When it comes to the history of the late Ming Dynasty, most of the people who think about it is that the Ming Emperor has a lot of pockets, from top to bottom there are few characters who can get their hands on it, and there are a lot of fish in muddy waters. However, the one I want to talk about today is an exception, he is the Longwu Emperor Zhu Yujian.
Zhu Yujian was a relative of the emperor and a local king, but his life was not smooth. Because his grandfather did not like his father, he had to follow his father and was imprisoned by his grandfather for sixteen years; during the days of captivity, Zhu Yujian was treated very poorly, lacked food and clothing, and almost starved to death in the cell. Later, when he came out, Zhu Yujian thought that he could be relieved, but he met the unfriendly Chongzhen Emperor and was imprisoned for twelve years, until the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide and the regime moved south, and he was released.
A king of the clan, who had spent twenty-eight years in his cell, came out forty-four years old. The royal family, which everyone envied, had such a miserable situation. Not long after Zhu Yujian was released from prison, the short-lived Southern Ming regime collapsed; Zhu Yujian was supported by Zheng Chenggong's father Zheng Zhilong as the new emperor, continuing to fight against the Qing and restore the Ming. Zhu Yujian had no real power when he was emperor, and could only act as a puppet, so Zhu Yujian's life was to jump from one prison to another.
Zhu Yujian, who had a lot of fate, was one of the few people in the Ming Dynasty who had a lot of achievements, and when he was emperor, some of the policies formulated were often more effective than the previous orthodox emperors. In the twenty-eight years of captivity, Zhu Yujian did not complain about the injustice of fate, but lived a down-to-earth life, reading, exercising, and cultivating his personality as usual. Such a situation is rare, but Zhu Yujian still strictly demands himself, perhaps it is his identity that affects him and makes him cultivate a good cultivation.
After being released, Zhu Yujian became emperor, and his actions during his term of office were not inferior to those of other emperors. In terms of life style, Zhu Yujian strictly demanded himself, retaining only one empress and no concubines; in the selection of talents, he was eclectic, abandoning the preconceptions of the portal and reusing some soldiers from poor backgrounds, who later became famous generals who resisted the Qing army. In the late Ming Dynasty, the imperial court abandoned many talented generals because of party strife, resulting in the imperial court having no talents that could be reused in resisting invasion. Zhu Yujian has indeed made great progress in this regard.
Zhu Yujian's most important proposition was to unite with anti-Qing forces in various places to resist the invasion of the Qing army, which had a great impact on the Southern Ming regime. His political career was not long, but during his reign, he was more accomplished and had the style of a British lord. If he could sit on the throne earlier, perhaps the Qing army would not have entered the Central Plains so easily. Zheng Chenggong was a courtier of Zhu Yujian, who had studied Confucian culture since childhood and knew the way of the king and the importance of loyalty. Emperor Longwu was very fond of Zheng Chenggong, and Zheng Chenggong naturally wanted to repay the favor and always remember the emperor's kindness.
Zhu Yujian gave Zheng Chenggong the official position of commanding the Yulin Army, indicating that he had great trust in him. When Zheng Chenggong's career reached its peak, there were many happy events behind it, his father Zheng Zhilong became the eunuch of the imperial court, and the princes of Hirado in Japan recognized Zheng Chenggong's mother as a righteous daughter in order to seduce Zheng Zhilong, and also sent relatives to send her back to Fujian so that their family of three could get together. Zheng Chenggong has been separated from his mother for twenty-two years, and now that he can be together, his happiness must have increased greatly. This period of time is definitely the happiest moment for Zheng Chenggong, the emperor's appreciation, the reunion of his family, what a happy moment.
Zheng Chenggong has been immersed in Confucian culture since he was a child, and he is very much in recognition of the filial piety emphasized by Confucian culture. Now, with my mother, whom I had not seen for many years, it was time to do my filial piety. When his mother's boat had not yet docked, Zheng Chenggong was already waiting on the shore early. At that time, it was heavy rain, and he did not hold an umbrella, and waited for several hours in the rain without leaving. In order to take care of his mother who has just returned to China, he always takes time to chat with his mother and care about her life, and once he has time, he will definitely accompany his mother to play everywhere, so that her mother can relive the scene of her hometown.
As Zheng Chenggong's official positions became higher and higher, and more and more official duties, when there was really no way to get out, he would ask the emperor for leave. Once, his mother was ill, and Zheng Chenggong was unable to come out, and this time the recital he presented to the emperor was written very touchingly, comparable to the "Expression of Feelings" that has been circulated through the ages: It is not that I am willing to leave Your Majesty, but my mother is seriously ill and there is no way. I was separated from my mother when I was seven years old, and now that I am together, I really can't bear to be unable to go when she needs to be taken care of, so I will not be at ease with my son. In the end, Zheng Chenggong's performance touched the emperor.
According to records, when the Zheng family held a family banquet, Zheng Chenggong and his wife always accompanied their mother to attend, and the respect shown to their parents at the banquet made the guests very appreciative. History needs to go on, or rather, happy times are short-lived. If history stops like this, then the story of Zheng Chenggong must end with a reunion of their family and a happy life from then on. However, don't forget, there are still Qing troops in the north; if you really live a happy life, Zheng Chenggong will not go to Taiwan.
In fact, during this period, Zheng Zhilong had already secretly surrendered with the Qing soldiers, and all the passes in Fujian were unguarded. Soon, Zheng Zhilong surrendered, and Zheng Chenggong broke with his father and led his troops south. Li Chengdong's Qing army won a great victory in Zhejiang and other places, successively capturing Shaoxing, Dongyang, Jinhua, and Pingzhou, and soon capturing Xianxia Pass, which Zheng Hongkui was defending, straight into Fujian, capturing Jianning, and directly attacking Yanping. On August 21, 1646, Zhu Yujian escaped from Yanping and wanted to take Daoting Prefecture to Jiangxi. Yang Fengbao said that "the death of Fu Jing, died in the general payment of Zheng Zhilong".
In the end, Zhu Yujian was shot to death by the Qing army in the lobby of Tingzhou City, and at the same time, empresses Zeng, Shen Concubine, Chen Concubine, and his dissatisfied prince were killed.
Resources:
【History of the Southern Ming Dynasty, The Second History of the Honki Period" and "History of the Southern Ming Dynasty"]