I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 138 I am not guilty of this crime!

Zhu Youjian felt that he was more wronged than Dou E.

When his elder brother ascended the throne and had no children, Zhu Youjian had no way to go to his fiefdom and stayed in the capital, waiting for his elder brother to give birth to a nephew. Although he knew why he had to stay in the capital, Zhu Youjian never thought that he could really inherit the throne.

So when the throne suddenly fell on his head, fear was greater than joy.

No one doesn't love power, but Zhu Youjian had long seen the power struggles in the court, the emperor and his ministers scheming against each other, and the eunuchs' interference. Although the sixteen-year-old emperor was full of vigor and vitality, he had no confidence that he could be a good emperor.

After all, the eldest brother has failed.

"I...I am not guilty of this!"

When Zhu Youjian heard this gentleman comparing himself with Zhu Qizhen, he really couldn't hold it in anymore.

He said depressedly:

"Before I ascended the throne, there were serious factional struggles in the court. When I was still Prince Xin, everyone in my palace lived frugally because of the involvement of these eunuchs..."

"In short, since you are familiar with two thousand years of history, you should know how powerful Wei Zhongxian was and how many evil things he did!"

"Isn't it a great achievement for me to get rid of him? Is there a problem with this?"

"If not, how could I be evaluated in the same way as Emperor Yingzong? I am diligent in government affairs, and all the civil and military officials in the court know it!"

Well, the child felt aggrieved. He wondered why he could be on the same level as Zhu Qizhen.

The others were all thousand-year-old foxes, and they could see that even this descendant looked down on Zhu Qizhen, so they all shouted "Oh" in unison.

Zhu Qizhen: ...

Okay, okay, the world where only I am hurt has been realized, right?
He was about to retort.

The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, and suddenly asked:

"Remember, our ancestors said that eunuchs cannot interfere in government affairs."

"You keep talking about eunuchs and eunuch cliques. What's going on?"

Zhu Qizhen, who just wanted to refute, and Zhu Youjian, who was aggrieved and indignant: ...

They both shut up immediately.

But they all knew very well that what this ancestor hated most was the harem and eunuchs interfering in government affairs. The status of eunuchs during the Hongwu period hit a historical low. Even the leading eunuchs in front of the emperor did not leave a single word in the history books, which was enough to illustrate their status.

When Song Shen saw Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Youjian's cowardly looks, he immediately laughed:

"You ask them, how dare they tell you?"

"How did we lose the Battle of Tumubao? Wasn't it because Zhu Qizhen blindly believed the words of a eunuch and insisted on leading the army in person, and also listened to the eunuch's random orders?"

"In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the status of eunuchs rose steadily. First, there was the Second Factory, which could compete with the Jinyiwei. During the reigns of Tianqi and Chongzhen, there was Wei Zhongxian, who was known as the Nine Thousand Years Old. The emperor was only known as the Ten Thousand Years Old, but he was known as the Nine Thousand Years Old. Don't you think that's impressive?"

"Just now Zhu Youjian said that he took action against Wei Zhongxian and eradicated the eunuch party as soon as he ascended the throne. You should be happy, classmate Zhu Yuanzhang."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't laugh.

During this period of time, he has begun to understand Song Shen's situation.

Song Shen would normally take the initiative to give them lectures, but most of the time, it was the students who would ask, and then Song Shen would explain in more detail.

Generally speaking, if he talks in detail for no reason, there is probably a big problem.

"Although Zhu Youjian's brother sounds like he will die young, he shouldn't be a fool."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and stared at the young emperor:

"What was the reason why he allowed this damn Wei Zhongxian to climb up the ladder? What dirty work did he need Wei Zhongxian to do for him?"

Yes, this is how Zhu Yuanzhang thinks.

This is also the way of thinking of Ying Zheng, Liu Che, Li Shimin and others.

They are all the same. If they hate someone or find someone they believe is guilty, they don't necessarily have to kill him or her. If there is still value in them, they will naturally wait until they have been squeezed dry before killing them.

Zhu Youjian opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

But Song Shen said for him:
"Oh, the national treasury was seriously short of money, and Wei Zhongxian was very good at making money. The Tianqi Emperor—Zhu Youjian's brother Zhu Youxiao—needed to find a way to make up for the shortfall, so it was only natural that Wei Zhongxian showed up."

"There is one more thing. This is a convention that everyone knows. The emperor needs to use the eunuch party to check and balance the Donglin party."

"To put it bluntly, it's just a fight between the eunuchs and the civil officials. So, Mr. Zhu Yuanzhang, your ancestral precepts have been selectively forgotten by them."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt his temples throbbing.

He tried to convince himself—

This is normal. It is impossible for every emperor to be so powerful. Whose family doesn't have two incompetent emperors? National policies should be revised every once in a while. Isn't it that I brought a newly formulated national policy today?

It's not bad to be able to use the power in the court to check and balance... even if it's a eunuch...

At this moment, Zhu Youjian retorted:
"But Wei Zhongxian has committed many evil deeds. Even a new official has to start with three fires. If I don't punish him after I ascend the throne, how will the people below view me?"

"The silver he made wasn't just for his brother, he also had a lot for his own family!"

"Who can trust and dare to trust such a person who only enriches himself?"

Zhu Youjian argued convincingly.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes went dark.

With trembling hands, he pulled the two brothers Zhu Biao and Zhu Di over and asked:
"Don't you think there's something wrong with this kid?"

Zhu Biao nodded with a heavy face:
"I don't think he's right in the head."

Zhu Di covered his face, feeling ashamed to face his father and brother:

"...I think you are right, sir. He is just like Zhu Qizhen. Why don't we give him a beating first?"

Among the three people of the Zhu family sitting together now, there are two emperors and a quasi-emperor who has been trained to be an emperor since childhood.

They had a general idea of ​​what the character of Wei Zhongxian meant, even if they were not clear about the subsequent history.

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to use Hu Weiyong and others as an excuse to catch all the no longer obedient Huaixi nobles, the Yiluansi people who sneaked into each household and eavesdropped on the beams were Zhu Yuanzhang's knife. This knife could also be replaced by Wei Zhongxian.

With the court in deficit, if Emperor Tianqi still had some ambition, he would have to take unconventional measures to make money, and he would set up a notorious eunuch as a target. Since eunuchs have no descendants, there is no possibility of them usurping the throne and rebelling. If he is set up, he can also restrain the civil servants who seem to have great power.

Regardless of whether Wei Zhongxian himself was clean or not, he would definitely be blamed for the emperor.

But as soon as Zhu Youjian took over the court, the first thing he did was to burn Wei Zhongxian.

What do the people below think of this?
When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dogs are cooked. That should be something that happens after you have established a firm foothold. You, a little emperor of seventeen or eighteen years old, just after ascending the throne, are doing this. You didn't listen to your royal brother's instructions before his death at all. Who are you?

Song Shen was also speechless:
"Then can you tell me, now in the second year of Chongzhen, the Wei Zhongxian incident has been completely resolved, do you feel that the situation in the court is better than before?"

"Have the Donglin Party behaved themselves? Can those eunuchs you plan to support defeat the Donglin Party?"

"We have dealt with some of the internal and external problems. When are you going to deal with the external problems?"

Zhu Youjian choked.

of course not.

His mind is now filled with lawsuits, just like writing a book. He wrote the beginning with great passion, and then found that his ability was limited and he couldn't continue. But now he can only bite the bullet and continue writing, trying to complete as much as he can.

Song Shen sighed:
"You probably really don't know why your brother is so tolerant of and uses Wei Zhongxian."

"I just said that Wei Zhongxian was good at making money. He was good at making money in every sense of the word. He was especially good at making money from landlords and merchants."

"Firstly, this has helped the emperor make up for the deficit in the national treasury to a great extent. Secondly, it has also helped the people to share some of the burden."

"Now that Wei Zhongxian is dead, there is no one in the court who can make more money than him. The three major taxes of Chongzhen will eventually fall on the heads of the peasants. It won't be long, maybe in another two years, the people who can't afford to live and have enough food will rise up and start a rebellion."

"The peasants' rebellion was originally caused by the lack of food. Zhu Youjian, if you really care about the court, why don't you go to your Sitianjian to see the climate changes in the past few decades?"

Zhu Youjian raised his head suddenly:

"What do you mean?"

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di also came over:

"Sir, what's wrong with climate change?"

Even though this matter had nothing to do with people from other dynasties, the others all moved over here and pricked up their ears to listen -

Every time Song Shen suddenly extends his extracurricular knowledge, what he extends is quite shocking, it is best to listen to it.

Song Shen thought for a moment and said:
"The Ming Dynasty perished during the reign of Chongzhen. I think the reasons were equally divided between natural disasters and man-made disasters."

"Man-made disasters are naturally caused by the inaction of the imperial court, factional strife, corruption, etc., but natural disasters are the fault of the Little Ice Age."

"I'm afraid you won't understand me if I talk too much about the Little Ice Age. Let me put it this way. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Hainan Island was snowing and the Bohai Sea was freezing. The temperature was so low that it was impossible for the harvest to be very good."

"Moreover, the various corruptions within the country have made it difficult for the people to afford taxes. The Tartars in the north are increasingly eager to invade the Central Plains because of the severe cold weather. It's cold everywhere, and people will die if it's too cold. It's better to find a way to conquer the Central Plains so that they can live longer. That's what they think."

"To sum up, perhaps the problem of man-made disasters is more serious. After all, after the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the Little Ice Age lasted for a period of time. They didn't perish, so you can't just blame them."

Zhu Youjian stood there in a daze, his eyes wide open.

He was not the kind of prince who grew up in the deep palace and never left the house. On the contrary, when he lived in Prince Xin's Mansion, he often went out incognito to walk the streets. He had a good understanding of the prices of local goods and would occasionally chat with the common people.

The winter is indeed very cold...but, weren't the winters in the past that cold?
Zhu Yuanzhang coughed and brought the question back:
"I'll ask you about this later. What I want to know is, if Chongzhen was the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, what would his descendants think of him? Did he have the same nickname as Zhu Qizhen, the God of War at Tumu Fortress?"

As the saying goes, there is only the wrong name, not the wrong nickname.

This thing is just like the temple name and posthumous title, and can be used as a reference for judging a person to a large extent.

Song Shen thought about it, and couldn't help laughing:

"There is a joke related to the Ming Dynasty, which says that the Ming Dynasty started with a bowl and ended with a rope."

"The bowl refers to you, Zhu Yuanzhang, and the rope refers to him, Zhu Youjian."

"It may sound a bit unethical...but Zhu Youjian is much more courageous than Bao Zong."

"At least when the city was destroyed and the country was ruined, Zhu Youjian did not flee with his family, but took a eunuch and hanged himself on a crooked tree on a nearby mountain. He did not surrender or flee, but committed suicide. This was a very decent thing to do."

Everyone looked at Zhu Qizhen with increasing disgust.

Being an emperor requires talent. Some people are born to be emperors, while others can only barely pass the test no matter how hard they try.

Putting aside the ability of Chongzhen himself, when compared with Zhu Qizhen, both were mediocre monarchs. Chongzhen was even a monarch who lost his country. At least he had backbone and died for his country as an emperor, instead of "enduring humiliation" like Zhu Qizhen and staying in the Wala camp for a whole year. He still had the nerve to come and be the emperor.

Zhu Youjian himself sat down dejectedly, muttering to himself:
"No matter how hard I try, this is the final outcome... Is the Ming Dynasty really hopeless?"

"No, maybe I'm too incompetent."

"Then should I abdicate earlier and find someone more suitable..."

Snapped!
A heavy slap on the back of his head almost knocked Zhu Youjian over along with the table.

Zhu Youjian was stunned by the slap. Just as he was about to get angry, he turned around and saw Zhu Yuanzhang's face. He was suddenly speechless and dared not say more.

"You are mumbling here, saying that you are hopeless and you want to abdicate. What do you want to do? Put the title of the king who ruined the Ming Dynasty on someone else's head, and leave the capital early to enjoy your life?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him.

Chongzhen was so excited that he straightened his back immediately:

"Absolutely impossible! How could I, Zhu Youjian, be that kind of person!"

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was originally full of anger, suddenly smiled again:
"Oh, then what are you thinking about?"

"We are here. The Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Han Wu are all here, as well as Li Shimin, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di, not to mention other famous ministers. If they were released, any of them would be remembered in history."

"The most important thing is that we have Mr. Song Shensong."

"With so many people here, even if you are a donkey, you should be able to learn something after listening to a few classes."

"Isn't it just that you were a prince before, and you didn't understand the emperor's mindset? Just ask anyone."

"As for the internal and external troubles, you should sort out a set of rules before the next class. Let us see what your situation is like in the court now. The three of us from the Zhu family will give you some advice and suggestions. It's impossible that you can't deal with a group of civil servants!"

(End of this chapter)