The history of the Ming Dynasty that you can’t afford to put down - Thoughts after reading - Draft

Reading the History of the Ming Dynasty, this book looks a bit like an abbreviated version of the events of the Mingyue and Ming Dynasties, with a modern tone, looking at the past from the present, and humorous.

Every time I read the history of the Ming Dynasty, I feel moved and sad in my heart. This was a staunch dynasty. It almost never ceded territory, never negotiated peace, never made an alliance, and would do anything if it was not accepted. It was an unyielding and unyielding dynasty, which best demonstrated the integrity of our nation.

Fang Xiaoru, Xu Huizu, Yu Qian, Hai Rui, Qi Jiguang, Mao Wenlong, Yuan Chonghuan, Huang Daozhou, Shi Kefa, etc. There are so many civil and military men who have left their names in history, and even heroines like Qin Liangyu. As for refusing to die in battle, There are countless generals who refused to surrender, scholar-bureaucrats who died for their country after the country was destroyed, and scholars and officials who risked their lives to remonstrate. Even people like Hong Chengchou went on a hunger strike and refused to surrender at first, but they could not withstand Xiaozhuang's beauty trap. It seems that the unifying gene of China, which does not allow even an inch of the country to be conquered, and the upright, majestic and unyielding soul of China, is vividly reflected here.

Counting the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, there were many ZTEs. The rule of Hongwu, the prosperous Yongle era, the rule of Renxuan, the Hongzhi Zhongxing, and the Jiajing Zhongxing were even worse than those of the Han and Tang Dynasties, not to mention the Song Dynasty, which had been in decline. The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were interesting, and there were many weird emperors. Ming Taizu should be the most successful case of counterattack. He was born even more humble than Han Gaozu. Chengzu seized his nephew's throne, and Zhu Yunwen's whereabouts are still unknown after a fire broke out. Some say that Zheng He went to the West to find Emperor Jianwen, and some say that Zhang Sanfeng, who founded Wudang, was Emperor Jianwen. There are different opinions. In the Emperor's WeChat group, which was very popular before, Zhu Di asked Zhu Yunwen to post the same meme, which made people laugh. The only emperor in history who served twice was Zhu Qizhen, Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be keen on conducting military expeditions in person. The emperor's martial arts destined this nation to be brave. From this point of view, the Song Dynasty seemed to be much weaker. Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty even personally hacked an enemy soldier to death on the battlefield, which was a great experience. Of course, the personal conquests of Ming Yingzong and Ming Wuzong can only be viewed as a joke, because they have this gene in their bones. The sibling relationship between Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen and Wan Zhener is also worth talking about. After Xianzong's father, Yingzong, was driven away by Wala, Yu Qian supported Daizong and fought a beautiful defense battle of Beijing to save the Ming Dynasty. But Yingzong's throne was gone, and Zhu Jianshen's position as prince was naturally eliminated. At this time, he was only accompanied by a maid, Wan Zhen'er, who never left him. This older woman also made a bold venture capital investment and cultivated Zhu Jianshen's strong Oedipus complex. The benefits are directly proportional to the risks. With the help of the treacherous ministers Xu Youzhen and Shi Heng, the Yingzong succeeded in restoring the throne. Zhu Jianshen was once again established as prince, and later became the 8th emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Wan Zhen'er was named Concubine Wan Gui, and all the children born to other concubines were killed by her, almost leaving Xianzong without any heirs. Unexpectedly, a humble girl who was unintentionally favored by Xianzong secretly gave birth to Zhu Youtang, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty, continuing the royal family's incense. Fortunately, every move of the emperor was recorded in detail by the little eunuch, otherwise there would be no way to distinguish the authenticity of the prince. Later, Wanli favored the humble girl and gave birth to Zhu Changluo. If it were not for the young eunuch's notes, the ten-year struggle over the country might not have happened. Xiaozong is more interesting. He is the only emperor in history who only married one woman, Queen Zhang. It may have something to do with his mother's humbleness and his experience of living an ignoble life as a child. He and Empress Zhang loved each other, were frugal and courteous, and were rare good emperors. Such a good emperor gave birth to a dissolute son, Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao, the foolish emperor who built a leopard house. Such an emperor was in poor health and had no heirs to inherit the throne. He died of illness after falling into the water, and was succeeded by his younger brother Zhu Houcong, the famous Jiajing Emperor. In the first half of his life, he worked hard to govern, but in the second half of his life, he favored Taoism and devoted himself to pursuing the art of immortality, which led to Yan Song and his son becoming corrupt and corrupt. Emperor Jiajing himself was almost strangled to death by several palace maids. By the way, Ming Dynasty 1566 is a rare domestic historical drama with a conscience. It tells the history of Jiajing. It is highly recommended. I feel that although Zhao Zhenji is not as upright as Hu Zongxian, his way of conducting himself in the world is worthy of learning by people in the workplace. After that, Jiajing's son Longqing and grandson Wanli succeeded in succession. Many scholars say that the Ming Dynasty actually fell due to Wanli.

Huang Renyu's "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" tells the story of a year that seemed like nothing major happened, but in fact was doomed to the demise of the Ming Dynasty. Wanli did not go to court for 30 years, but the empire was still able to turn around. It was too difficult to be a minister. The three major campaigns of Wanli all ended in victory, so they cannot be said to have been in vain. Because Concubine Zheng dared to act coquettishly in front of him, he experienced something called love, so he doted on Concubine Zheng alone, and there was a 10-year-long dispute between the country and the country. In the end, he could not defeat the officials. , the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo succeeded to the throne as Emperor Taichang. Emperor Taichang's life was too short. He passed away after coughing up two red pills. It is worth mentioning that in such a short period of time, three major strange cases in the late Ming Dynasty occurred. Later, the artistic emperor who was as famous as Song Huizong succeeded to the throne. He was good at woodworking and carving and had zero political acumen. He was controlled by the eunuch Wei Zhongxian. By the time Chongzhen finally came to power, he was already riddled with wounds. He was ill in the bone marrow, and he had no choice but to do his job. In fact, Chongzhen still had lofty ambitions and visions. He wanted to turn the tide, but the general trend of the world was powerless and he also had character flaws. Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other bandits were like whack-a-mole, hitting here and there. Dorgon and the Qing army outside the pass were watching with eager eyes. Coupled with the natural and man-made disasters in various places, it was useless for Tang Zong and Song Zu to be alive. There is also a saying that the late Ming Dynasty was in the Little Ice Age, and God wanted to destroy the Ming Dynasty. However, during this period of history in the late Ming Dynasty, the four forces competed, and the plot was so ups and downs. I have always been curious as to why there are no more famous TV series or movies about this period of history. Some people say that maybe Chongzhen did not dismantle the post house, maybe Zong Min did not rob Chen Yuanyuan, maybe Wei Zaode agreed to move the capital, and maybe the Ming Dynasty would not have perished. But history is just a collection of facts. There is no room for assumptions, and we can only lament endlessly.

To add another topic, when I told my son a historical story last night, I mentioned eunuchs. The son asked, what is a eunuch? Tell me, men who cut off their penis are used to serve people in the palace. The son curled his lips, so perverted. Yes, such a perverted person would be so terrifying once he participates in government affairs. In the Ming Dynasty, the interference of foreign relatives in politics was very well suppressed. Throughout the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were no foreign relatives who interfered with politics. I think it may have something to do with Queen Ma's good start. Empress Lu interfered in politics, and in the following Han and Tang dynasties, relatives often interfered with politics. Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty and the first female emperor were all the consequences of the interference of foreign relatives in politics. In the Ming Dynasty, the eunuchs' interference in politics was quite serious. Although Taizu Mingxun stipulated that eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics, what Wang Zhen did to Yingzong, Liu Jin did to Wu Zong, and Wei Zongxian did to Xizong were all caused by eunuchs' interference in politics, which led to the corruption of the imperial court. Even Zhang Juzheng's reform relied on Feng Bao's power. Physical defects lead to psychological defects, and it is impossible to think about the good of the country and the people. Of course, there were also loyal eunuchs like Wang Chengen, who accompanied Chongzhen to hang himself in Jingshan and died for his country.

The country is broken by mountains and rivers, and the city is full of spring vegetation. Woohoo, our Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years and passed down 16 emperors, all of which have passed away.

－20201011 My thoughts after reading the history of Ming Dynasty.