When we look through history, it is not difficult to find that kings in ancient times often have a common feature, that is, they have been on the throne for a long time. After all, only if they are in office long enough can they make some achievements and thus become famous for thousands of years. Therefore, most of the Ming Emperors in successive dynasties ruled for more than ten years.
It's just that among the many emperors, there is such an emperor who is very special. Although he reigned for less than a year, he was also famous in history and became a generation of Ming Emperors in people's minds. He was Akihito Zhu Gaozi.
The reason why we describe Zhu Gaozi as a generation of Ming emperors is mainly because in the more than two hundred days of his succession, he successively solved the four major problems of the Ming Dynasty, thus laying a good foundation for his son Zhu Zhanji.
Although Zhu Gaozi is fat and weak, and is not as outstanding as his brother Zhu Gaoxu, because of his outstanding talent and more than 20 years of experience in governing the country, Zhu Gaozi can also be called a generation of Ming Jun.
I. Eliminate the negative effects of the Battle of Jing
As we all know, Zhu Di was the only emperor in history who successfully ascended the throne as emperor. It is precisely because of this historical background that Zhu Di caused a very significant negative impact after succeeding to the throne. First of all, the Battle of Jingnan, as a battle of the king of the domain initiated by Zhu Di, caused great damage to the north of the country. Secondly, it was because of the occurrence of this battle that it brought a lot of turmoil to the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
First of all, after Zhu Di entered the Capital Division, in order to consolidate his rule, he carried out a large-scale massacre of his courtiers who had been loyal to the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao, of which Fang Xiaoru was the most tragic. Fang Xiaoru, as a great Confucian, was brutally murdered for refusing to write an edict of succession for Zhu Di.
However, such an act did not help Zhu Di to correct his sight, and he successively killed a number of loyal and righteous soldiers under Zhu Yunjiao, which brought a very bad influence on the rule of the Ming Dynasty. In order to alleviate this bad influence, Zhu Gaozi first corrected Fang Xiaoru's name after succeeding to the throne.
Second, he pardoned most of the courtiers who had taken the wrong side in the Battle of Jingnan. Because of his actions, everyone gradually forgot about the rebellious behavior of King Zhu Di.
2. Reduce or reduce the burden on the state economy
After a smooth succession, Zhu Di had five consecutive expeditions to the north of the desert in order to consolidate Daming's border defenses. Although this did ensure the territory of the Ming Dynasty, it also brought a huge burden to the people of the Ming Dynasty. Because the northern nomads could live anywhere, this also caused their mobility to be relatively large, so that the Ming army could not seriously injure its roots.
Over time, the investment in the conquest of the desert north became larger and larger, but the effect achieved was not too high. Therefore, after Zhu Gaozi succeeded to the throne, he immediately stopped all military activities of Daming in order to recuperate and reduce the burden of life of the people.
In addition, he reduced taxes as much as possible, encouraged the people to reclaim more land, and encouraged the palace and officials to live frugally. It is precisely because of this change that the treasury of the Ming Dynasty has moved from emptiness to fullness, and the economy of the Ming Dynasty has also developed well.
3. Cabinet system
As early as the early days of Zhu Yuanzhang's establishment of the Ming Dynasty, because of the shortcomings of the previous dynasty's rule, he abolished the chancellor system, and after succeeding to the throne, he issued an edict that the Ming Dynasty was not allowed to establish a chancellor system. However, after the abolition of this system, the pressure on the emperor increased a lot.
Because no matter how big or small the events submitted by the ministers, the emperor personally handled them, which made many kings of the Ming Dynasty feel powerless. Because of his outstanding ability, Zhu Yuanzhang was able to handle state affairs with ease during his reign, but his descendants were not as good as he was.
Many descendants are shorter because they are too diligent in governing the country, and the Ming Dynasty has become a famous short-lived dynasty in history. In order to change this phenomenon, Zhu Gaozi established a cabinet system, hoping to help him alleviate the pressure of approving gifts.
However, as the power of cabinet members became more and more powerful, the Ming Dynasty once again appeared on a par with the prime minister system. For example, the famous traitors of the Ming Dynasty, Yan Song, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng, were all tilted toward the opposition because the cabinet power was too large.
Fourth, rectify the atmosphere of the officialdom
As a famous ruthless emperor in Chinese history, Zhu Yuanzhang's methods were very tough. For those disobedient courtiers, Zhu Yuanzhang would often exterminate the Nine Tribes, which led to many officials in the early Ming Dynasty who did not dare to discuss state affairs at will. You must know that the more you talk about it, the greater the chance of making mistakes, and it is easier to lose your life.
But the silence of officials is not a good thing for governing the country. In order to change this perception among the officials, after Zhu Gaozi's succession to the throne, he began to implement benevolent government. First, many of the tortures established during Zhu Yuanzhang's period were abolished, and the official style of the officialdom was vigorously rectified again.
After some of his governance, the Daming officialdom gradually became a new look, and officials were willing to express their views on state affairs. However, such an approach also has certain drawbacks, because in the late Ming Dynasty, Ming officials were no longer afraid to say it, but too dare to say it. It even moves in the direction of loyal words against the ear.
summary:
Although Zhu Gaozi reigned for less than a year, the various actions he made during his administration of the government laid a good foundation for Daming's future development. Of course, we cannot deny that some of his measures had certain drawbacks in the later period, and also caused a lot of influence on the Ming Dynasty.
But at least during his succession, both political and national development gradually eased. This also makes people can't help but fantasize about whether If Zhu Gaozi can live for ten more years, whether Daming can once again appear in the prosperous world. Will it not go into recession step by step and eventually go to extinction?