It is said that in July of the forty-eighth year of the Wanli calendar (1620), the Myōjin Sect died. In August, crown prince Zhu Changluo ascended the throne as Emperor Mingguangzong. After Zhu Changluo fell ill, Consort Zheng instructed Cui Wensheng to enter the emperor's "Tongli Medicine", that is, rhubarb, as a eunuch in charge of the imperial pharmacy. Rhubarb is equivalent to laxative, so in the next day and night, Zhu Changluo had diarrhea thirty or forty times in a row, and his body was extremely weak and in a state of exhaustion.
On August 28, Emperor MingguangZong Zhu Changluo summoned thirteen people, including Zhang Weixian and Fang Congzhe, the head of the cabinet, into the palace, and asked the emperor's eldest son Zhu Youxue to come out to see them. On August 29, Li Kezhuo of the Hongxu Temple said that there was an elixir to be presented to Zhu Changluo, and as a result, by September 26, at five o'clock, Emperor Guangzong Zhu Changluo died at the age of Chinese New Year's Eve eight.
It can be said that at the beginning of the succession of Emperor Mingxi Zhu by the school, the Donglin Party ushered in their spring.
Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Zhao Nanxing, Gao Panlong, and many upright men held important positions in the court, and Fang Congzhe and other traitors had gradually been squeezed out, and the official system was slightly clear. Because Yang Lian and others exerted great efforts to help Zhu Youxiao take the throne, Zhu Youxiao had great trust in these Donglin Party members. With the assistance of the Donglin Party, zhu Youxiao quickly promoted Sun Chengzong, Yuan Keli, Yuan Chonghuan and others to guard the border in the early days of zhu youxiao's reign.
At this time, from the first assistant to the various shangshu, either the Donglin Party members or their supporters. At that time, the government was also controlled by them. According to the words of the "History of Ming", it is: "The Eastern Forest is prosperous, and the people are in full swing." As a rule, they should seize this opportunity to govern the country. On the contrary, they put a great deal of energy into attacking the castration clique, resulting in a sharper contradiction between the two.
At this time, the castration party was headed by Wei Zhongxian. However, Emperor Mingxizong became more and more indifferent to the affairs of the dynasty, and only wanted to do carpentry, and enjoyed it. As for Wei Zhongxian, it was probably the predecessor Zhao Gao who set an example, and he always took advantage of the emperor's carpentry work to "annoy" him by taking out a large number of pieces of music. Of course, the emperor would not stop his work to approve any recital.
Therefore, in this case, the emperor would directly send Wei Zhongxian to deal with it. Over time, things large and small in the DPRK needed to first go to Wei Zhongxian's side to "ask for instructions", so the power of the government naturally fell into Wei Zhongxian's hands. This also caused some Qi, Chu, Zhejiang and other parties, which were ostracized by the Donglin Party, to go to Wei Zhongxian when they saw the situation, so Wei Zhongxian's party formed a powerful force.
Wei Zhongxian even took the opportunity to expand his power and established an intelligence network throughout the country. There are also more and more people in the DPRK who are attached to him, and they are called "nine thousand years old". But no upright official could tolerate what he did. Even Yang Lian wrote a letter stating his 24 charges, but the end result was to be deposed. After this incident, Wei Zhongxian hated the Donglin Party.
In the fifth year of the Apocalypse (1625), he launched a brutal crackdown on the Donglin Party. In that year, The Quang Ninh army was defeated and Liaodong was lost, resulting in Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen "juxtaposing death". However, Xiong Tingbi also wanted to save his life, so he entrusted someone to pay a bribe to Wei Zhongxian, who asked for 40,000 taels, and he could not come up with it. At this time, Yang Lian was also imprisoned, and Wei Zhongxian "took the two people" into a relationship, saying that he had also paid bribes to Yang Lian.
In this way, Wei Zhongxian took the opportunity to hunt down the Donglin Party, and many of them died unjustly in prison. The following year, he killed 7 more people, and even the Donglin Academy was demolished by him within a limited period of time. Within four years, the Donglin Party, which had once been prominent in the court, had disappeared again. Originally, they had the initiative, but under the divided blows of Wei Zhongxian and the like, they were powerless.
So, did the Donglin Party underestimate the ambitions of the castration party, or did it misanalyze the situation?
They called themselves "Qingliu", believing that the emperor should favor them by assisting Zhu Yu to ascend to the throne. However, too many stories in history have shown that the emperor would not trust his courtiers. What's more, in the emperor's heart, the national affairs were not as important as a piece of wood in his hand. Therefore, it should be said that under the circumstances at that time, it was extremely unrealistic to prevent Wei Zhongxian from interfering in the government.
Until they come up with effective "checks and balances", if, take a "hidden" approach. Although power will be surrendered to others, it will preserve its own strength in order to make a comeback. This is not the style of the Donglin Party, who are bound to confront the Castration Party. Even if the initiative was in hand first, it could not stand Wei Zhongxian's seizure of power, and all this was the consequence of the emperor they supported not doing the government.
Some people commented: The Donglin Party missed a good opportunity, did not suppress the castration party first, and failed to propose any effective way to govern the country. Therefore, even if the power in their hands is greater, the final decision is still the emperor. However, Emperor Zhu Youxiao did not care about anything and gave it all to the people around him, and this was a kind of "deformed management" in imperial power politics.
It can be said that in the era when the emperor's ability was weak, either eunuchs were in charge or foreign relatives interfered in politics. Unfortunately, this wave of Donglin party members met in the middle of nowhere.
After the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian ascended to the throne, the eunuch clique led by Wei Zhongxian was destroyed, and the Donglin Party not only unjustly committed a case, but also the Donglin Academy was repaired, and the Donglin Party was once again activated. However, the good times did not last long, and after Yuan Chenghuan was convicted, they were forced to withdraw from the cabinet. The reason for this is not complicated at all, because the emperor still trusts the eunuchs. In this case, the Donglin Party members will naturally be "cleared out."
Later generations have different comments on the Donglin Party, some saying that they are honest and honest, oppose corruption, and strive to eliminate the accumulated shortcomings of the government and the opposition. Of course, this is quite positive, as their lectures advocate, to "care about everything". However, the affairs of the DPRK's government cannot be resolved by simple remarks alone. Practical policies must also be produced, otherwise, it is only verbal preaching, which has no meaning.
Of course, some people "attacked" them, saying: When the Ming Dynasty fell, where did they go? This is mainly about qian qianyi. However, we cannot negate or attack a group by the actions of one person.
Of course, Qian Qianyi's surrender did add a little black to the Donglin Party.
Aren't we reading books today to contribute to the future of our country? And the various things of the predecessors only told us that empty talk is useless, and we must practice to achieve real "caring about everything", only in this way can we promote the progress of this and, ultimately, create a better future. Only by practicing can we be practical and build a solid building.
Resources:
[Ming Shi Vol. 22, Benji No. 22, Ming Shi Liechuan No. 193, "Donglin Party" in the Fierce "Party Struggle" of the Late Ming Dynasty]