When it comes to ancient emperors, almost all people have a common psychology, that is, "envy, jealousy and hatred". The emperor not only had supreme power, but also three thousand harem beauties, which was arguably the most enviable profession in ancient times.
Is the emperor really happy? Not really. As the king of a country, the emperor was almost no really trustworthy person, always on the lookout for everyone around him, especially his brothers, for fear of their usurpation of power. Not only that, as the emperor of great talent, he was actually very tired, they were very tired, they were very stressed, and even they were exhausted alive.
According to records, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty were both models of industrious emperors. Every day at four or five o'clock in the morning, I get up to read the recitals, often work until midnight, and the meal time is very leisurely, let alone doing other things. However, the emperor that Xiaobian wants to talk about today is not Zhu Yuanzhang and Yongzheng, but the Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
The Wanli Emperor, who inherited the throne at the age of 10, reigned for a total of 48 years, and was also the longest reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In the first ten years, Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant of the cabinet, presided over government affairs, implemented a series of reform measures, and greatly developed the social economy.
After Zhang Juzheng's death, the Wanli Emperor worked hard, lived frugally, and had the demeanor of a diligent Ming Emperor, creating a situation of "Wanli Zhongxing". Surprisingly, in the last 28 years, the Wanli Emperor never went to the court again, and was even scolded by posterity as "the laziest emperor in history".
Previously, almost everyone reached a consensus on the reason why the Wanli Emperor had not been in the dynasty for nearly 30 years, that is, he was absurd in political affairs in the later period, and even coveted pleasures. What's more, the Wanli Emperor also became a negative teaching material for the emperors of the Later Qing Dynasty, and used it to educate those princes.
In the 1960s, in order to study the tomb of the Ming Emperor, under the leadership of Guo Moruo, the Dingling Tomb of the Wanli Emperor was excavated. By using modern technology to restore the bones of the Wanli Emperor, a surprising phenomenon was found, the Wanli Emperor's two legs were very different, and the right leg was obviously much shorter than the left leg. That is to say, the Wanli Emperor had a serious leg disease and could not walk normally at all.
Experts who once thought that the Wanli Emperor did not go to the court because of his desire for pleasure were silent at this time. At this time, people understood that the Wanli Emperor did not want to go to the upper court, but his leg disease was too serious to walk, let alone go to the upper court.
Objectively speaking, even though the Wanli Emperor has not ascended to the dynasty for nearly 30 years, the country is still functioning normally, and there are not too many flaws. That is to say, the Wanli Emperor is still an emperor with achievements, and he can control the Daming River and Mountains without going to the dynasty, which is still worth affirming.