meaning is very clear: We launched the coup d'état because Yu Qian's act of supporting the establishment of the king as emperor was illegal, and if we did not commit this crime and did not kill, our coup would be unjustified.
Emperor Yingzong made up his mind, and in 1457 Yu Qian was executed.
At the same time as Yu Qian's death, a team of Jinyi guards went to Yu Qian's house to raid his home, but found nothing but boxes of books. Seeing this scene, the well-known Officer of the Jinyi Guard burst into tears.
When the empress dowager learned of Yu Qian's murder, as a witness to the defense of jingshi, she knew very well what Yu Qian had done for Daming. The empress dowager was angry in her heart, lamented for several days, and expressed her dissatisfaction by not eating or drinking.
Cao Jixiang's subordinate commander Duo Erdu wept and sacrificed Yu Qian, and was flogged by Cao Jixiang, but the next day he still went to mourn Yu Qian.
The fate of the main participants in the Yingzong coup was also not good. Xu Heng and Shi Heng failed infighting and were sent to the army; Shi Heng was imprisoned for his crimes and later died in prison; Cao Jixiang was the most miserable and was exterminated for rebellion.
Cao Jixiang
05 Historical retribution
April 25, 1644, Beijing. The Chongzhen Emperor was in a depressed mood, recalling that over the years, the Ming Dynasty had lost soldiers and soldiers in successive conquests, and not only was there no merit in Ann Nei and no ability outside, but internal and external troubles had become more and more intense.
Li Zicheng's army has been killed outside the city, the situation is dangerous; the roof leaks in the overnight rain, and the epidemic has broken out in the Ming army guarding the city, and the Ming Dynasty may no longer see the sun of tomorrow.
Chongzhen wanted to recruit more troops to confront Li Zicheng, but the treasury was running out of money, and the internal funds were also spent. Chongzhen asked the ministers to donate money, but the ministers with hundreds of millions of dollars were stingy like iron roosters.
The Chongzhen Emperor walked lonely toward coal mountain and stopped under a crooked neck tree, which was the burial place he had chosen for himself.
Chongzhen Emperor
Chongzhen couldn't understand why the great imperial court was full of people who were greedy for money, and none of them were willing to stand up and share their worries.
The Ming Dynasty was neither loyal nor talentless, but a coup d'état before 187 made people realize that loyalty to the Ming Dynasty came at a price.
Ming Yingzong did not expect that he killed not only Yu Qian, but also the confidence of the people of the world in the entire dynasty, so that his descendants hanged themselves in danger.
bibliography:
1. "From Yu Qian's Interpersonal Relationship to the Cause of His Life Tragedy"; Qian Guolian Ye Renmei; Journal of Zhejiang University of Technology (Social Science Edition), No. 03, 2009
2. "Henan Local Society between Yu Qian, Ming Xuande and Orthodoxy"; Niu Jianqiang; "Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development", No. 01, 2008
3. "Lai Youyue Yu Shuang Shaobao, the World First Felt Heavy West Lake - Famous Ministers Yu Qian Xiao Biography"; Fei Fei; News World, No. 06, 2011
4. "Yu Qian: The Kai Rules of Qing Officials"; Yan Chongnian; Beijing Observation, No. 11, 1998
Yu Qian's biography" (Fei Fei; NewsWorld, No. 06, 2011).