In 1449 AD, the change of Tumu Fort caused a lot of shock to the Ming Empire, which had just entered its mature stage. In this Northern Expedition, Emperor Mingying's Zhu Qizhen lost almost all of his elite main forces at Tumu Fort, and he himself was captured by Wa La. Fortunately, it was not long before Emperor Mingying was released and was able to return to Kyoshi, but by this time the throne had changed hands.
In 1457, Emperor Mingyingzong, assisted by his confidants, launched the "Revolution of The Gate", successfully expelling Emperor Ming from the throne and recapturing Dabao. So what transformations did Ming Yingzong, who succeeded to the throne for the second time, make to the Ming Empire, and what new atmosphere appeared in the Ming Empire during the Tianshun period?
Schematic diagram of the transformation of the civil fort
Quell the Cao Shi Rebellion and stabilize the political situation
After the change of the gate, the eunuch Cao Jixiang and the military general Shi Heng, who had made great achievements in helping Emperor Ming Yingzong restore the throne, immediately became the core figures in the political arena. In order to praise the merits of the two men, Emperor Mingying spread the favor of Cao Shi and his family members, and most of the core official positions in the dprk were monopolized by the two and their families.
Emperor Ming of the Ming Dynasty, who was deposed after the Change of the Gate
The so-called lack of human hearts snake swallowed elephants, after tasting the taste of power, the two constantly deviant behavior. At first, the two were only secretly manipulating the political situation and the transfer of personnel in the administrative system, but later they dared to act arbitrarily in front of the emperor, which also aroused the vigilance of Ming Yingzong.
In the days that followed, Emperor Mingying, while appeasing Cao Shi and the two, secretly ordered Jin Yiwei to secretly investigate the bribery and perverting of the law. Soon after, the two men and their wings in the dynasty were eradicated, and the politics of the Tianshun Dynasty gradually became clear.
Before Emperor Ming Yingzong officially killed Cao Shi and the two, he tolerated their various wanton behaviors many times. Whenever Ming Yingzong wanted to punish the two for trespassing and other crimes, he would remember the change of the door in those years, and there was no anger to speak of; and Cao Shi and the two of them had repeatedly committed crimes by seizing the emperor's psychology. Later, Shi Heng even dared to face the emperor with weapons and ask the emperor to grant his "request", which was no different from a naked threat.
The Cao Shi Rebellion was put down, not only did ming yingzong not bear the "notoriety" of "ungratefulness", but was praised by the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu, and Ming Yingzong's previous fear that he would be despised by the courtiers because of the deposing of the two did not appear. It can be seen that Ming Yingzong was still somewhat indecisive after many tribulations, and lacked the decisiveness necessary for the emperor.
Cao Jixiang was even more excessive than Wang Zhen's actions
The gradual loosening of control over money stimulated the development of commerce
Since the Hongwu years, Ming Taizu has carried out a series of reforms to monetary policy, the most notable of which is the prohibition of the use of gold and silver as a medium of exchange, and the provision of Damingbao banknotes and ordinary copper coins as legal circulating currencies. In this regard, there are relevant records in the "Ming Shi Zhi Food Goods":
The Emperor set up the Treasure Banknote Lifting Division. Next year, zhongshu province will make Daming treasure banknotes, and order people to pass... It is forbidden for the people to trade in goods of gold and silver, and those who violate it are guilty; those who exchange gold and silver for money listen. Baoyuan and Baoquan Bureau were dismissed. In the second year of Yue, the Baoquan Bureau was re-established, minting small money and banknotes at the same time, and stopping the use of money below 100 yuan. Commercial tax collection of money, money three banknotes seven · ·
The Daming Treasure Banknotes that have been circulating since the Hongwu Dynasty
Ming Taizu originally wanted to alleviate the strong demand for copper mines by issuing paper money, but because the Ming court did not master the systematic and mature monetary regulation system, the Daming Bao banknote quickly collapsed without the support of the standard currency, which triggered a serious inflation phenomenon.
To this end, the Ming Court began to try to loosen the control of the currency, which directly led to silver becoming the main circulating currency. The return of gold and silver has re-stabilized the commercial order and prices. At the same time, the Ming court also converted the collection of taxes into silver collection, which further promoted the popularity of silver trading and played a role in stimulating the commercial development of the Ming Dynasty.
It should be added that in fact, in the early years of orthodoxy (the era name used before The capture of Emperor Ming Yingzong), the Ming court had begun to gradually relax its relationship with the monetary system. Although the process of relaxation was relatively slow, Ming Yingzong did not quickly contain it after regaining power, but continued to slowly implement the new monetary policy. Therefore, Ming Yingzong still had certain merits in stimulating the Ming Dynasty to commercial prosperity.
In the Tianshun dynasty, the economy has made a significant improvement
On the verge of death, the edict abolished the system of martyrdom
In 1464, Emperor Ming was coming to the end of his life. On the verge of death, he asked others to add the abolition of the martyrdom system to the testament. After his death, no concubine was allowed to accompany him to the funeral, and future generations were not allowed to practice this system.
At this point, the burial system that began in the Xia And Shang Zhou, reached the peak of the Yuan Dynasty, and was still followed in the Ming Dynasty was abolished. However, it should be noted that The testament of Emperor Ming Yingzong was only followed by the ming emperor in later generations, and the burial system in the Qing Dynasty was revived again.
There is no doubt that the system of martyrdom was the first of the worst of the feudal systems of ancient China. Of course, the system of burial as a living person did not exist only in ancient China, but was common all over the world. But it is hard to imagine that when the level of civilization in ancient China had reached a high level, it still retained this backward system that had emerged since the beginning of primitive society. What is even more difficult to imagine is that until the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the vitality of this system was still very tenacious.
Based on the history and duration of the martyrdom system, Ming Yingzong, who abolished the system, is indeed worthy of the temple name of "Yingzong". Because all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty attached importance to ancestral training, the burial system was not revived until the end of the Ming Dynasty, which was undoubtedly a major progress.
Although the Kangxi Emperor banned martyrdom, the results have been minimal
For Ming Yingzong's evaluation, future generations have always been mixed. Some voices believe that Ming Yingzong's mistakes in the Battle of Tumu fort directly led to the gradual decline of the Ming Empire; others believe that the change of Tumu Fort is only a stain on Ming Yingzong's ruling career, and his merits are generally just passable.
In general, it is normal for later generations to have more negative evaluations of Ming Yingzong than positive evaluations. Throughout the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were indeed obvious signs of decline after the Yingzong dynasty. Although the later Ming Emperor had caused the empire to have a brief boom, if it were not for this war, perhaps the Ming Dynasty could have entered a more brilliant stage.
But in any case, just because Ming Yingzong abolished the martyrdom system, he was entitled to enjoy the incense offerings of the Ming dynasty royal family after his death. After all, after his edict was issued, countless lives were spared from suffering. And the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty though also