Many people have the impression that the Yuan Dynasty was the "dark age" in Chinese history, and all kinds of strange and killing events occurred one after another inside and outside the Yuan court. And the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty were not good people, except for the Emperor who was a tyrant. In fact, the above statement is not correct, and like other dynasties in Chinese history, the Yuan Dynasty has both contributions and negative effects. The emperors of the Yuan Dynasty also had both good emperors, as well as emperors and tyrants. Today we will talk about a good emperor who is recognized in the history of the Yuan Dynasty--Emperor Yuan Yingzong'er Only Jin Shuode Eight La.
Images of Former Eyong
On March 1, 1320, Emperor Yuanrenzong's son, Jin Ayutili Bada, died. A month and a half later, Emperor Yuanrenzong's 18-year-old eldest son Shuode Balai succeeded to the throne as Emperor Yuanyingzong. This is also the only time in the history of the Yuan Dynasty that the imperial succession was realized according to the Han dynasty's primogeniture system.
Yuan Yingzong, like his father Emperor Renzong, was passionate about Han culture, and he received a good Confucian education from an early age, being able to memorize Tang poems and master calligraphy. This had a very significant impact on the subsequent line of governance.
When Emperor Yuanyingzong ascended the throne as empress, he was nominally the supreme leader of the country, but the actual power was in the hands of the empress dowager and the right chancellor Temu Di'er. Temudian was a famous traitor in the history of the Yuan Dynasty, who was supported by the empress dowager, and acted as a blessing in the imperial court and persecuted political enemies. Many of his ministers who had impeached him during Emperor Renzong's reign were executed by him on trumped-up charges. At the beginning of the Yingzong dynasty, Temudian's power almost reached the level of dictatorship.
However, although Yuan Yingzong was a young tianzi, he was not a mediocre talent. As early as when he was still the crown prince, he dared to openly disobey his grandmother's will, and the empress dowager once sighed angrily: "I don't intend to raise this child." (I really shouldn't have raised this grandson)
In order to break the monopoly of the imperial government between the empress dowager and Temudiel, Emperor Yuanyingzong appointed the 22-year-old Baizhu as the left chancellor in the summer of 1320. The ancestors who worshiped him were Muhuali, the most trusted subordinate of Genghis Khan and the founding hero of the Mongol Empire. Because of this background, baili had a wide range of supporters among the Mongol nobility. In addition, like Yuan Yingzong, Baizhu had a good Confucian education and was keen on Han culture. So he was also one of the Mongols most supported by han ministers.
Because they were like-minded, Yuan Yingzong and Baizhu Junchen soon became close partners. Since then, Yuan Yingzong began to have his own group. However, he was not in a hurry to seize power from the Empress Dowager and Temudian, because at this time both of them were old and in poor health, and as long as he waited patiently, he would soon have the opportunity to show his ambitions.
From October to November 1322, Temudian and empress dowager died of illness, and Emperor Yuanyingzong finally got his wish to take control of the throne. His first act after pro-government was to promote Baizhu to the position of Right Chancellor (the status of Right Chancellor of the Yuan Dynasty was higher than that of Zuo ChengXiang), and then he promoted a large number of Han Confucian ministers, many of whom were removed from their posts during Temudier's reign.
With the assistance of Worship and Confucian courtiers, Emperor Yuan Yingzong embarked on a drastic reform. He ordered the mass dismissal of redundant officials and planned to reduce the size of the government. At the same time, he also issued the "ZhenjuTai Program System", requiring the selection of talents and the selection of outstanding talents. In terms of finance, Yuan Yingzong promulgated the "Law of Assisting Servants" in May 1323, which greatly reduced the burden of military service on the people. In order to rationalize the administration and make the judiciary fair, he also promulgated the "Great Yuan Tong System" to eliminate the confusion of inconsistent government decrees and different punishments for crimes in the past.
The series of reforms introduced by Yuan Yingzong in a short period of time undoubtedly injected a shot in the arm for the Yuan Dynasty, which was already in its twilight at that time, and Yuan Yingzong became a recognized good emperor in the history of the Yuan Dynasty. However, under the appearance of prosperity, a crisis has unconsciously come to Yuan Yingzong's side.
With the support of the Sinicized Mongol ministers and Han Confucian ministers, Emperor Yuan Yingzong decided to adopt the same set of the Han court and strengthen the centralized power and bureaucracy. In the long run, the size of the Yuan Dynasty, if there is no mature political system, then there will inevitably be a fragmented end. Therefore, Yuan Yingzong's decision to take the Sinicization route was not at fault. However, his reforms seriously harmed the interests of the Mongol kings. According to Mongol tradition, these descendants of Genghis Khan enjoyed many privileges. Emperor Yingzong of Keyuan not only abolished the practice of giving generous gifts to Emperor Zong, but also eagerly wanted to limit the power of Emperor Zong. This prompted the emperors to form an alliance with the opponents of Emperor Yuan Yingzong, and a conspiracy was about to come.
On September 4, 1323, Yuan Yingzong and his party returned to Dadu (present-day Beijing) from Shangdu (present-day Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia), and on the way they camped on the south slope about 30 miles southwest of Shangdu to rest. Late that night, The Imperial Guard led by the Imperial Guard, Zhi Privy CouncilLord Tiemu'er, Andi Nong, and others raided the Emperor's tent, and Emperor Yuanyingzong was killed on the spot, only 20 years old. History refers to this assassination event as the "Change of the Southern Slope".
After the death of Emperor Yingzong of Yuan, the political situation of the Yuan Dynasty began to gradually move towards chaos. By the middle of the fourteenth century, peasant revolts were on fire. In 1368, after the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing, he sent his northern expedition, and the last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Yuanshun, escaped from the Central Plains, and the Yuan Dynasty collapsed.
Reference: Original History