In 2070 BC, the Xia Dynasty was established, and the sub-feudal system began to appear. By 221 BC, the Qin Dynasty unified the world, and the centralized system began to appear on the stage of history. The wheel of history is constantly moving forward, and the feudal dynasty is constantly changing like a marquee. As an aristocrat who was dependent on the ruling class, it often rose, grew, declined, and withered away with the change of the ruling class.
Just as the world is uncertain, the rise and fall of the aristocratic class is even more so, they are all tied to the thoughts of the rulers. We all know that the aristocracy came into being in a specific historical environment, but in the end it could not compete with the trend of historical development. The so-called one son of heaven and one courtier is an iron law at all times. However, history will also have some unexpected places, such as the "Mu Wangfu" in Yunnan that we are going to mention today.
The development of the centralized power system to the Ming Dynasty has reached its peak, and the power of the Ming court is highly centralized compared with the previous dynasties. In the 276 years of the Ming Dynasty, sixteen emperors on the throne changed, and the aristocratic class of the imperial court naturally changed with the change of monarchs. Especially during the ming dynasty of Zhu Yuanzhang, many heroes and celebrities in the early days of the founding of the country eventually turned into clouds.
In the vicissitudes of the sea and the mulberry fields, the world changes, and countless high-ranking officials and nobles have experienced ups and downs in their careers, and have experienced vicissitudes. However, the "Mu Wangfu" in Yunnan began to be established during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty and continued to the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and for such a long period of time, it always stood tall and the scenery was prominent.
I have to say, this is really a miracle.
So, what is so magical about this royal palace?
Today, there is a victory hall in Kunming, Yunnan Province, which has been listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. Its predecessor is the Governor's Palace of Yungui, and if we go back further, we will find that the former site of the "Mu Wangfu" is here. Mu Wangfu should actually be called "Qianguo Gongfu", but because its owner's surname is Mu, everyone is accustomed to calling it "Mu Wangfu".
Since we want to tell the story of Mu Wangfu, we must start from Mu Ying, the ancestor of the "Mu clan" in Yunnan.
Mu Ying was a fellow countryman with Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang was older than Mu Ying, who was exactly 16 years older than him.
Zhu Yuanzhang is a native of Fengyang, Anhui, and Mu Ying is a native of Haozhou, Anhui, and their hometowns are not far apart. As we all know, in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, social turmoil, the people lived in deep water, rebel armies appeared in an endless stream, and the war soon spread to the Jianghuai area. The Yuan Dynasty was originally a dynasty established by the steppe peoples, and of course the rebel army would not think of any gentle way to suppress it, and directly sent heavy troops to the local area to suppress it.
Suddenly, there was a lot of war in jiangbei.
Mu Ying was born poor, lost his father at an early age, and was still a child when there was chaos in Jiangbei, so he could only follow his weak mother everywhere and flee. A year later, Mu Ying's mother died of illness on the way to escape due to the hardships of life. Since then, Mu Ying, who was only eight years old, was lost and lost, and the heavens and the earth were no longer reliable, and in the end, he had to wander around Haozhou.
At that time, the Red Turban Army led by Liu Futong and others and the Yuan Dynasty army were fighting in Henan, while Zhu Yuanzhang pulled up a team in his hometown. At the beginning, whether it was Zhu Yuanzhang who took in the wandering child- Mu Ying, or whether Zhu Yuanzhang discovered the extraordinary features of this child and took it home to raise, now we can't find the truth.
However, Mu Ying's life has since gone in a completely different direction.
As a filial adopted son, Mu Ying has always followed Zhu Yuanzhang who is fighting everywhere, whether it is Chenghuan's knees or killing the enemy on horseback, he has performed very well, which makes his adoptive father Zhu Yuanzhang very satisfied.
As soon as his eighteenth birthday passed, Zhu Yuanzhang made his adopted son a former lieutenant and asked him to assist in the garrison of Zhenjiang, a military stronghold. Mu Ying was deeply trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang, and his own performance was also very good, and soon after, he was again promoted to commander and was responsible for defending the area of present-day Shangrao in Jiangxi. Of course, fate will only favor those who try to run, and luck alone will not be able to gain a foothold in this world.
Mu Ying's encounters when he was young made him develop the habit of self-discipline and hard work, he never relaxed his requirements for himself, immersed himself in the study of the art of war, and gradually grew into an extremely outstanding military talent. At the age of 23, Mu Ying followed Zhu Yuanzhang to Fujian to fight, in which he shined, attacking the city and plundering the village, personally binding the enemy general Feng Gubao, which greatly admired and proud of his adoptive father Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who had found out a few pounds and a few pounds for his adopted son, paid more attention to Mu Ying, and handed over to him three important military places, such as Shaowu, Yanping, and Tingzhou. For Mu Ying, his ability and status at this time were enough for him to gain a foothold in this world.
In other words, what Mu Ying's original surname is has always been a mystery.
The Ming Dynasty Li Shaowen's "Emperor Ming Dynasty Speaks New Language" records that once Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Ying (Mu Ying and Zhu Ying's surname at that time): "Zhu Ying, Zhu Ying, whose child are you?" Zhu Ying only replied vigorously: "I am Your Majesty's child, deeply admiring the nurturing grace of Your Majesty and the Empress." Zhu Yuanzhang seemed unwilling to give up, and still asked Zhu Ying vigorously, but Zhu Ying always prostrated his head and repeated what Zhu Yuanzhang had just said.
After a few rounds of going like this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly burst out laughing. Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Ying: "You are the adopted son of Yuan, and now I will not let you restore your original surname, nor can I let you follow my surname Zhu anymore." Since you have been reciting the grace of deep Mu nurturing, then, Shuo will give you the surname "Mu", so that you can forever Mu Huang'en. ”
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Mu Ying initially served as the general of Zhenguo and the governor of dadu, and because of his excellent performance, he moved to the governor's mansion tongzhi.
The Metropolitan Governor's Mansion was the military center of the Ming Dynasty, and for the new regime, the initial administrative and military affairs were cumbersome and cluttered, but Mu Ying did not have any retreat. His mind is flexible, his thinking is clear, he handles it like a divine help, and he arranges everything in an orderly manner. Mu Ying can be alone in the court, which makes the former adoptive father and adoptive mother feel very pleased.
In the ninth year of Hongwu, Mu Ying repeatedly pacified the Daming borders such as Tubo, Qinghai-Tibet, and Northern Yuan, and his military achievements were outstanding. In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, in order to temper and cultivate Mu Ying, sent him to follow Fu Youde to Yunnan to conquer the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty. Two years later, as soon as Yunnan was pacified, the general Fu Youde was recalled, while Mu Ying remained in Yunnan.
During Mu Ying's garrison in Yunnan, he calmed down local unrest, pacified the Yiyue people, vigorously developed education, and promoted production, which gradually improved the local atmosphere. Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang knew about it and praised Mu Ying and spoke highly of him. Twenty-five years after Hongwu, Zhu Biao, the Prince of Daming, died. After Receiving this news, Mu Ying was so sad that he vomited blood and fell ill, and finally, he died in Yunnan.
Mu Ying loves the people like a son, and the people naturally love him very much. After Mu Ying's death, there was a cry of mourning in Yunnan. After that, Zhu Yuanzhang sent someone to welcome Mu Ying's coffin in response to tianfu and posthumously honor him as the "King of Qianning".
The eldest son Mu Chun then succeeded his father Mu Ying. After Mu Chun's early death, Mu Ying's second son Mu Sheng succeeded to the throne. In the fourth year of Yongle, Mu Sheng led troops to conquer the Annam unrest and made a great contribution. At this time, sitting on the throne was already Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, who made him the Duke of Qianguo, and after his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of "King of Dingyuan".
Although Mu Ying and Mu Sheng's princes were all posthumously titled and could not be passed on to future generations, Mu Ying's "Marquis of Xiping" and Mu Sheng's "Duke of Qianguo" could be hereditary.
It can be seen that the status of the Mu family in the Ming Dynasty is extremely high.
Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, Mu Ying's descendants had always been loyal and loyal, and had been fighting against the Qing Dynasty. Helplessly, after the Qing army entered the customs, due to the threat of extermination, Mu Ying's twelve generations of descendants surrendered to the Qing army in order to save the Mu family. In the end, the Qing Dynasty cured the Mu family of the crime of ineffective banditry, and as a result, all the descendants of the concubines were killed.
The construction of the Mu King's Mansion began in the Mu Ying era.
In the nineteenth year of Hongwu, Mu Ying, who was awarded the title of Marquis of Xiping, built his own hou mansion in Kunming. After Mu Sheng was enfeoffed as the Duke of Qianguo, after the expansion of the Marquis of Xiping, it was renamed "Qianguo Gongfu". Because the prestige of the Mu family in Yunnan is extremely high, people also call the Qianguo Gongfu "Mu Wangfu".
Until the fourteenth year of the Yong calendar, the Ming Dynasty was already in a state of turmoil and could not protect itself, and the Mu Wangfu, which had been standing still since the beginning of the founding of the country, was occupied by Wu Sangui and disappeared into history. And this, in fact, is also in line with the law of history mentioned at the beginning of the article, even the master of Jiangshan, the old Zhu family, has been ousted from power, as a former Daming nobleman "Mu Wangfu", how can he be alone?
Resources:
["Research on the Mu Family of Yunnan in the Ming Dynasty", "Chronicle of Zhonglie at the End of the Ming Dynasty", "Chronicle of the Ming Dynasty, Volume XIII"]