On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month in 1457, under the support of Shi Heng, Cao Jixiang, Xu Youzhen and others, Zhu Qizhen (i.e., Ming Yingzong), who had been emperor for more than seven years, once again ascended the throne, known in history as the "Restoration of the Southern Palace" or the "Change of The Gate". As the saying goes, "There is no two days in the sky, and the people have no two masters", so what will be the fate of Emperor Jingtai and his concubines?
Emperor Jingtai's name was Zhu Qiyu, and he was the half-brother of Emperor Mingyingzong, and the relationship between the two was originally very good. However, due to the change of the civil fort, the identities of the two people changed, and the relationship changed accordingly. Emperor Jingtai even deposed his nephew Zhu Jianshen as crown prince because he wanted to make his own son crown prince.
When Emperor Mingyingzong ascended the throne again at the Fengtian Temple, Emperor Jingtai was still in the Qianqing Palace, and when he heard the bells and drums of the upper dynasty, he was shocked and quickly asked, "Is it Yu Qian?" The attendants around him quickly inquired about the news and told him the news of Yingzong's restoration. Emperor Jingtai understood in his heart that the general trend had gone, and said in a loud voice, "Brother do it, good." ”
After Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne again, there were many things that needed to be dealt with, such as arresting and executing Qian, Wang Wen and others, promoting and rewarding Shi Heng, Cao Jixiang, Xu Youzhen and others, and at the same time reorganizing the cabinet and making important personnel appointments. Busy busy, but overlooked one thing, that is, forgot to abolish the Jingtai Emperor, so there was a situation where the two emperors coexisted.
It was not until the first day of February that Emperor Mingyingzong surrendered in the name of the empress dowager, "Deposing Jingtai's servant Qi Yu is still the King of Qi, such as the story of King Hanchangyi". Today, the identities of Emperor Jingtai and Emperor Mingyingzong have been completely reversed, and when Emperor Mingyingzong was placed under house arrest in Nannei, this time Emperor Mingyingzong put Emperor Jingtai under house arrest in Xinei. A dozen days later, Emperor Jingtai "died in the Western Palace and Chinese New Year's Eve".
Emperor Jingtai died in this way, some said that he was strangled by eunuchs, some said that he died of illness, and the truth was no longer known. However, there is still a question left to Ming Yingzong, that is, during the reign of Emperor Jingtai, he married many concubines, how should Ming Yingzong deal with these brothers and daughters-in-law?
Although there are few historical materials, one thing can be confirmed that there are still many concubines in the harem of emperor Jingtai. It turned out that after Emperor Jingtai deposed Zhu Jianshen, he made his own son Zhu Jianji crown prince. However, Zhu Jianji died prematurely. In order to get heirs as soon as possible, the Jingtai Emperor recruited concubines and expanded the harem in order to give birth to heirs.
After the death of Emperor Jingtai, Emperor Mingying destroyed the mausoleum he had built for himself during his lifetime, and "buried Xishan with the prince's ceremony". At the same time, Emperor Mingyingzong also issued a holy decree to bury all the concubines in the harem of the Jingtai Emperor! Because of the privacy of the court, the history books do not record the number, but simply say that "concubines such as Tang Clan committed suicide to be buried."
A "wait" character includes at least a dozen, or even dozens of lives, which became the last large-scale martyrdom of the Ming dynasty royal family. Because seven years later, the dying Ming Yingzong announced the abolition of the martyrdom system. However, although most of Emperor Jingtai's concubines were martyred, one person survived, and she was the deposed Queen Wang.
When Emperor Jingtai deposed his nephew and made his son crown prince instead, Wang Shi, as empress, was firmly opposed. Wang offended Emperor Jingtai and was deposed. After the death of Emperor Jingtai, the university scholar Li Xian said: "The concubine has been abolished, and the two girls and children are especially pitiful." Ming Yingzong did not let her be buried. Wang lived a long life, living until the Zhengde years, at the age of eighty.
Resources:
1. History of Ming; 2. Records of Emperor Ming Yingzong; 3. Records of restoration