Eunuchs bring disaster
Statue of Ming Shizong
Emperor Wuzong favored Liu Jin in the early days, and later favored Jiang Bin and traveled north. Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning in Nanchang, took the opportunity to revolt, but was pacified by Wang Shouren, the governor of Southern Gan. However, Emperor Wuzong used the name of Pingding to go to Jiangnan to play again before returning to the capital. At this time, Shandong and Gyeonggi swarms of thieves and bees, and later they were only wiped out by luck.
In 1521, Emperor Wujong died and Sejong ascended the throne. He managed the eunuchs quite harshly, so that the eunuchs did not dare to act arbitrarily. But it is strict and unclear. After Sejong reached middle age, he was more superstitious, believed in immortals, did not ask about political affairs, and favored Yan Song, so that the power fell into Yan Song's hands.
The Wokou invaded the seven coastal provinces, and even went deep along the river to Nanjing. The Vara in the north declined, while the Tatar tribes, encroaching on the Hetao, called Taokou. At this time, the Ming Dynasty had no countermeasures to deal with.
By the time of Sejong, Dayan Han, a descendant of Genghis Khan, revived, defeated Taokou, and unified Mongolia.
He invaded Gyeonggi three times during Sejong's time. Once, when the flames outside the capital burst into flames, Yan Song actually lied to Sejong that it was a fire in the homes of ordinary people, which was shocking.
In 1566, Sejong died, and Mu Zongli. After Muzong came to the throne, he rehabilitated the wrongful imprisonment, exempted Tian Fu and the arrears, solved the problem of "Southern and Northern Invasion", and abolished the sea ban, which is known as Longqing's new policy. But he was addicted to potluck, overindulged and eventually died of illness.
Zhang Juzheng assisted the government
Zhang Juzheng image
In 1572, Muzong died, and Shenzong ascended the throne at the age of 10. At this time, the appointment of Zhang Juzheng as the prime minister was a good opportunity for Zhongxing in the Ming Dynasty. During the Muzong period, Li Li came down and was made the King of Shunyi, so that the side troubles were slightly relieved.
When Gao Gong was in the phase, Li Chengliang was appointed to guard Liaodong, and Qi Jiguang was appointed to guard Jixhen against the invading Wokou. When Zhang Juzheng was the prime minister, Li Chengliang was good at fighting and Qi Jiguang was good at guarding, and he was dedicated to appointing these two people, and the northeast border was peaceful.
The politics of the Ming Dynasty has been followed for a long time, Zhang Juzheng can practice serious bureaucratic politics, and the next paper book, people who are thousands of miles away dare not obey. Therefore, the governance officials made great progress, and the Ming Dynasty's troubled finances were slowly enriched after being sorted out.
Unfortunately, Zhang Juzheng served as prime minister for only ten years, and after his death, the Myoshen Sect became pro-government, and the politics were chaotic again. Because of the discord with the courtiers in the early dynasty, the early dynasty did not go to the court for more than 20 years, and the courtiers all formed gangs and attacked each other.
Loot the people
Myojin Munakata
There is a Gu Xiancheng in Wuxi, who lectures at Donglin Academy and likes to discuss current affairs, so the private factions of the imperial court and the rumors of the people are mixed with each other, and they can't tell the difference later.
The Myojin Sect trusted the eunuchs to go to the provinces to open mines, saying that it was mining, but in fact it was for extortion. They also set up tax envoys in poor and remote areas, and harassment of the people can be described as ubiquitous.
The Japanese Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, and the Ming Dynasty sent hundreds of thousands of troops to help, holding each other for seven years, but could not defeat Japan, until after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, the Japanese soldiers retreated.
In 1620, Emperor Shenzong died, and his son Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, dying not long after, and Later Xizong ascended the throne. His stupidity is even worse, favoring the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, making Wei Zhongxian domineering like never before. It was not until 1627, when the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, that the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and the rest of the party were removed.
Exiles and deaths
Li Zicheng Palace
The territory of the Ming Dynasty is vast, and some natural and man-made disasters will not affect the whole country, and local turmoil will not affect the entire Ming Dynasty. Only when society is extremely restless, a spark will become a fire. The Liukou in Shaanxi at the end of the Ming Dynasty began in 1628, when shortly after Emperor Ming Sizong ascended the throne, the Liukou gradually rose, and peasant uprisings began to break out in Shanxi, Hebei, Sichuan, and Huguang, the biggest of which were Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.
At this time, Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty could not profit from western Liaoning and invaded Beijing from the Great Wall, and Yuan Chonghuan heard about it and hurried to help. The two armies held each other without a score. Chongzhen's behavior was strict and unclear, and he was decisively killed.
In 1629, first Yuan Chonghuan's defender Mao Wenlong was killed for the incident on Phi Island, and then he fell for the Qing people's counterplot and killed Yuan Chonghuan in prison, so that the border of the Great Wall could no longer resist the Qing army.
In 1640, Qing troops attacked Jinzhou in a big way. Hong Chengzhuo, the governor of Jiliao, was defeated and held Songshan, and the following year, Songshan fell, and Hong Chengzhuo surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. After Mao Wenlong's death, his subordinates Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and also led Qing troops to capture Hiroshima Island, and the general defending the island surrendered.
Why did Hong surrender? Because Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty changed the policy of the Qing Emperor Taizu period, he changed to supporting Han people and giving preferential treatment to generals, so Hong Chengzhuo would not hesitate to treason and surrender.
In 1643, Li Zicheng captured Xi'an and became emperor the following year.
In 1644, Li Zicheng's army arrived at the Forbidden City, but Beijing could not hold it, and Chongzhen was martyred in Coal Mountain.
Qing troops enter the customs
Hebei Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Linlu Building dusk
Wu Sangui, the defender of Shanhaiguan, originally wanted to come to Beijing's aid, but the capital had already fallen, and Li Zicheng surrendered Wu Sangui, and Wu Sangui agreed. Only later when Sangui heard that his beloved wife Chen Yuanyuan had been robbed, he was furious, and in a fit of anger, he rushed outside the pass to surrender the Qing army.
This so-called "pain six armies are all vegetarian, rushing the crown and anger into red face", the only important stronghold, actually lost without bloodshed, this is the danger of martial people not knowing propriety. This is also the case in the present world, shopping malls are like battlefields.
The Ming Dynasty was dead, and the Southern Ming established in the south was just a conquest in exile, and this matter was already related to the Qing Dynasty.