Introduction: How much did the late Ming Dynasty decline? At that time, the courtiers, who did not think about politics and martial arts, were all pondering the holy will and holding their positions. If the foundation of the country is good, it can still support some time, but at that time, there were internal and external troubles, and Emperor Chongzhen was an indecisive person, so how could the Ming Dynasty not die?
Strange phenomenon
There is a strange phenomenon that everyone has not found, and what made the Ming Dynasty show signs of serious decline was actually after killing Wei Zhongxian. Even the "History of Ming" records that when Chongzhen committed suicide, Wang Cheng'en next to him said a word of emotion:
"If the faithful are there, the current affairs will not end there."
Wang Cheng'en said this is actually not unreasonable, Wei Zhongxian seems to be a treacherous person, but he is similar to the later Hezhen, and can play a role in carrying on the upper and lower levels, relieving the emperor's worries and other things that make the emperor worry-
According to historical records, Wei Zhongxian only covered the sky with his hands at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and his "nine thousand years old" was second only to the emperor's "long live", so he was also listed as one of the "ten traitors" in history. If this is the case, why did Daming collapse not long after he died?
The reason for this is actually very simple, just because he is an unreasonable person.
Wei Zhongxian's unreasonableness
Wei Zhongxian's unreasonableness did not mean a negative meaning, on the contrary, his unreasonableness was often surprisingly successful and could help the Ming Dynasty tide over the difficulties. For example, here are a few examples of things to be said.
In 1628, the Emperor of the Apocalypse was still in charge of the dynasty, but at this time, the Ming Dynasty was already worried about internal and external troubles. There was a famine caused by the cold of the Xiaoice River, which caused hunger to spread everywhere. Outside, the Later Jin army suddenly rose up and waited for an opportunity to go south in the north, intending to seize the Daming River.
Although the Daming generals fought with Hou Jin many times, they could not defeat the strong combat strength of the other side. To this end, Xu Guangqi, the second assistant to the cabinet at the time, asked the emperor to ask for foreign aid to help Daming, but he was fiercely attacked by the conservative faction, saying, "The heavenly dynasty is a great emperor, proficient in firearms, what is the matter with foreign moves and far away, worrying about the interior?" The Emperor of the Apocalypse couldn't make up his mind for a moment.
Wei Zhongxian was very angry when he heard this, he had always looked down on the lofty posture of the old school, and when it came to the time of life and death, he still kept the old rules and called it the Heavenly Dynasty in vain. According to his account, since the Ming generals could not fight, why should they not ask for foreign aid? Therefore, he did not talk to these conservative factions about any reasoning, and directly agreed with Xu Guangqi's opinion. As soon as the ministers of the conservative faction saw that Wei Zhongxian did not argue, they directly agreed with it, and they did not say much.
After that, the Emperor of the Apocalypse personally wrote a handwritten letter, invited dozens of Portuguese mechanics and instructors to train the Ming soldiers, and also brought many advanced weapons and equipment. It was also with the help of Portugal that the Ming Dynasty ushered in a long-lost victory. Even after the beating of the golden turtle shrunk in the north did not dare to come out.
This is Wei Zhongxian's military contribution, but the march to fight is money and food, in this regard, Wei Zhongxian is also very meritorious.
According to the records of ancient books such as the History of Ming and the Records of Ming Shilu, during the Ming Dynasty,during the Wanli Dynasty, due to the problem of the Wokou, Daming implemented a policy of closing the country to the outside world in order to prevent the harassment of the Wokou. But doing so undoubtedly cut off maritime trade, so the later imperial courts were relatively poor.
However, Wei Zhongxian dared to build an industry and restored the industrial and commercial tax and sea tax abolished by Wanli. Many courtiers talked about this, saying that he did not care about the patriarchal law, which was really unreasonable. But Wei Zhongxian was unreasonable, and the more the ministers didn't let him do it, the more he wanted to do it. It is also this move that makes the national treasury full and the army supply continuously, even if it is impossible to fight in the early stage, but the strength still exists.
In addition, Wei Zhongxian did not play cards according to common sense, he was good at appeasing and rewarding soldiers, especially those who fought in the north and Houjin, and could receive rich rewards for each battle, which made the soldiers very grateful, and there was a nationwide act of building a "living shrine".
It was also during this period that the Guanning Iron Horse of the Ming Dynasty was not only fully staffed, but also paid enough. Coupled with the military fortress built on Phi Dao, it effectively clamped down on most of the eastern part of Houjin, allowing the Ming Dynasty to have time and energy to find ways to deal with Houjin.
It can be said that the existence of Wei Zhongxian, as well as his unreasonable personality, has made Daming Jiangshan survive the crisis again and again. However, it was also his unreasonable character that offended the Donglin Party, and when the Emperor of the Apocalypse died and the Donglin Party regained power with the support of the Chongzhen Emperor, wei Zhongxian's end came.
As the saying goes, "Wherever there is a distinction between good and evil above the imperial court, the victor is naturally positive." Therefore, Wei Zhongxian's name as the "Ten Traitors" was thus confirmed by the Donglin Party.
So what did the Chongzhen Emperor do after Wei Zhongxian's death?
Chongzhen's approach
First of all, Chongzhen was partial to the old school of seduction, not only dismissed the Portuguese mechanics and instructors, but also strictly forbade the ministers to request foreign aid. It was also this move that completely cut off the last glimmer of hope for the Ming Dynasty.
Secondly, unlike Wei Zhongxian, who enriched the treasury through trade and industrial taxes, he heeded the advice of the Donglin Party and continued to close the country, and as for the source of money, he could only extend his hand to the poor people.
It is said that the Chongzhen Emperor was frugal, but the "Qing History Draft" records that after Chongzhen's death, he found that he had a lot of private money. Some people said that he had raised the money from the ministers of culture and military affairs and was sent to the front, but before it could be sent, Daming perished.
But at that time, when Daming was destroyed, there was still a huge amount of silver in the national treasury, so was it necessary to ask for it from the ministers of culture and military affairs?
In fact, today, many scholars feel regret that portugal was not far away from sending people and equipment, and Chongzhen only listened to the old school say a word of "tangtang heavenly dynasty", and abandoned it.
Although Wei Zhongxian was a bit stubborn, he was able to help the country out of its predicament, and only because Chongzhen had a strong personality and could not tolerate people who were stubborn, he eradicated him. It can be seen that the demise of the Ming Dynasty is really self-inflicted.
References: History of the Ming Dynasty, Records of the Ming Dynasty, Draft History of the Qing Dynasty