Emperor Mingxi Zhu Youxiao (23 December 1605 – 30 September 1627) was the fifteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the eldest son of Emperor Mingguangzong Zhu Changluo, and his biological mother was Emperor Xuanwang of the Xuanwang clan and the half-brother of Emperor Mingsizong Zhu You. He reigned at the age of 16 and reigned for seven years (1620-1627).
During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu You, who ascended the throne at the age of 16, favored Keshi and Wei Zhongxian, known as the First Eunuch, and after gaining favor, Wei Zhongxian also began his own life of soaring.
According to ancient books, although Wei Zhongxian was illiterate, he had a superior memory, cruelty and viciousness, and it was precisely for this reason that many civil and military officials did not dare to easily provoke.
There was even a saying that "Zhongxian does not die, the Ming Dynasty does not die", what ability does Wei Zhongxian, who is self-proclaimed a thousand years old, have and what things have he done?
After Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne, the court gradually became the sovereignty of eunuchs, and Wei Zhongxian, who climbed up step by step by relying on the great eunuch Wang An and the emperor's grandmother Keshi, also became the leader among the eunuchs.
For a long time during the Ming Dynasty, it was the Donglin Party that dominated, and some people even said that the Donglin Party was the driving force behind the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
As a representative of the landlord class, the Donglin Party has always been the spokesman of the landlords and rich businessmen, not only disregarding the rights and interests of the peasants, but also increasing taxes during the period of power, so that the people cannot make a living.
Only during the period when Wei Zhongxian and the eunuchs participated in politics did this situation break, because Wei Zhongxian was from a peasant background and knew that the people were not easy, so even if there was corruption, he would not target the people, and when Henan was affected, Wei Zhongxian not only exempted himself from taxes, but also allocated funds for disaster relief to share the people's worries.
From this point, we can see that the eunuchs and the Donglin Party at that time were very difficult to deal with, but Wei Zhongxian at that time was deeply valued by the emperor, so the Donglin Party also had no way to take him, thus playing a restraining role in the Donglin Party.
After Chongzhen ascended the throne, he chose to reuse the Donglin Party to eliminate Wei Zhongxian's faction, even if Wei Zhongxian's power was great, he could not do anything to usurp the throne, and finally could only choose to hang himself.
After that, the Donglin Party also monopolized the political power again, and with the support of the Chongzhen Emperor, the influence of the Donglin Party even surpassed that of the imperial family, and as a representative of the landlord class, the donglin Party's goal was only to safeguard the interests of its own class, bent on getting rich, and did not care about the survival of the country at all.
Slowly, the landlord class began to become rich and invincible, but the people's life became more and more bitter, and at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's inaction and the deficit of the national treasury were the main reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
Speaking of Wei Zhongxian himself, since his childhood family was poor and liked to gamble, there was no way but to castrate himself into the palace as a small eunuch, silently from the bottom of the palace for more than ten years.
Wei Zhongxian was not satisfied with the status quo, and in order to have a good development, he began to seduce the Wei Dynasty, a subordinate of the great eunuch Wang An, and through this relationship to serve Wang Cairen, and the child born to Wang Cai was the later emperor Zhu Youxiao.
In the forty-eighth year of the Wanli Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty changed drastically, Emperor Shenzong and Emperor Guangzong died one after another, and Zhu Youxiao, who was originally not valued, ascended to heaven one step at a time, and Wei Zhongxian also ushered in his greatest opportunity.
He took advantage of the three major cases (the Attack Case, the Red Pill Case, and the Palace Transfer Case) to obstruct them, becoming a close confidant of the emperor and murdering Wang An, the most powerful eunuch at that time.
Although Wei Zhongxian had no knowledge, he had been in the palace for many years and understood the power struggle in the palace, so after Wei Zhongxian became more and more powerful, he began to cut the grass and remove the roots, eliminating those who were a threat to him.
Subsequent events such as the "change in reading" stirred up the "Donglin Era" into a low ebb, and from then on Wei Zhongxian was no longer invincible in the dprk.
Although Wei Zhongxian was insatiable and corrupt during his reign, his targets had always been those landlords and rich people, and he did not point the spearhead at the common people, so there was no accurate definition of whether Wei Zhongxian was good or bad.
The good times did not last long, seven years after the apocalypse, Zhu Youxiao came to the end of his life, and before he died, he said such a sentence to his brother.
"Loyal and loyal, can calculate major events, and should be appointed."
Although it was the elder brother's last words, Zhu Youjian, as the younger brother, was very resistant, because Wei Zhongxian had too much power in his hands, which inevitably made Zhu Youjian suspicious, whether he would become a puppet of Wei Zhongxian, or be directly eliminated by Wei Zhongxian.
At that time, Wei Zhongxian also had doubts in his heart, whether Zhu Youjian would continue to reuse me, and if not, what should I do.
In the midst of the mutual suspicion between the two, the newly ascended emperor seemed to gradually understand the reasoning, and it did not take long to order Wei Zhongxian to return to his hometown and die on the way.
After the fall of the eunuch party led by Wei Zhongxian, the Chongzhen Emperor rehabilitated a large number of donglin party unjust cases, and since then, the donglin party has once again become the sole power of the imperial court, but this decision has indirectly caused the collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
Although the Donglin Party has always had a clean image, it has no experience in governing, and it is much worse in politics than the emasculated party that is heavily tainted but does practical things.
When the emperor was ready to deal with the rebel army and the Qing army, the Donglin Party also obstructed it, preventing the emperor from increasing taxes and donating money, and finally because the national treasury was in deficit, a generation of dynasties was overthrown by the rebel army.
Wei Zhongxian held a high position of power, but he was bent on assisting the emperor, although there were many evil deeds, but he had always been rigorous in handling political affairs, and in contrast to the Donglin Party, selfish and selfish, which led to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the statement that "Zhongxian does not die, the Ming Dynasty does not die" is not correct, even if Wei Zhongxian's power is great, he is still a slave of the emperor, and as long as he says a word, he can take away the power and even his life in Wei Zhongxian's hands.
I have to say that Wei Zhongxian's life can be described as vigorous, although he did not end up with a good ending in the end, but as a eunuch, his achievements are definitely worthy of pride.
In all the dynasties, there will be many celebrities, who affect the direction and end of the entire dynasty, but in the end, the one who causes the dynasty to prosper or decline is still called the emperor of long live.
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