When Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen, Cao Jixiang, and others supported Zhu Qizhen and launched the "Change of Seizing the Gate", Yu Qian not only held the administrative power in the imperial court, but he was also the Shangshu of the Military Department, holding heavy troops and controlling military power. But why, in the end, he lost to Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen, Cao Jixiang and others who had no power and no soldiers? What was the reason why Yu Qian failed?
(The Change of The Door)
First, Yu Qian does not seize power.
How can a courtier seize power in the courtroom?
Two of the most important points are: First, we must recruit a large group of henchmen and install our own people in various departments. In those important and critical departments, it is even more important to install their own people. The second is to crack down on the hostile factions, so that those hostile factions cannot make a difference in the imperial court, and even make it impossible for the imperial court to have hostile forces. The third is to control the emperor, and the imperial court listens to him, not to the emperor.
At that time, Yu Qian was in the imperial court, and he also reached the point where one person had the final say. However, although he had the final say in the imperial court, in fact, he did not seize power. He did not have any henchmen, not only did he have no henchmen, but Yu Qian's personality was still relatively upright, and he did not look up to others. The "History of Ming" records: Humble and rigid, when things are not satisfactory, they sigh and sigh: "This kind of blood, where is the intention to spill!" "All of this is a performance that he doesn't look up to others.
Since Yu Qian looked down on others, he certainly had no henchmen. He had no henchmen, so it was unlikely that he would have greater support in the imperial court. More importantly, there was no one to help him supervise the opponents, such as Shi Heng, who could not figure out what was going on with them. If Yu Qian sent someone to supervise Shi Heng and these people, how could Shi Heng and these people still come out to do things? Things cannot be done, and things like the "change of the door" naturally cannot happen.
In addition, Yu Qian did not exclude dissidents in the imperial court. He did not reject dissidents, which is why there are so many people who oppose it. In the end, it was Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen, Cao Jixiang and others who must kill Yu Qian before they would fall into Yu Qian in front of Zhu Qizhen and let Zhu Qizhen kill Yu Qian fiercely.
Some people will say that Yu Qian does not seize power, so why can he decide for himself in the imperial court? This is actually because he turned the tide in the "Beijing Defense War", so he won zhu Qiyu's trust. In the imperial court, Zhu Qiyu would consult with him on everything and obey his words. That's why it has that effect. If one day, Zhu Qiyu was jealous of him and stopped listening to him, he would certainly not be able to gain a foothold in the imperial court.
(Yu Qian stills)
Second, Yu Qian is not tough.
Admittedly, Yu Qian does not seize power. But if he had been tougher, things might have ended differently.
When Yu Qian and the others went to the court and saw Zhu Qizhen sitting in the court, where Cao Jixiang shouted" that "the Emperor Taishang has been restored", Yu Qian could not admit it at all. After all, Zhu Qiyu was not dead, the emperor himself existed. If he didn't admit it, Shi Heng and others might not be able to succeed.
The reason why it is not necessarily successful is that Yu Qian controls the military power. Yu Qian could have taken advantage of this and threatened Shi Heng and others. Or in the name of needing to ask the empress dowager, the strategy of delaying the army was implemented. As long as you take a slow step, Yu Qian will have a chance, and Shi Heng and others will not be able to succeed.
In the final analysis, it is also Yu Qian who has not thought of seizing power, and his own means are not tough, and at the same time, the means are not flexible enough. Therefore, in the end, he was completely subservient and resigned to his fate, thus causing the tragedy of his own killing.
(Zhu Qizhen stills)
Third, Yu Qianquan is useless.
As we said earlier, Yu Qian can use the strategy of slowing down the army, as long as he slows down, he can turn defeat into victory. But in fact, Yu Qian's desire to achieve this goal may not be easy to achieve.
At that time, when Shi Heng and others launched a coup d'état, there were not many soldiers in their hands, that is, a few guards. They stood guard outside the palace gates, and some were on the court.
Although there were not many guards for Shi Heng and others, it was actually enough for Yu Qian and others. Because Yu Qian and others were civilian subjects, and they did not have weapons. If they wanted to resist, they would be arrested by these guards. As long as they are caught by these guards, even if they have military power in their hands and the whip is beyond their reach, they will not be able to mobilize the army.
This is actually the difference between a palace coup and a military coup. The palace coup actually did not need more people, only one or two axemen to solve the problem.
This is like when Kangxi captured Aobai. Ao bai also controlled the military power, but when Kangxi sent a group of wrestlers to deal with Ao Bai, even though Ao Bai could control a million male soldiers, even though he himself had great ambitions, he was actually powerless.
Although we have talked about three points, the most important and most important thing is that Yu Qian does not seize power. He doesn't have power, so everything is out of his control.
(References: History of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Shilu)