Zhu Zaiyuan is also the Zhu Zaiyuan we know well, in fact, his original life is called Zhu Zaiyuan, and there is only one name, and he has never changed his name. Calling him Zhu Zaiyuan was a mistake in the writing of the descendants, Zhu Zaiyuan also existed at that time, he was Qi Dong'an and Wang of Hengfu. This mistake was first written in the book "The Universe in the Palm" written by Lu Han, and was later quoted by many parties and widely circulated.
Speaking of Zhu Zaikun, most people may not be touched, the ministers appointed during his reign are much more famous, and the ministers he appointed, such as Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, Xu Jie, and Qi Jiguang, were all ministers who had a profound impact on the development of the late Ming Dynasty.
According to Zhu Zaikun's origin, talent, and order, the position of emperor is out of reach for him, but it is the drama of history that makes him a great treasure, becoming one of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty and the twelfth emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Ranked third among the brothers, his father, the Jiajing Emperor, made the crown prince in order, Zhu Zaiyuan was named the Prince of Yu, his eldest brother Zhu Zaiji died two months after birth, and the Jiajing Emperor posthumously named Zhu Zaiji the "Prince of Sorrow". In this way, Zhu Zaituan was one step closer to the emperor's throne.
Zhu Zaiyuan's second brother Zhu Zaiyuan was the one who really became the crown prince, and when Zhu Zaiyuan was three years old, the Jiajing Emperor placed high hopes on him, made him crown prince, and ordered him to supervise the country. However, Zhu Zaiyuan died on the third day of the crown ceremony when he was thirteen years old.
Next, it is Zhu Zaituan's turn to be the prince! In his later years, the Jiajing Emperor was not the crown prince, and whoever mentioned the matter of Li Chu to him was anxious with whom. Zhu Zaizhen's younger brother Zhu Zaizhen could not sit still and was particularly active in being the crown prince.
It's not that he doesn't want to be a prince, he doesn't dare to make a prince! Two princes were erected in a row, both of whom died prematurely, and the Jiajing Emperor favored the Taoist priests, who told him: "The two dragons do not see each other." So he ended up not even seeing his son's face.
It is said that Zhu Zaizhen actively and enthusiastically wanted to win the position of crown prince, and his father, the Jiajing Emperor, had never expressed his position, and he could only stay in his fiefdom and obediently be his King of Jing. Queen Jing, who had been queen for four years, also died. After Zhu Zaizhen's death, the Jiajing Emperor said to Xu Jie: "My son has always sought to compete for the position of crown prince, and now he is dead."
It was like having the aura of the protagonist, not fighting for the throne of the last emperor himself, but he had not been a prince for a day, and he was directly promoted from the king of the domain to the emperor. His brothers who became princes all died early, and his path to becoming emperor was unusually smooth. This may be by nature.
After Zhu Zaiquan became emperor steadily, he began a drastic reform, handing over to the relevant departments all the Daoist priests favored by his father Emperor Jiajing to be convicted of crimes, and appointing zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Xu Jie, Chen Yiqin, and other talented and capable ministers, and the imperial court also showed a new atmosphere.
He also exempted the common people from taxes, and his own life was quite frugal, and he lifted the ban of his father, the Jiajing Emperor, from "closing the country to the outside world" and allowing merchants to go overseas to trade on their own. At the same time, it also stabilized the regime militarily, working to address the threat of the Wokou and the Mongols in the north.
He also made peace for the formerly wronged ministers, and it was during this period that Hai Rui was reinstated by the official and promoted to the post of Dali Temple. He did not restrain his trusted ministers and allowed them to use their talents, and the period of his reign became known as the "Longqing New Deal".
No one is perfect, no matter how good a person has shortcomings, Zhu Zai's shortcoming is indulgence and lust, there are clear historical records that he took aphrodisiacs for a long time, and the concubines were excessively sexual, and had to quit the dynasty for two months. Even if he had cultivated for two months, he had not cultivated well, and as soon as he first ascended to the court, he was dizzy and trembling, and he had no choice but to return to the palace to cultivate again.
In may 1572, Zhu Zaituo became increasingly weak because of his heavy body, and in May 1572, he gathered his close ministers to make a testament, and within a few days he died of death, and he was only thirty-six years old when he died of illness. His successor was Zhu Yijun, the MingShen Sect, the Wanli Emperor we are familiar with who reigned for more than forty Chinese New Year's Eve and did not ascend to the throne for many years.
Conclusion: During Zhu Zaituo's reign, the economy and military have developed by leaps and bounds, which has enabled Guotai and Min'an, calmed the Wukou on the southern frontier, stabilized the threat of Mongolia in the north, and laid a solid foundation for "Wanli Zhongxing". But his lack of control over the ministers he appointed also led to the beginning of a party struggle in the Ming Dynasty.
Looking back at Zhu Zaiyuan's personality today, our evaluation of him can only be that he is lustful and mediocre, and he can also be called a good emperor for the country and the people.