Introduction: In the history of the Ming Dynasty, what we see most is how strange the emperor is, and all kinds of hobbies are unwilling to go to the court to govern; how fierce and corrupt the Jinyi guards and eunuchs are; in fact, is this all the emperor's incompetence and absurdity? After the tumubao change, the Ming Dynasty's scholar-doctor clique attacked the emperor's inaction on the one hand, and on the other hand, enjoyed the scenery of this monopoly of power. Anyway, things were not done well and pushed on the emperor, and the efforts of the civilian official group headed by the cabinet were really laughable. The emperor of Daming actually became a pot bearer.
The process of seizing power by the civilian-official clique after Yongle
Immediately during the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, the national strength was booming, and the country's desire to expand outward was strong. In particular, during the Zhu Di period, he went east to Waixing'anling and Sakhalin Island; conquered Jiaotong to the south and set up counties; went north several times to conquer Mongolia; and Zheng He led treasure ships seven times to the west, west to the coast of East Africa. The South China Sea within Malacca became the inland sea of Daming.
At this time, the imperial power was high, and no one could provoke. The warriors and xunqi made many achievements in this process, so their influence in the court was unparalleled. This is in line with the general dynastic development process.
After Zhu Di's death, Zhu Gaozi succeeded to the throne. This Akihito was partial to the civilian system. Emperor Renzong reduced the intensity of his external expansion, believing that it was a loss of money for the people. This is very much in line with the taste of the civilian official group, because abandoning expansion means that the Wuxun group will gradually move away from the court. Slowly, they will be raised like pigs. Then the spring of the civil service system has come. Emperor Renzong died less than a year after he succeeded to the throne, and Emperor Xuanzong Succeeded Zhu Zhanji.
According to the explanation, Emperor Xuanzong followed Chengzu to mongolia from an early age and should be a pioneering monarch. However, Xuanzong continued his father's plan, and not only contracted the pace of expansion: the southern side withdrew from jiaotong, and the cross-toe, which cost a lot of manpower and material resources, gave up; the front line in the north shrank to the south of Kaipingwei. Although the logistics supply line has been shortened, the strategic depth has also been lost. Make the nine sides truly become a border pass, leaving endless harm. After the defeat of the Tatars, the Mongols were completely left unchecked. The unification of Mongolia, which caused the Wara to calmly, laid the hidden danger for the later change of tumu fort; in terms of the sea, the exploration of the sea was terminated after seven voyages to the West. So much wording means that Daming's national defense policy has changed, and the Wuxun group has gradually fallen silent and has no place to play. As a result, the Wuxun clique, which the emperor relied on to fight with the civilian official clique, was completely lonely. The civilian-official group ushered in a rare spring.
After the change of Tumu Fort, the natural enemies of civilian officials were swept away
In the change of Tumu Fort, dozens of famous generals accumulated by Daming, such as Gong Zhangfu of the British, Zhu Yong of the Duke of Chengguo, Chen Ying of the Marquis of Taining, and dozens of other famous generals who could conquer the habit of fighting battles would be swept away, and the elite three battalions were completely destroyed. The point is that due to the chaotic command of Yingzong and Wang Zhen, these famous generals have no meaning at all. Daming could no longer take the initiative to attack the Mongols, and from then on Daming's border passes were left to the free movement of the Mongols. From this point of view, Ming Yingzong's sins are unforgivable. His rashness and absurdity can be said to be the turning point of Daming's rise and fall, in a sense, it is a fight with the Anshi chaos of the Tang Dynasty.
The capable Wu Xun disappeared, and the remaining Wu Xun was useless. Imperial power began to decline. The Cabinet and the Six Ministries have become the absolute organs of power that determine the major affairs of the world. Even the military power fell into the hands of the civilian clique. If the emperor's will is not approved by the cabinet and the six ministries, then the will is invalid and no one obeys. The civil service drafted edicts according to their own wishes, and then let the emperor approve them and execute them. If the emperor does not agree, then re-draft the role of the emperor again to exaggerate that it has been similar to a rubber stamp, what does such an emperor mean? It is always said that the emperor is not willing to go to the court, and the cabinet and the six ministries have done the work, what does the emperor mean?
Before the Tumubao Rebellion, although the civil officials were already very powerful, there was still a powerful political force to help the emperor maintain the independence of the imperial power. The emperor can do as he pleases. But with the change of Tumu Fort, this force was swept away. The civil bureaucracy held the whole power: Emperor Mingjing's son died, and some officials applauded him. Because this prince was not approved by the civil officials; the Zhengde Emperor wanted to tour the south or go out of the customs, the civilian officials did not agree; Jiajing tried to regain power and declared defeat; Wan Li wanted to make a prince, and the civil officials also intervened to oppose it. You say who the emperor wants to make as the crown prince, can you control it? Anyway, it's up to you. Sometimes I also sympathize with the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, whose imperial power was suppressed so badly. It is no wonder that in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, except for many emperors with eccentricities, they did not like the upper dynasty and were passive and sluggish.
The Ming Dynasty civilian official clique continuously strengthened itself with the help of the imperial examination system, which is a way of taking officials, and whether the Ming Dynasty's officials are clear or not, we can only believe in the integrity of civilian officials. This is equivalent to the civilian bureaucracy being both athletes and referees. If a big mistake occurs, it can also be pushed on the emperor, the man with the pot.
More crucially, the civilian system guards itself. In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang exempted money and grain for those who cared for poor readers. But in the middle and late period, the civilian system used this loophole to expand the scope to all meritorious readers. As long as the people are elected in the examination, then the gentry will no longer pay taxes. Countless readers have become rich overnight, and many poor people have relied on their land to read people's names. In this way, in addition to paying some land rent to the old man, the state's tax will be exempted, which is called surrender. With more and more officials, the scope of taxation in the Ming Dynasty became less and less. In order to maintain expenditure, the state had to increase taxes on a limited number of self-employed farmers. The pressure on the homesteaders grew, and eventually they had to revolt. Ignoring this problem, the insatiable civil service system always accused the Ming dynasty clan of occupying a huge amount of money and grain. In fact, in the final Ming Dynasty, the huge expenditure of the literati to the Ming Dynasty to divide the clan room was always to suck blood like an ant on the body of the Ming Dynasty.
The role of eunuchs and guards
If the emperor wants to make his voice heard, he needs to have his own strength. After the Wuxun clique lost its role, it could only rely on the Tianzi pro-army Jinyi wei and the eunuchs of the family slaves. Although there were old cases of rebellion by eunuchs of the former Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, the emperor who was stuck in the card had to drink this cup of wine even if he drank to quench his thirst.
Therefore, the emperor knew that it was not the best choice, and still had to rely on the power of the inner court to fight against the civil service system. As a result, the power of the celebrant is getting bigger and bigger, and it can even replace the king's approval of the red. In addition to the setting of the factory guards of the later East and West Factories, the power of the Inner Court soared.
As the emperor's pro-army, jinyiwei was born to serve the imperial power, in order to monitor, investigate, and suppress the illegal acts of officials. Jinyi Wei, listening to the name, knows that it was originally just a guard's establishment. According to the setup of the Ming Dynasty army, it was only 5,000 people. However, with the need for imperial power, it expanded to tens of thousands of people in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
Both the Inner Court forces and the Jinyi Guards were dependent on the king and were tools used by the Ming emperors against the civil service system. Historically, Neiting and Jinyiwei have done a lot of bad things. But the civil service system suppressed the imperial power so badly that it could not ask the emperor not to resist.
After losing the fulcrum of the Wuxun clique, the inner court forces and the Jinyi guards became the only means for the emperor to balance the civil bureaucracy.
I am the emperor of history, welcome your attention; if there is a flaw, the axe is right.