On September 26, 1620, the sky was bright, and from the deep and cold inner court of the Forbidden City, a sharp and loud mourning sound: "Emperor Daxing has collapsed!" ”
After a while, the entire Forbidden City was covered with white curtains and black veils, crying endlessly, and outside the dormitory, a group of civil and military ministers knelt down in black pressure to see off Zhu Changluo, who had only been the Ming Emperor for a month.
And among these ministers, there was one person who was dripping with cold sweat and trembling all over, because the night before Zhu Changluo, it was this person who presented two red pills to the emperor that claimed to be able to "bring the dead back to life".
Strangely, the official was not prosecuted by the imperial court afterwards. In the eyes of the ministers, the reason why Emperor Zhu Changxun of Daxing died violently was because of the four things he did during his lifetime, which caused his sudden collapse!
It was a pure accident
In fact, Zhu Changluo's ability to come to the world was purely an accident. His father, Zhu Yijun, was made the crown prince at the age of six and ascended the throne at the age of ten. The power of the court was successively controlled by the cabinet chief assistant Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and other ministers, and his mother Empress Dowager Li was very strict with his education, so that he worshipped Zhang Juzheng as a teacher, and all court decrees were only obeyed by the teacher.
In this high-pressure and depressive growth environment, "three good students" Zhu Yijun grew up day by day, when he was nineteen years old, one day he went to his mother Empress Dowager Li's palace as a guest, the age of blood and strength, naturally has a strong lust, when he saw that the palace queen was born amorous and peugeot, it was inevitably difficult to control, so he had an indescribable thing with Wang.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Yijun fell into the soul and made the Wang family pregnant with the dragon species - Zhu Changluo.
In the same year, under the auspices of Zhang Juzheng, the imperial court held a large-scale draft for Zhu Yijun, and the fourteen-year-old Zheng Mengjing captured Zhu Yijun's heart because of his outstanding appearance.
However, the news that the palace queen clan was pregnant with a dragon seed soon spread throughout the palace, which made Zhu Yijun, who was only willing to live and fly with Zheng Mengjing, have to give the Wang family, who had long been forgotten by him, a name. So, under the urging of the Empress Dowager Li, Wang was canonized as Concubine Gong.
Although Zhu Changluo is the eldest son, he is not treated well by his father, and his mother Wang is even more disliked by his father and has been neglected for a long time. When Zhu Changluo was four years old, Zheng Mengjing gave birth to a baby boy and was overjoyed, and named him Zhu Changxun, not only spending a huge amount of money on a feast, but also planning to change Zheng Mengjing to be the queen.
Zhu Yijun's "commotion operation" undoubtedly provided a broad stage for people with ill intentions to carry out their conspiracies, and soon, the sudden arrival of a "divine sticker" broke the long-term tranquility of the Ming Dynasty.
The dispute over the country's capital led to a major case of witchcraft
After Zhu Changxun was born, Zhu Yijun was even more obedient and pampered by his beloved Zheng Mengjing. Zheng Mengjing took the opportunity to admonish Zhu Yijun, wanting him to make his child Zhu Changxun the crown prince, and Zhu Yijun, who was carried away by love, immediately agreed to the invitation, but at this time he did not realize the strength of the civil official group headed by Zhang Juzheng.
When Zhu Yijun revealed to the ministers that he wanted to establish Zhu Changxun as the crown prince, he was immediately opposed by the civil official group. Since the queen has no heirs, the eldest son Zhu Changluo is the first choice for the prince.
Although Zhu Yijun was quite annoyed by this style of the civil official group, he was helpless in the face of the "ancestral training", so in the major matter of canonizing the crown prince, his only way could only be: delay!
The position of the prince has been vacant for a long time, which caused panic among a group of courtiers, so Zhu Changxun wanted to replace Zhu Changluo, and the news that Zhu Yijun was "violated" as the crown prince spread in the palace.
At this time, a major case with wide involvement also began. In the winter of 1589 A.D., Dali Temple Commentator Yu Yuren handed over a letter of "Four Proverbs of Wine and Wealth", accusing Zhu Yijun of favoring Zheng Guifei alone, causing chaos in the government and the country's capital, Zhu Yijun was very angry about this, and explained to the courtiers many times, saying that the reason why he delayed the establishment of the prince was because Zhu Changluo was weak and wanted to wait for him to be healthy before he was too late, and this matter had nothing to do with Zheng Guifei.
At the same time, Zheng Mengjing was also pampered and arrogant, and asked the courtiers to engrave Zhu Changxun in the name of the crown prince, and hold a grand sacrifice in Mount Tai, and the heart of the prince was clearly revealed.
How could a group of upright ministers allow the Zheng family to come so nonsense? As a result, they have accelerated the progress of urging the emperor to establish a prince. The so-called public indignation is difficult to settle, Zhu Yijun had to make Zhu Changluo the crown prince in 1601, but his love for Zheng Mengjing has increased unabated, so that the East Palace where Zhu Changluo lives may change to a new owner at any time - Zhu Changxun.
The group of ministers who supported the crown prince, in order to solve this thorny problem once and for all, a conspiracy immediately began.
In order to increase her capital, Concubine Zheng Guifei published a women's moral book "Boudoir Fan Illustrated" by the famous Confucian Lu Kun.
Who knows, a few years later, a book called "Discussion of Anxiety" made a lot of noise in the capital in the form of leaflets, and everyone knew about it. The article directly exposed a large group of Wenchen led by Lu Kun and Zheng's relatives to talk about the "national issue", intending to plot against evil!
After Zhu Yijun heard this, Long Yan was furious, and immediately denounced this article as a "demon book" and banned its dissemination, and tried his best to refute Zheng Guifei, claiming that "Boudoir Fan Tushuo" was ordered to be printed by himself, and all matters had nothing to do with Zheng Guifei.
But who would have thought that a wave of unsettled waves would arise again and again, in the third year after Zhu Changluo was canonized as the crown prince, an unveiling post titled "Continuing the Worries and Dangers" appeared in front of the Cabinet scholar Zhu Geng's mansion, which once again caused an uproar in the government and politics.
It turned out that the unveiling post in the name of "Zheng Fucheng" directly pointed the finger at Zheng Mengjing and the mother and son of the blessed king Zhu Changxun, causing Zhu Yijun to be angry again, so a widely implicated case was launched, countless literati lost their official positions and lost their lives, and the Ming officials were in danger from then on, and they were silent, and at the same time, this case also opened a major stubborn disease that ruined the Ming Dynasty - the precedent of party contention.
The party Zheng Mengjing in this crisis, because of Zhu Yijun's favoritism, not only was he unharmed, but his grace was glorious, which undoubtedly did not increase the anxiety of the prince Zhu Changluo, he was worried that one day not only would he not be able to keep the position of the prince, but even his own little life would be lost.
The case of the striage turned the prince into a frightened bird
Zhu Changluo's worries are not groundless, and they are made out of nothing. In fact, although he is nominally the crown prince, he has not been as good as Zhu Changxun, the blessed king, in terms of actual treatment.
Mother Wang has never been treated by her father Zhu Yijun, and being alone all the time is equivalent to being confined to the cold palace for a long time, so she washes her face with tears all day long, and even blinds herself.
In 1611 A.D., the depressed Wang family finally couldn't resist the disease, died, after his death, the ruthless Zhu Yijun has not been buried thickly, and finally it was a group of ministers who tried their best to give advice to let this hard-working woman have the status she deserved after death.
After his mother left, Zhu Changluo was in fear and worry for a long time, and in the face of Zheng Guifei's counterattack at any time, he had no power to fight back, and even his father Zhu Yijun still dedicated his most sincere love and concern to Zheng Guifei's mother and son in the last few years of his life.
Zhu Yijun has always been angry that he did not fulfill his promise to make Zhu Changxun the crown prince, so he spent a huge amount of 100,000 yuan to build a Buddhist temple in the Tongzhou area for Zheng Guifei to calm his heart.
This move was even more feared by Zhu Changluo, and Concubine Zheng's status has always been unshakable. On May 30, 1615, a court case that should never have happened and made people think about it suddenly happened.
That night, a man named Zhang Cha broke directly into the East Palace, he held a thick wooden stick in his hand, and beat the East Palace guards who came to stop him like he was crazy, and then went straight to the residence of the crown prince Zhu Changluo, and as a result, he was successfully subdued under the eaves in front of the palace.
After severe torture and interrogation, Zhang Cha confessed: He was instructed by Concubine Zheng Guifei to go to the East Palace and end the prince's life. Concubine Zheng immediately cried to Zhu Yijun, saying that she had nothing to do with this matter!
As a result, the most bizarre scene of the case appeared, when Zheng Guifei went to the East Palace to "apologize" to the crown prince Zhu Changluo according to Zhu Yijun's instructions, Zhu Changluo actually knelt down to Zheng Guifei to apologize, which shows that even when he has an advantage and a group of ministers to protect him, Zhu Changluo has always maintained a jealous heart towards Zheng Guifei.
As a result, the case was trivialized by Zhu Yijun, and Zhang Cha was sentenced to death for madness, but the two masterminds of the case, Zheng Guifei's henchmen, eunuchs Pang Bao and Liu Cheng, were able to get away with it!
A bizarre death after a month in power
Five years after the shooting, Zhu Yijun, who had reigned for 48 years and had been in power for more than 30 years, finally passed away.
Although, at the enthronement ceremony, Zhu Changluo behaved calmly and peacefully, but it was only a flash in the pan and a return to the light.
Soon after Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, he allocated 1 million silver within three days to comfort the Liaodong soldiers who dealt with the Jin State, and dismissed the mining tax and the tax, withdrew the mining tax envoy, added the cabinet ministers, and operated the center, "the government and the opposition were moved."
But perhaps because he had been under the obscenity of his father and Zheng Guifei for a long time, he had been suppressed for too long, Zhu Changluo gradually indulged in wine, and "accepted all the beauties" sent by Zheng Guifei. Within ten days, the emperor fell ill. It seems that it can be concluded that Zhu Changluo's violent death is related to Zheng Guifei's tribute to beauties for days and days, and Zhu Changluo's indulgence!
And what gave Zhu Changluo a fatal blow was the small pill that shocked the entire government and the opposition. Here's the thing: On August 14, 1620, Zhu Changluo was terminally ill and urgently recruited the eunuch Cui Wensheng to the palace for treatment.
Cui Wensheng was originally a close confidant of Zheng Guifei, and soon after Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, he was promoted by Zheng Guifei to be a eunuch and in charge of the palace pharmacy. On the day when Zhu Changluo was seriously ill, this kid actually made the emperor take a large dose of laxatives, and even made Zhu Changluo excrete more than 30 times in a row, so that his body fell into a state of collapse for a while.
On August 28, Cui Wensheng was expelled from the palace in the reprimand of the British minister Zhang Weixian and the first assistant of the cabinet, but the next day, Li Kezhuo, the head of the Honglu Temple, was worried about the holy body and presented the red pill that had been developed for many years, hoping for a miracle.
As a result, the "miracle" really appeared, Zhu Changluo felt refreshed after taking the first red pill, and his condition was suddenly relieved, so in the afternoon of the same day, he took the second red pill, but his condition worsened that night, and around the early hours of the morning, the thirty-nine-year-old Zhu Changluo finished his tortuous and bumpy life.
In fact, the so-called "red pill" offered by Li Kezhuo is a "elixir" containing a large amount of lead and mercury compounds, as early as thousands of years ago, the first emperor Yingzheng had already felt the power of this "elixir", and now Li Kezhuo's old tricks are repeated, which undoubtedly accelerated Zhu Changluo's death!
Speaking of Zhu Changluo's violent death, it is not all the effect of the "elixir", he has long suffered from the contempt of his father and the threat of Zheng Guifei's mother and son, this suffocating environment undoubtedly made the young Zhu Changluo carry a heavy burden, and over the years, it also caused a serious illness in extreme fear and depression.
After ascending the throne, this invisible "shackle" still has not been taken off Zhu Changluo's neck, and even in the shadow of power, he gradually began to learn to be obedient, he accepted all the women sent by Zheng Guifei, and he drank all the laxatives offered by Cui Wensheng, and these things undoubtedly became several "sharp knives" that took his life, making him step by step towards the grave of death!
In short, Zhu Changluo, who has been in a state of depression for a long time, is like a marionette, pulled by the four major amulets of depression, frailty, indulgence, and fierce medicine.
epilogue
Zhu Changluo, who came to the world because of an accident, died in a hurry due to another accident, maybe he will have a lot of fear, a lot of unwillingness, a lot of helplessness, and a lot of regrets in this life, but since he was born in the emperor's family, he has to bear this pain!
In the end, under the torrent of fate, he became a grain of yellow sand that was eliminated, and he withdrew from the stage with his unfinished historical mission, leaving people with regret at the same time, probably contemplation!
Resources:
"Twenty-one Ming History"
The Palace Museum: Emperor Taichang