Recently, the popularity of the costume TV series "Daming Fenghua" has made many viewers have a strong interest in the historical figures of the Ming Dynasty. Today we will talk about a Ming Dynasty minister who appeared in the later stages of this TV series, Xu Youzhen, to see what kind of a character he is in history, and what are the differences with "Daming Style".
The image of Xu Youzhen in "Daming Style" is undoubtedly a despicable villain. When Wang Zhen came to power, he circled around Wang Zhen. When Yu Qian was in power, he circled around Yu Qian. Later, when Yu Qian fell into distress, he fell into the well and killed Yu Qian. Many viewers feel very bitter about the character of Xu Youzhen after watching "Daming Fenghua". However, the historical Xu Youzhen is not such a black and black character, and his real experience is still very different from that in "Daming Style".
Xu Youzhen's original name was Xu Heng (徐珵), and in the eighth year of Xuande (1433), he was a member of the Decou branch. Because of his excellent results in the imperial examination, he was selected into the Hanlin Academy and was awarded the position of Shu Jishi.
There were many famous ministers in the Xuande and Orthodox dynasties, and if talents were selected from the perspective of personal ability, Xu Youzhen could rank among the best. Xu Youzhen was very knowledgeable, and in addition to being proficient in the classics and historical classics, he had profound achievements in astronomy, geography, the art of war, water conservancy, and the five elements of yin and yang.
In the fourteenth year of orthodoxy (1449), Emperor Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen led 200,000 Ming troops (500,000 yuan) to personally attack the Mongol Wallachians. As a result, due to command errors and other reasons, the Ming army was raided by the Wala cavalry at Tumu Fort (present-day Huailaidong, Hebei), and the whole army suffered more than half of the losses, all the senior Ming generals and courtiers who accompanied the army were killed on the spot, and Ming Yingzong himself became a prisoner of the Wala people. History refers to this ming dynasty's biggest military fiasco as the "Change of Tumu Fort".
After the "Tumubao Revolution", the Ming Dynasty faced the biggest crisis since the founding of the country, and many people believed that the Mongols would make a comeback, so they suggested that the imperial court be relocated from Beijing to Nanjing, the capital of Nanjing, and Xu Youzhen was the most vocal among them. However, this proposal was soon rebuked by the main battle faction led by Yu Qian, the left attendant of the military department. After that, Yu Qian was promoted to the post of Shangshu of the Bingbu, led the famous defense of Beijing in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and successfully repelled the Wala attack. Xu Youzhen was ostracized by his colleagues for his previous escape remarks, and his career suffered a major blow.
As early as 1448, a flood caused the yellow river embankment to crack, the lower reaches of the Yellow River split in two, flooding many parts of the eastern and western parts of the country, and the spreading flood also seized the water source of the main section of the Grand Canal, resulting in a serious blockage of the canal. The imperial court sent people to preside over the restoration work several times, but none of them were successful. In the fourth year of Jingtai (1453), the Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu summoned his courtiers to ask them to recommend water management talents, and many people knew that Xu Youzhen, who was the most proficient in water conservancy in the Manchu Dynasty, wrote to recommend him. Xu Youzhen was appointed as the capital of Zuo You, and went to Zhang Qiu (張秋; in present-day Yanggu, Shandong) to govern the Yellow River.
Although later generations have mixed opinions on Xu Youzhen, no one can deny his contribution in the matter of water control. Xu Youzhen immediately began to inspect the broken section of the embankment after arriving at the broken section of the embankment, and after determining the restoration plan, he hired nearly 60,000 migrant workers and spent more than 500 days to finally build a canal of about 160 kilometers long, successfully introducing the water of the Yellow River into the Daqing River and then entering the sea through Jinan Province. He also built several reservoirs along the Grand Canal to form an irrigation system that provided a stable water supply to large areas of northern Shandong.
In the seventh year of Jingtai (1456), Xu Youzhen was promoted to the position of left deputy capital Yushi for his meritorious service in controlling water, and finally took a big step forward in his career. However, for Xu Youzhen, who was bent on entering the cabinet to worship the chancellor, the position of left deputy capital Yushi was still very far from his goal, and it could even be said that it was far away.
In the first month of the eighth year of Jingtai (1457), the Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu suddenly fell seriously ill. Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen, Cao Jixiang and others joined forces to launch the "Change of Seizing the Gate" and supported the restoration of Zhu QiZhen, emperor Yingzong of Ming. Afterwards, Xu Youzhen was promoted to Hanlin Scholar and Bingbu Shangshu for the merits of the decision-making, and joined the cabinet to participate in confidential government affairs. In March of the same year, Feng Wugongbo was also a scholar of Huagaidian University and became the first assistant to the Cabinet of the Ming Dynasty.
After Emperor Mingyingzong re-ascended to the emperor's throne, he immediately launched a purge of the ministers reused by Emperor Jingtai, and Yu Qian bore the brunt of it and was persecuted. Because Yu Qian had made great contributions in the previous defense of Beijing, Ming Yingzong hesitated to kill him. Xu Youzhen said, "Don't kill Yu Qian, this move is nameless." The implication is that if we do not kill Yu Qian, our restoration will become an act of rebellion, and Ming Yingzong decided to behead Qian and others. Since ancient times, political struggles have been a contest between you and me, and it is not surprising that those in power have eliminated their opponents, but this time the object of their killing is Yu Qian, who is famous in history, so Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen and Xu Youzhen and others will not escape the infamy of future generations.
Xu Youzhen successfully entered the cabinet to worship and achieved his ultimate goal in life. However, in the face of great power, former comrades-in-arms soon became opponents. Xu Youzhen and Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang, who participated in the "Change of the Gate" together, attacked each other for power, and eventually Xu Youzhen was defeated in the political struggle, was relegated to the rank of commoner, and exiled to Jinya (in present-day Yunnan).
In the fourth year of Tianshun (1460), Shi Heng, Cao Jixiang and others plotted a failed coup d'état, and Shi, Cao and many of their henchmen were devastated. Xu Youzhen, who was far away in the exile land, benefited from the fact that he did not share the heavens with Shi and Cao. Emperor Mingying forgave him for all his crimes and allowed him to return to his hometown, indulge in landscapes and rivers, and enjoy his old age in peace.
In the first year of Chenghua (1465), Xu Youzhen was allowed to "live idle with the crown belt" and restore his official status, but he was still idle at home. In July of the eighth year of Chenghua (1472), Xu Youzhen died of illness at the age of sixty-six. "Many wise numbers are defeated by wisdom numbers, and the name of merit is preferred and the name of merit ends." Suffering from gain and loss, loyalty and adultery, suddenly a gentleman and a villain, his talent is more than enough, his virtue is insufficient. This evaluation from the Qing Dynasty scholar Fang Junyi is the most objective portrayal of Xu Youzhen's life experience.
Reference: "Myo history"