In August of the first year of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty (1450), a eunuch hurriedly entered the door to report: "Report to the emperor, the emperor is back!" ”
Emperor Daizong Zhu Qiyu's face changed greatly after hearing this, and he scolded fiercely: "Yang Shan, this kid, you are miserable!" ”
A year ago, that is, in the fourteenth year of orthodoxy (1449), Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, under the instigation of the eunuch Wang Zhen, led hundreds of thousands of elite Ming troops to meet the invading Wara army, but was defeated and captured in Tumubao, which is known as the "Tumubao Change" in history.
The emperor was captured, people's hearts were in turmoil, and the Ming Dynasty reached a critical point of life and death. The country cannot be without a monarch for a day, Yu Qian and other ministers suggested that Yingzong's half-brother Zhu Qiyu be the emperor, and this suggestion was also approved by the queen mother.
Zhu Qiyu didn't want to do it, he said: "In case my brother Yingzong comes back, where will I go?" ”
The ministers advised one after another: "When the national disaster is at hand, why do you want to do so much, besides, you still don't know the history of Song Huizong and Qinzong?" ”
That means, does Yingzong still have a chance to come back? In this way, Zhu Qiyu, the king of servants, was ordered to respect Yingzong as the emperor and ascend the throne himself (Emperor Daizong). Under the leadership of Daizong, the soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty were united in their efforts, and under the leadership of Yu Qian, they carried out the defense of Beijing, and finally repelled the invaders and kept the Ming Dynasty.
Realistically speaking, Warat at that time had the strength to overthrow the Ming Dynasty. In the Tumubao Change, the Ming Dynasty concentrated all the elites, and they were all beaten to pieces, and Wara wanted to destroy the Ming Dynasty, as long as the strategy was right, it was not an impossible task.
However, the Warat army actually lacked cohesion, and the tribes were scattered and infighting, and under this premise, it was difficult to pose a substantial threat to the Ming Dynasty.
The reason for the Tumubao change was not that they wanted to invade the Ming Dynasty, but that during the time of tribute, a dispute between the two sides over the quality and quantity of offerings turned into a conflict.
For the current situation of non-stop internal strife, the leader of Warat has no good way at first, he just wants to attack the Ming Dynasty city, get the spoils back and share the spoils, and maintain the internal status quo through external wars.
Therefore, they did not detain them indefinitely as the Jin people did with the two emperors of the Song Dynasty, Huizong and Qinzong. For Ye Xian, one more person and one more mouth is a big financial burden, it is better to let it go and get some benefits from the Ming Dynasty.
In June of the following year, Warat sent an envoy to Daming, saying, "We want to release your Emperor Taishang, as long as we give us more benefits." ”
When the ministers of the Ming Dynasty heard this, they clapped their hands and said to Daizong: "Your Majesty, this is a good idea, let the Emperor Taishang come back." ”
When Daizong heard this, he was anxious, and said in his heart that it was you who put Lao Tzu on the throne at the beginning, and now that my brother is back, can I still sit on this throne?
As soon as Daizong heard the minister's suggestion, he lowered his face and didn't speak for a long time.
At this time, Yu Qian stood up and spoke: "Now that the throne has been decided, and the wood has been completed, how can there be any reason to change?" The minister thought that it was better to take the emperor back, otherwise we would not be able to get over the face of Daming. ”
Zhu Qiyu's ability to ascend the throne and stabilize the situation depends on Yu Qian. Now that Yu adults are saying this, he can't say anything, so he has to say in an official tone: "Then let Yang Shan, the imperial historian of the right capital, and Zhao Rong, the waiter of the Ministry of Works, go to Wara to discuss this matter." ”
Daizong means that it is better to send ministers to go through the motions, stop everyone's mouths, and it is best to refuse Wara's request, it is good to release people, but it is best not to release people. But what he didn't expect was that this messenger Yang Shan admitted the truth.
Yang Shan began to serve the Ming Dynasty when he was Emperor Zhu Di of Yongle, and was deeply favored by the emperor and loyal to Yingzong. After Daizong ascended the throne, Yang Shan continued to be reused, but he never forgot Yingzong.
The old minister was happy because of his promotion, but he burst into tears and said, "Have you forgotten the situation of the emperor? Although Daizong was lukewarm and did not make a clear statement, Yang Shan still secretly made up his mind that Yingzong must come back.
Before leaving, the imperial court did not approve much funds, and he actually sold all his family property, planning to use the money to dredge the relevant personnel of Warat.
Thanks to Yang Shan's efforts, Yingzong was finally released and returned to Beijing. When Daizong heard the news, he was like a thunderbolt from the blue, and said in his heart that trouble is coming, how can this be good?
In order to prevent Zhu Qizhen from colluding with his former ministers to regain the throne, he immediately sent the other party to the Chongzhi Hall of Nangong (Yan'an Palace) and put him under house arrest. Daizong also ordered that the door of the main hall be locked, and food could only be brought in through a hole, and outsiders, no matter who it was, could not enter.
In fact, when Daizong ascended the throne, Yingzong's biological mother, Empress Dowager Sun, said that although you became the emperor, the crown prince is still your brother (Yingzong)'s son Zhu Jianshen, and the throne will be returned to the eldest nephew in the future.
When Zhu Qiyu tasted the taste of power, he naturally refused to let go, and in May of the third year of Jingtai (1452), he demoted the crown prince Zhu Jianshen to the king of Yi and renamed his son Zhu Jianji as the crown prince.
But Zhu Qiyu still relented a little and made two mistakes, one was that he did not let Yingzong mysteriously disappear, giving the old ministers hope for restoration; The second is that there was no major change of blood among the ministers of the imperial court, which created conditions for the restoration of Yingzong.
This can't all be blamed on Zhu Qiyu, it's caused by the system.
To be an emperor is learned, you must be proficient in imperial art, what is imperial art? It is ruthless and harnesses the minister's technique. In ancient times, only the crown prince could be trained in this area, and other princes would be beheaded if they learned this knowledge. Therefore, the prince who became the emperor halfway, no matter how capable you are, generally can't do well, such as Zhu Youzhen (Emperor Chongzhen).
Zhu Qiyu was not cultivated as a prince at all, and it was very accidental to be an emperor, he didn't know anything about imperial arts, and he dragged his feet when he did things, and he was not decisive enough. Therefore, Daizong made a big mistake, left his henchmen in trouble, and sent himself to the point of no return.
In the seventh year of Jingtai (1456), seeing that Daizong's health was getting worse day by day, a minister named Shi Heng had an idea to restore Yingzong.
His good buddy, Xu Youzhen, the left deputy capital, first expressed his support.
Both of them have one thing in common, that is, they have a holiday with Yu Qian. Shi Heng was an officer, and under Yu Qian's promotion, he was able to fight well, and he made many miraculous achievements in the battle to resist the invasion of Warat, and Daizong also valued him very much, and appointed him as the prince and prince.
Yu Qian once gave him a lot of care, and in return, Shi Heng suggested to Emperor Daizong that Yu Qian's son be promoted exceptionally. But Yu Qian is straightforward, not only does he not appreciate it, but he also once angrily scolded Shi Heng at work, saying that he is a villain. Therefore, the two had a grudge, and the seeds of hatred were planted in Shi Heng's heart.
Besides, although Shi Heng is in a high position, he is still more than a little worse than Yu Qianlai. If Yingzong is restored, he can kill Yu Qian and make himself a powerful minister above ten thousand people under one person. At that time, Shi Heng was the chief soldier, holding the power of the army, and there were conditions for a coup d'état.
As for Xu Youzhen, her hatred with Yu Qian is even deeper.
This person's name is Xu Hui, and he became a waiter during the Yingzong period, specializing in lecturing for the emperor and the crown prince. After the Tumubao Incident, this person was frightened and advocated escaping in the court, which was angrily reprimanded by Yu Qian and others, and his political future was also ruined. In desperation, he changed his name to Xu Youzhen and blended into officialdom again.
If the coup is successful, he Xu Youzhen will be the founding father of the country, and he can also kill his political opponent Yu Qian, killing two birds with one stone.
In addition to the two of them, the eunuch Cao Jixiang, the governor Zhang Xuan, the imperial capital of the Imperial Court Yang Shan, the Taichangqing Xu Bin and others all supported the coup d'état with different purposes.
In the first month of the eighth year of Jingtai (1457), Daizong Zhu Qiyu was seriously ill, and these people saw the opportunity and decided to do it.
On the sixteenth night of the first lunar month, these people released Zhu Qizhen and came to Fengtian Hall to ascend the throne.
The seriously ill Daizong didn't know anything about this. On the morning of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, he got up very early, washed and dressed, ate early, and planned to go to the court with a strong spirit.
At this time, the eunuch hurriedly came to report: "Your Majesty, the big thing is not good!" ”
"What's the matter?"
"The Emperor's ......"
"What's wrong with the Emperor?"
"The Emperor...... He...... He was reset. ”
Daizong listened to it dumbfounded, and muttered for a long time, he gasped, sighed, and said, "Okay, good, great......" After speaking, he squatted on the chair and closed his eyes in despair (he died a few days later).
In fact, at this time, his only son, the crown prince Zhu Jianji, had been dead for 4 years, and even if this did not happen, Jiang Shan would be the eldest nephew in the future. From this point of view, the restoration of Yingzong did not have such a great impact on him.
It's just that Yu Qian's life has undergone major changes and suffered a catastrophe.
After Yingzong was reinstated, he changed the name of the year to Tianshun and rewarded the heroes of the coup. On the same day, Yingzong immediately ordered the arrest of Yu Qian, the secretary of the military department, and Wang Wen, the secretary of the ministry. Only five days after the coup, on the 22nd, Yingzong couldn't wait to kill Yu Qian and Wang Wen for treason.
In fact, when he killed Yu Qian, Yingzong was also entangled, after all, if Yu Qian hadn't turned the tide at the beginning, the Ming Dynasty would have been over. If you kill him, will it make the world talk about it, saying that you are ruthless?
At this time, Xu Youzhen spoke:
"Yu Qian is Daizong's right-hand man, he originally enthroned the servant king Zhu Qiyu, and later abolished the prince Zhu Jianshen, and then imprisoned the Holy Lord, Yu Qian was the mastermind behind the scenes, or acquiesced! The most important thing is that if Yu Qian is not killed, then the restoration of the Holy Lord will lose its legitimacy. ”
Yingzong nodded again and again after hearing this, and then made up his mind.
Ironically, the ministers who participated in the coup generally ended badly. Shi Heng was implicated in his nephew's rebellion and was cut to the people. Xu Youzhen was also dismissed from office and exiled. Cao Jixiang was sentenced to death for rebellion.
References:
History of the Ming Dynasty, Volume 171, Biography 59
"Ming Shilu: Ying Zongrui Emperor Record"
Ming Tongjian, Volume 25