Chongzhen and Wei Zhongxian Why did Chongzhen regret killing Wei Zhongxian?

If there is one thing in history that Emperor Chongzhen regretted the most, it was undoubtedly the killing of Wei Zhongxian. According to rumors, soon after Chongzhen killed Wei Zhongxian, he regretted the bitter consequences he had inflicted on himself and his intestines turned green. What's going on? Revealed below.

At the beginning of Chongzhen's accession to the throne, after several trials, he used thunderous means to quietly eliminate the Yan party group headed by Wei Zhongxian and concentrate power in his own hands. The fall of Wei Zhongxian brought some fresh air to the dark politics at that time, and at the same time, Chongzhen also won the cheers and praise of the wise king.

However, seventeen years later, on March 14, the 17th year of Chongzhen’s reign, on the fifth day before he hanged himself in Jingshan Park, Chongzhen did something in despair amid the chaos of war and the collapse of buildings. Something incredible. Under the secret order, he re-intermented Wei Zhongxian's remains and chose the tomb site at Xiangshan Biyun Temple, which Wei Zhongxian had valued for a long time during his lifetime. In the panic and despair of national subjugation and genocide, why did Chongzhen suddenly change his original intention of overthrowing and denying Wei Zhongxian, and unexpectedly collected his bones and erected a monument?

Wei Zhongxian, whose real name is Wanwu, is from Suning, Cangzhou, Hebei, Han nationality, and his original name is Li Jinzhong.

Because he owed a bunch of gambling debts, he castrated himself into the palace. During the Western period of the Ming Dynasty, when he became an eunuch, he changed his name to Wei Zhongxian, and he was very popular. He was called "nine thousand nine hundred years old", so that people "only knew that there was a loyal king, but they did not know that there was an emperor." According to unofficial records, the reason why Wei Zhongxian gained power so quickly was because he had incomplete castration, that is, incomplete palace punishment. He dined with Ming Xizong's wet nurse, Shi Ke, and won his favor.

Wei Zhongxian's generation was a powerful and traitorous person, arbitrary in state affairs, cruel, vicious and arrogant. It is a historical fact that cannot be reversed. However, because of Wei Zhongxian's conflicts with the civil servants who control public opinion, his disadvantages have been infinitely magnified, and his true face has become stereotyped and stigmatized. In fact, no matter whether Wei Zhongxian is "authoritarian" or "dictator", he is very principled and resourceful on issues related to the survival of the nation. Here are a few examples.

First, Wei Zhongxian once pushed forward public opinion and boldly appointed Xiong Yanbi, who was slandered after the defeat of Liaoyang. He did not show favoritism and decisively dismissed Yuan Chonghuan, who could not retreat from the battle between Ning and Jin. He put aside his personal grudges and recommended him against his will. Zhao Nanxing, Sun Chengzong and other capable ministers.

Second, the court had no money to collect taxes. The situation at that time was that southern businessmen had money but farmers had no money. However, the merchants were represented by the Lam Tung Party, which opposed increased taxes on gentry, merchants, craftsmen, and mine owners. Wei Zhongxian ignored these and tried his best to tax the middle and upper classes so that the Ming Empire would not be financially exhausted.

Third, the war in Liaodong was tense and horses were urgently needed. According to the old practice of Wei Zhongxian's Ming Dynasty, ministers had special contributors who could give them the privilege of riding horses in the palace. As a condition, the riders would present a fine horse to the emperor during the festival. Wei Zhongxian suddenly gave hundreds of eunuchs the privilege of riding horses in the palace, and then he kept giving them orders to sacrifice horses, forcing these eunuchs to curse. Wei Zhongxian offended a large number of officials by forcing the Forbidden City to ride horses and raise horses, and he did not reach out to the farmers. Wei Zhongxian also donated money to the country and used his private property to fund Liaodong war weapons, horses and other items.

Four. Wei Zhongxian Group collects various business taxes and sea taxes across the country. Although there is a lot of corruption, it does not increase taxes on the people. At that time, Henan was hit by a disaster, but it was also exempted from taxes. When disaster strikes in Zhejiang and Zhejiang, the internal treasury can allocate funds for disaster relief. The conflicts between the eunuch group and the civil servant group were sharp, but there were not many intrusions and indiscriminate killings. Because Wei Zhongxian himself is a farmer, he knows the difficulties of farmers. During Wei Zhongxian's administration, the domestic political situation was turbulent

In order to win the hearts and minds of the people, the re-elected Lam Dong Party exempted a large number of taxes. Business taxes such as salt tax and cloth tax were no longer levied; farmers' taxes had to be increased due to lack of economic resources. Regardless of whether there is a disaster or not, taxes are the same everywhere and there will be no less. Previous tax arrears must be paid. In my hometown of Li Zicheng, when the eunuchs were in power, they paid two yuan per mu of land. When the Lin Dong Party came to power again, they paid two yuan per mu. Businessmen do not increase taxes, they only include farmers’ money, plus continuous natural disasters that have not happened in hundreds of years. Unable to survive, the peasants had no choice but to join the refugee uprising.

If you don’t get paid, you have to spend a lot of money. The party defended Liao, consuming 9 million taels of silver from the treasury every year. In a few years, all the finances of the Ming Dynasty were consumed. Li Zicheng besieged Beijing, the treasury was in short supply, and Chongzhen borrowed money from courtiers, all of which lost his usual passionate patriotic rhetoric. They have no money? No, as soon as Li Zicheng entered Beijing, they were robbed to the tune of 70 million. They would rather destroy the country than pay for it. From this point of view, the loyalty of civil servants to the court was not as good as that of Wei Zhongxian's eunuchs.

Without the constraints of the eunuch Wei Zhongxian in power, party disputes within the civil service group intensified, with mutual criticism and mutual restriction. Most of the memorials submitted by Lin Dong party members who took it as their duty to talk about Confucianism were big words, empty words and stupid words. They were absurd theories on paper and moral articles that did nothing for the country. No matter how ambitious Chongzhen was, he would still find it difficult to cope with this situation. In seventeen years, he changed seventeen ministers of the Ministry of punishment and fifty cabinet bachelors, but to no avail.

Chongzhen ascended the throne. Under the severe situation of internal and external troubles, the imperial court urgently needed a "capable person" like Wei Zhongxian who had rich experience in handling military affairs and the ability to grasp the turbulent situation to stand alone. Although it cannot reverse the country's decline, it will not collapse anytime soon. However, Chongzhen thought he was better than his brother, underestimated the difficulty and complexity of governing the country, believed Lin Dongdang's empty words, and finally caused his own consequences. Before his death, Chongzhen sighed, "All civil servants can be killed" and "All civil servants have mistaken me." The Ming Dynasty did not die at the hands of Wei Zhongxian's gangsters, but at the hands of corrupt literati who thought they had read the books of sages and sages and governed the country well. It's really a joke and worth thinking about. Before his death, Emperor Taizu Xilin of the Ming Dynasty specifically told Chongzhen, "Wei Zhongxian is loyal and can achieve great things." Eunuch Cao Huachun also said this: "As long as there are loyal and righteous people, the current situation will not end." In hindsight, this makes sense. At least Wei Zhongxian was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and could put the country's plans first.

If there is one thing in history that Emperor Chongzhen regretted the most, it was undoubtedly the killing of Wei Zhongxian. According to rumors, soon after Chongzhen killed Wei Zhongxian, he regretted the bitter consequences he had inflicted on himself and his intestines turned green. What's going on? Revealed below.

At the beginning of Chongzhen's accession to the throne, after several trials, he used thunderous means to quietly eliminate the Yan party group headed by Wei Zhongxian and concentrate power in his own hands. The fall of Wei Zhongxian brought some fresh air to the dark politics at that time, and at the same time, Chongzhen also won the cheers and praise of the wise king.

However, seventeen years later, on March 14, the 17th year of Chongzhen’s reign, on the fifth day before he hanged himself in Jingshan Park, Chongzhen did something in despair amid the chaos of war and the collapse of buildings. Something incredible. Under the secret order, he re-intermented Wei Zhongxian's remains and chose the tomb site at Xiangshan Biyun Temple, which Wei Zhongxian had valued for a long time during his lifetime. In the panic and despair of national subjugation and genocide, why did Chongzhen suddenly change his original intention of overthrowing and denying Wei Zhongxian, and unexpectedly collected his bones and erected a monument?

Wei Zhongxian, whose real name is Wanwu, is from Suning, Cangzhou, Hebei, Han nationality, and his original name is Li Jinzhong.

Because

The generation of Wei Zhongxian was a power treacherous, arbitrary in state affairs, cruel, vicious, and arrogant. This is a historical fact that cannot be reversed. However, because of Wei Zhongxian's conflicts with the civil servants who control public opinion, his disadvantages have been infinitely magnified, and his true face has become stereotyped and stigmatized. In fact, no matter whether Wei Zhongxian is "authoritarian" or "dictator", he is very principled and resourceful on issues related to the survival of the nation. Here are a few examples.

First, Wei Zhongxian once pushed forward public opinion and boldly appointed Xiong Yanbi, who was slandered after the defeat of Liaoyang. He did not show favoritism and decisively dismissed Yuan Chonghuan, who could not retreat from the battle between Ning and Jin. He put aside his personal grudges and recommended him against his will. Zhao Nanxing, Sun Chengzong and other capable ministers.

Second, the court had no money to collect taxes. The situation at that time was that southern businessmen had money but farmers had no money. However, the merchants were represented by the Lam Tung Party, which opposed increased taxes on gentry, merchants, craftsmen, and mine owners. Wei Zhongxian ignored these and tried his best to tax the middle and upper classes so that the Ming Empire would not be financially exhausted.

Third, the war in Liaodong was tense and horses were urgently needed. According to the old practice of Wei Zhongxian's Ming Dynasty, ministers had special contributors who could give them the privilege of riding horses in the palace.

As a condition, the riders would present a fine horse to the emperor during the festival. Wei Zhongxian suddenly gave hundreds of eunuchs the privilege of riding horses in the palace, and then he kept giving them orders to sacrifice horses, forcing these eunuchs to curse. Wei Zhongxian offended a large number of officials by forcing the Forbidden City to ride horses and raise horses, and he did not reach out to the farmers. Wei Zhongxian also donated money to the country and used his private property to fund Liaodong war weapons, horses and other items.

Four. Wei Zhongxian Group collects various business taxes and sea taxes across the country. Although there is a lot of corruption, it does not increase taxes on the people. At that time, Henan was hit by a disaster, but it was also exempted from taxes. When disaster strikes in Zhejiang and Zhejiang, the internal treasury can allocate funds for disaster relief. The conflicts between the eunuch group and the civil servant group were sharp, but there were not many intrusions and indiscriminate killings. Because Wei Zhongxian himself is a farmer, he knows the difficulties of farmers. During Wei Zhongxian's administration, the domestic situation was good and the situation in Liaodong was stable. This kind of ability, this kind of courage, this kind of achievement should still be recognized and affirmed.

After Wei Zhongxian's death, as soon as Chongzhen came to power, Lin Dong, a party member who advocated Confucianism, was immediately appointed. However, at a time of domestic turmoil and border dangers, what role will literati who are good at empty talk but lack the skills to govern the country play?

In order to win the hearts and minds of the people, the re-elected Lam Dong Party exempted a large number of taxes. Business taxes such as salt tax and cloth tax were no longer levied; farmers' taxes had to be increased due to lack of economic resources. Regardless of whether there is a disaster or not, taxes are the same everywhere and there will be no less. Previous tax arrears must be paid. In my hometown of Li Zicheng, when the eunuchs were in power, they paid two yuan per mu of land. When the Lin Dong Party came to power again, they paid two yuan per mu. Businessmen do not increase taxes, they only include farmers’ money, plus continuous natural disasters that have not happened in hundreds of years. Unable to survive, the peasants had no choice but to join the refugee uprising. If you don’t get paid, you have to spend a lot of money. The party defended Liao, consuming 9 million taels of silver from the treasury every year. In a few years, all the finances of the Ming Dynasty were consumed. Li Zicheng besieged Beijing, the treasury was in short supply, and Chongzhen borrowed money from courtiers, all of which lost his usual passionate patriotic rhetoric. They have no money? No, as soon as Li Zicheng entered Beijing, they were robbed to the tune of 70 million. They would rather destroy the country than pay for it. From this point of view, the loyalty of civil servants to the court is not as good as that of Wei Zhongxian's eunuchs.

Without the constraints of the eunuch Wei Zhongxian in North Korea, the party struggle within the civil servant group intensified, with mutual criticism and mutual restriction

Chongzhen ascended the throne. Under the severe situation of internal and external troubles, the imperial court urgently needed a "capable person" like Wei Zhongxian who had rich experience in handling military affairs and the ability to grasp the turbulent situation to stand alone. Although it cannot reverse the country's decline, it will not collapse anytime soon. However, Chongzhen thought he was better than his brother, underestimated the difficulty and complexity of governing the country, believed Lin Dongdang's empty words, and finally caused his own consequences. Before his death, Chongzhen lamented, "All civil servants can be killed" and "All civil servants have wronged me." The Ming Dynasty did not die at the hands of Wei Zhongxian's gangsters, but at the hands of corrupt literati who thought they had read the books of sages and sages and governed the country well. It's really a joke and worth thinking about. Before his death, Emperor Taizu Xilin of the Ming Dynasty specifically told Chongzhen, "Wei Zhongxian is loyal and can achieve great things." Eunuch Cao Huachun also said this: "As long as there are loyal and righteous people, the current situation will not end." In hindsight, this makes sense. At least Wei Zhongxian was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and could put the country's plans first.

The burial of Wei Zhongxian's remains in Chongzhen is not only a reaffirmation of Wei Zhongxian's value and achievements, but also a denial and regret of his seventeen years in power. But the most important thing is that he realized that Wei Zhongxian was sober and decisive in dealing with "big things", especially in his ability and role in maintaining the overall situation, recognizing people and taking responsibility, and distinguishing rewards and punishments.

I have experienced Wei Zhongxian's sobriety and determination in handling "big things", especially his ability and role in safeguarding the overall situation, recognizing people and taking responsibility, and distinguishing rewards and punishments.