Spoiled eunuchs, absurd, plundered women, coveted cups, and did absurd things, he was the worst emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of The Ming Dynasty.
The above is the evaluation of Zhu Houzhao by many people, who directly denounced Mingwuzong as the worst emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Mingyingzong Zhu Qizhen, who single-handedly caused the change of Tumu Fort, Emperor Chongzhen, the emperor of the fallen country, and the Wanli Emperor, who had not been in the dynasty for twenty years, did not have such a harsh evaluation, but Ming Wuzong, who did not have anything major that could affect the foundation of the imperial court during his reign, was denounced as the worst and faintest emperor.
The wisest emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who was straightforward and dared to fight against the civilian clique, and whose temple name was Wu Yu (武谥号) was Yi , has said it all.
The above is another evaluation of Zhu Houzhao of Ming Wuzong, believing that the absurd things that Ming Wuzong did were all smears on him by civilian officials and the Qing Dynasty, and the absurd things that those civilian officials said were ming wuzong's youthful mentality. If Ming Wuzong was really so unbearable, why would he use "Wu" to make a temple number and "Yi" to make a nickname? The emperor's meritorious courtiers knew that the use of these two words was a number of copies, and no matter how unbearable he was written in the history books, these two words already said it all.
Why did Emperor Mingwuzong have such a polarized evaluation? Was Ming Wuzong really a smeared emperor?
Let's start with the things that Ming Wuzong did.
Emperor Wuzong of Ming was probably the most stable and happiest prince in history, because his father, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, strictly adhered to monogamy and favored empress Zhang only for the rest of his life. And Empress Zhang gave birth to two sons, Emperor Mingwuzong Zhu Houzhao was the eldest son, and the second son Zhu Houwei died early, that is to say, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming only had this one son, and Zhu Houzhao did not need to worry about the problems of his brothers rebelling against the concubines and seizing the throne.
And Ming Xiaozong also had high hopes for this child, and Zhu Houzhao was also considered very smart by the teachers when he was a teenager, and he would definitely be a good emperor in the future.
However, eight eunuchs led by Liu Jin appeared around this clever child, who were known as the "Eight Tigers". In the history books, these eight people can be said to be innocent of evil, deceitful, flattering, and deceitful little prince who has no intention of studying, has no heart for political affairs, and only wants to have fun.
Later, the most criticized "leopard room" was built under the deliberate invitation of the "Eight Tigers". The leopard room collects a variety of rare beasts, as well as singers and dancers, and a large number of beautiful children for mingwuzong to enjoy. With the leopard room, Ming Wuzong did not even return to the palace, and simply lived in the leopard room.
Another place where Ming Wuzong often lived was in the Zhenguo Mansion of Xuanfu, and it was also here that Ming Wuzong did all kinds of absurd and unscrupulous things written by civil officials. The houses of robbing people's daughters, forcing officials to sacrifice their daughters, the constant sound of silk and bamboo, and the raising of hundreds of singers in the palace are all recorded in the "Xuanhua Fu Zhi".
At this point, Ming Wuzong's behavior in the leopard room and the Zhenguo Mansion was full of faint monarchy.
But what is interesting is that after many studies, Ming Wuzong is not only having fun in the leopard room, but also the leopard room is called the leopard room, in fact, there is only one leopard in it. From the second year of Zhengde to the death of Zhengde in the fifteenth year, Emperor Mingwuzong lived in the leopard house, including grading and reforming the government, all here.
Moreover, there was also an incident here, in the ninth year of Zhengde, when fireworks were set off during the Lantern Festival in the palace, the Qianqing Palace was accidentally set on fire. This place of Qianqing Palace is not an ordinary palace, but the head of the three halls of the inner court. Emperor Wuzong ordered the fire to be put out, but he himself ran to the leopard room and said to the left and right, "What a big firework."
Of course, this incident is also called one of the absurd evidences of Wuzong in the eyes of the civil officials, but this sentence itself may not express some of Ming Wuzong's ideas.
Emperor Mingwuzong kept the palace well, and from the second year of his ascension to the throne, he began to build a leopard house, and has lived in the leopard room ever since. He did all those absurd things in the eyes of the courtiers, and in the end the courtiers compromised, as long as the emperor did not make any big trouble, he tossed with him. Now seeing that the Qianqing Palace was burned, Emperor Wuzong instead lamented that the fireworks were burning well, which actually showed that Emperor Wuzong did not want to be bound and manipulated by the civilian officials, and he wanted to really grasp power.
Perhaps in his eyes, living in the palace is equivalent to a puppet emperor who is blindfolded and blocked, he has no trustworthy people, he cannot hear the truth, he does not know the suffering of the people, and he does not know what the world really needs.
Therefore, he secretly ran to the people over and over again, and finally simply built a mansion in Xuanfu, perhaps in his heart, being a minister was much freer than being an emperor, so he changed his name to Zhu Shou and declared himself the Duke of Zhenguo.
And the indignant absurdities done by Emperor Wuzong in the Xuanhua Fu Zhi have also been questioned.
Yang Yiqing recorded the dictations of the people: (Wuzong) The words are very harmonious, so he cooks tea to offer. The patron receives the fruit cake, eats two pieces of it himself, and takes two pieces to give to the old man.
When Emperor Wuzong ate a cup of tea in the folk, he had to return two cakes, and it was really hard to imagine that he would do something to rob the women of the people.
Moreover, Emperor Mingwuzong went from the city of Beijing to Xuanfu, and in the same year there was the Battle of Yingzhou, and Emperor Mingwuzong was bent on marching like Emperor Yongle, but the ministers did not allow it. So Emperor Mingwu came out secretly, and ordered all the ministers not to go to Xuanfu, except for the relatives of the leopard room.
Xuanfu is an important military town in the north and the first line of defense against the invasion of the Mongol army, and Wuzong chose to build a mansion here, which is also of great significance.
However, these ministers who were blocked out of Xuanfu did not know anything about the emperor's experience along the way and the battle of Yingzhou, but instead knew exactly which family daughter Emperor Wuzong had robbed in Xuanfu, where the family lived, and whose surname and surname were difficult not to be suspicious.
The Battle of Yingzhou, it is undeniable that Emperor Mingwuzong won. He showed a talent like Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di, zhu Zhanji in the military, this was the first time he commanded the battle, the Ming army of 50,000 against the Mongolian army of 50,000, the other side was the famous Mongolian military wizard Little Prince Boyan, in this situation, Ming Wuzong still won, and after this stop Mongolia did not dare to invade the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years.
The records in the history books are very intriguing, in the "Records of Emperor Wuzong", the courtiers wrote that "sixteen Mongol troops were killed, and fifty-two Ming troops were killed."
In this battle, the strength of the two sides was nearly 100,000, and there were more than 100 battles of different sizes, how could only such a few people be killed? After Emperor Wuzong returned to the dynasty, he was even more excited to say that he had personally beheaded one person to his teacher Yang Tinghe, and if Emperor Wuzong wanted to lie to face him, he could say that he had beheaded dozens of people, and there was no need to say that he had beheaded one person.
Moreover, after Zhu Houzhao returned, it was rumored that the Emperor of Yingzhou Was actually defeated. After Zhu Houzhao learned of this, he did not go to the court for ten days, and he declared to the outside world that he wanted to take a rest, I am afraid that no one knows how lost this teenager is in his heart.
What was reflected in this incident was that Emperor Mingwuzong's vassals were not under the control of Emperor Wuzong, and even they did not sincerely submit to Emperor Wuzong, but only needed an orthodox emperor to be their puppet.
As a result, Emperor Mingwuzong imitated folk fairs in the palace, built leopard houses outside, sneaked out to play without incident, and secretly ran to the border pass without dissuading himself, all of which were not allowed by the courtiers. In the expectations of these courtiers, the emperor should sit in the palace, listen to their reports, listen to their suggestions, and then make decisions based on their suggestions. You don't need your own thoughts, you just need to make a decision.
Emperor Mingwuzong sneaked out of the imperial palace and personally marched for such a long time, and the imperial court was still running in an orderly manner, which showed that whether the imperial court at that time had an emperor or not had little influence. The emperor did this, either resisting or indulging, and Ming Wuzong chose to resist.
However, no matter how much Ming Wuzong wanted to resist and do more absurd things, he still trusted his teacher Yang Tinghe forever, and all the affairs of the imperial court were handed over to the teacher. He was ridiculous, but he would not kill indiscriminately without a word, because he also understood that these courtiers had real abilities, and the government and government were placed in their hands, at least not chaotic.
It is said that Emperor Wuzong fainted, but during Emperor Wuzong's reign, the national strength that had been declining from the beginning of Emperor Ming Yingzong was gradually rising by this time.
The eight eunuchs headed by Liu Jin were accompanied by Zhu Houzhao when he was crown prince, and it was not so much that Zhu Houzhao favored the eunuchs as that he was supporting his cronies. Zhu Houzhao did not know what Liu Jin and other "Eight Tigers" did that people were indignant about, but he still needed these cronies. When the evidence was conclusive, Zhu Houzhao gave Liu Jin and others to death, and there was no reluctance.
Looking at the "Records of Emperor Mingwuzong", many things done by Emperor Mingwuzong are indeed absurd, but the polarized comments are that many people are holding grievances for Emperor Wuzong. His mistakes were infinitely magnified, but his advantages were vague, he did not mention it, and even the cause of his death was very strange. He was not a good emperor, but he was definitely not a faint, he could not be called the worst emperor, and he was just an ordinary person who was not willing to submit.