From July to September 1 of the 48th year of the Ming Dynasty (1620), the Wanli and Taichang emperors died one after another. Zhu Youxiao, who was only 16 years old, was caught up in a struggle in the former harem before he succeeded to the throne, which is known as the "Palace Transfer Case", which included two palace moves: one was the "Crown Prince's Palace" and the other was the "Western Li Palace".
The matter of the new emperor's ascension to the throne is related to the fate of the country and has become the focus of attention of the government and the public. Emperor Zhu Youxiao of the Apocalypse was not favored by Emperor Wanli because his father Emperor Taichang Zhu Changluo was not favored by Emperor Wanli, and he was also snubbed from an early age, and it was not until before Emperor Wanli's death that he left a will and made him the emperor's grandson. Although Zhu Youxiao's biological mother Wang Cairen was above Li Xuanshi, because Li Xuanshi was favored, she was humiliated by Li Xuanshi and died tragically, and before she died, she said: "I have a vendetta against Xi Li (that is, Li Xuanshi), and it is difficult to extend the hatred", but the Taichang Emperor Zhu Changluo, instead of deeply investigating the cause of her death, actually handed Zhu Youshi over to Li Xuanshi to take care of. Like his mother, Zhu Youxiao suffered from Li Xuanshi's "insults and abuses" from an early age, and thus formed a weak personality.
After Emperor Taichang ascended the throne, Zhu Youxiao moved to the Qianqing Palace with Li Xuanshi. A month later, Emperor Taichang died, and Li Xuanshi realized that his plan to be made empress had failed, and he wanted to control Zhu Youxiao to consolidate his position. As a result, Li Xuanshi joined forces with the eunuch Li Jinzhong (later renamed "Wei Zhongxian") to plot to hold Zhu Youxiao hostage at the Qianqing Palace, hoping to become empress dowager in order to control the imperial government. During the period of control, Zhu Youxiao was unable to freely enter and exit the Qianqing Palace, and could not even guard the spirit of the Taichang Emperor, who had just died. Subsequently, Li Xuanshi took control of the Qianqing Palace, and with the support of the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and others, Zheng Guifei and Li Xuanshi formed an alliance in an attempt to force the crown empress dowager. This provoked the courtiers to be suspicious, believing that he was going to bow the curtain and listen to the government.
On the day of Emperor Taichang's death, Yang Lian, Liu Yiyi, and other courtiers went straight to the Qianqing Palace and demanded that Emperor Taichang cry and ask him to see the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Youxiao, to discuss the matter of taking the throne, but was blocked by Li Xuanshi. Under the efforts of the ministers, Li Xuan's attendant Zhu Yu met with the ministers. When Yang Lian and Liu Yiyi saw Zhu Youxiao, they prostrated their heads and shouted long live, and protected Zhu Youxiao from leaving the Qianqing Palace and going to the Wenhua Hall to accept the worship of the courtiers, and decided to hold an enthronement ceremony on the sixth day of this month. For the safety of Zhu Youxiao, the ministers temporarily arranged for him to live in the Imperial Palace, Ciqing Palace, and the eunuch Wang An was responsible for protection. This is the "Crown Prince's Palace".
The ministers protected Zhu Youxue at ciqing palace
Li Xuanshi's purpose of holding Zhu Youxiao hostage was frustrated, and he also proposed that all the ministers Zhang Song be handed over to her first, and then handed over to Zhu Youxiao, and also to make himself the empress dowager, which was strongly opposed by the courtiers. The courtiers demanded that Li Xuanshi move out of the Qianqing Palace and move to the Luan Palace, but Li Xuanshi refused. Li Xuanshi also demanded that he be made empress dowager first, and then zhu Youxiao should be put on the throne, but he was also rejected by the ministers, and the contradictions intensified.
The courtiers demanded that Li Xuanshi be removed from the Qianqing Palace
The date of zhu you's enthronement ceremony at the Imperial Qianqing Palace is approaching. By the fifth day of the first month, Li Xuanshi had not yet had the intention of moving the palace, and if Xi Li did not move the palace, he would not be able to hold the enthronement ceremony as scheduled. It is also rumored that the removal from the Qianqing Palace will continue to be postponed. The cabinet ministers stood outside the gate of the Qianqing Palace and forced Li Xuan to move out. In the end, Yang Lian and other ministers, on the grounds of interfering in the affairs of the court, desperately forced Li Xuanshi to do everything, and Zhu You's eastern palace attendant Wang An drove the eunuch Wang An in the Qianqing Palace, and Li Xuanshu was helpless and hastily left the Qianqing Palace and moved to the Luan Palace in the Renshou Palace.
Li Xuanshi was forced to leave the Qianqing Palace
On September 6, Zhu Youxue took the throne of Tianmen, the emperor's throne, and changed the next year to the first year of the Apocalypse. At this point, Li Xuan's attempt to become the empress dowager and control the government of the dynasty finally became a shadow. Soon, in the name of Emperor Xizong, the Qunchen announced that Li Xuan's title of attendant had been stripped away, and he also ignored Zheng Guifei. This is the so-called "palace removal" case.
Although Li Xuanshi had "moved to the palace," the struggle was not over. After several days of "moving the palace", there was a fire in the Luan Palace, and after struggling to rescue it, Li Xuan's mother and daughter were rescued. Immediately afterward, many officials who opposed the relocation of the palace began to spread rumors, accusing Zhu Youxiao of violating the way of filial piety, and Zhu Youxiao, with the support of Yang Lian and others, refuted the rumors. Later, Zhu Youxiao promoted Li Xuanshi to concubine Kang and placed him. At this point, the "moving palace" storm is over. Its confrontation with the Wanli Dynasty and the Red Pill Case of the Taichang Dynasty have always been the subject of the Party dispute of the Apocalypse Dynasty, and history has called the "three major doubtful cases" of the late Ming Dynasty.
Diagram of royal relations at the end of the Ming Dynasty
The Wanli Emperor's favored Concubine Zheng lived 10 years longer than him, and she was considered a demon who had brought calamity to the country and the people, and could not get the sympathy of the courtiers. In the past 10 years, she has lived in a lonely palace in the Forbidden City, and she and her beloved son Fu Wangtian are on the other side, experiencing the pain of mother-child separation and the cold of the world. In 1630, Zheng Guifei died and was buried in a lonely tomb under the Silver Spring Mountain.
The emperors of the late Ming Dynasty, neglecting political affairs, being absurd, and without real talent and practical learning in their stomachs, had completely lost the great talents and grandeur of several emperors in the early Ming Dynasty. The harem was also plagued by cholera, so that the entire government could not be presided over by the main backbone. Such an ending is inevitably a bit regrettable. Thinking back to the time when Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, laid the foundation of the Jiangshan, the Yongle Emperor not only expanded the territory, but also left a huge cultural wealth to posterity, and it is inevitable that there are still some regrets. A generation of dynasties thus withdrew from the stage of history.