Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 505 Old Zhu: The Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party are all bad! [Please Subscribe]

Liu Kuan added, "Furthermore, even when Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian grew up, they did not receive much education while in Cining Palace—there were even folk rumors in later generations that Zhu Youxiao was illiterate."

"While this claim is unreliable, it does suggest that Zhu Youxiao likely did indeed have a relatively low level of education."

"On the contrary, Zhu Youjian received some proper education during the Tianqi era because of the care of Zhu Youxiao."

"But he was only trained to become a prince, mainly by studying Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, without being taught the art of being an emperor or the way to govern a country."

"As for Zhu Youxiao, although he was raised under the care of the Western Li family at the age of fourteen, his life in Cining Palace before that was not good—this can be seen from the fact that his birth mother, Consort Wang, was humiliated and beaten to death."

"Although Consort Wang died, Xi Li still hated Zhu Youxiao and often beat and abused him, which made Zhu Youxiao develop a weak character and become very dependent on his wet nurse, Madam Ke. This laid the groundwork for the chaos caused by the eunuch Wei Ke's faction during the Tianqi reign."

Dependent on breastfeeding mother?

The eunuch faction disrupted the government?

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu and his two companions were utterly stunned.

I thought to myself, is it possible that no normal emperor could emerge in the late Ming Dynasty?

The Ming Dynasty was already plagued by a spendthrift emperor like Wanli and a bizarre emperor like Taichang, and now we have the problematic Tianqi Emperor. They're really making things difficult for the Ming Dynasty.

While the three were thinking this, Liu Kuan took the opportunity to bring up the story of Emperor Tianqi, Zhu Youxiao.

"When Zhu Changluo favored Xi Li, he promised that after ascending the throne, he would first make Xi Li an Imperial Noble Consort, and then make her Empress."

"Who knew that he would die just one month after ascending the throne? Xi Li couldn't even secure the position of Imperial Noble Consort, let alone become Empress, so she was very resentful."

"Thus, the last of the three major cases of the late Ming Dynasty was brought into the picture—the Palace Relocation Case."

The Palace Relocation Case?
Old Zhu, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di pondered the name, but their emotions remained unmoved. After all, the previous events had already challenged their nerves enough, and they didn't think they could hear anything even more bizarre.

Subsequent events proved that they had underestimated the bizarre nature of the late Ming Dynasty's political situation.

"Xi Li became involved with Consort Zheng. Under Consort Zheng's instigation, she stayed in the Qianqing Palace and instigated some court officials to ask for a title for her."

"At the same time, she detained Zhu Youxiao, the eldest son of Zhu Changluo, and ordered all memorials from court officials to be submitted to her for review. It can be said that she was determined to become the Empress Dowager and control the government."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sneer, "That Zheng, who was favored by Emperor Wanli, wanted to become Wu Zetian, and so did Xi Li, who was favored by Zhu Changluo."

"Neither father nor son are good people, and sure enough, the women they like are no good either. They're utterly in cahoots!"

The fact that Zhu Yuanzhang used the phrase "colluding with each other" to describe his own descendants shows how angry he was with Wanli and Taichang.

Zhu Di's eyes twitched as he listened, but he dared not say anything, fearing that it would implicate him again.

Liu Kuan said, "Fortunately, the civil officials were powerful at the time and did not accept Xi Li's ideas at all. They were even very angry about it. After all, this kind of thing was completely trampling on the set of rules of governance that the civil officials advocated."

"Therefore, the civil officials, mainly from the Donglin Party, first submitted memorials to argue against it. Seeing that Xi Li was like a shrew and refused to reason with them, they contacted the palace eunuchs, tricked Xi Li, and brought Zhu Youxiao from the Qianqing Palace. He was then hastily enthroned in the Wenhua Hall after being worshipped by the court officials."

“Xi Li was merely a concubine. Without Zhu Youxiao in her hands, she was nothing. Under the coercion of the court officials, she was moved from the Qianqing Palace to the Cold Palace.”

"When she lost power, the eunuchs and palace maids around her stole all her treasures and left her, leaving only her young daughter and a few loyal palace servants by her side."

"However, Xi Li lived a very long life, living until the reign of Kangxi, the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, and died when he was over eighty years old."

???

Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, and Zhu Laozhu exchanged glances. They all felt that not only their Zhu family had produced many oddballs in the late Ming Dynasty, but even the heavens had become strange—how could a vicious, stupid, and wicked woman like Xi Li live to be over eighty?
No wonder there's a saying: good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years.

Liu Kuan continued, "Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne at the age of fifteen or sixteen, inheriting a mess left by Wanli. At that time, the court was in chaos, local officials were corrupt, and the administration was completely deteriorated. In addition, the Jianzhou Jurchens were rising in the northeast, and local chieftains were also making moves in the southwest."

"However, Zhu Youxiao had not learned much about the art of being an emperor or the way of governing a country, and even had personality problems, so the Ming Dynasty was bound to be in trouble."

"At the beginning of his reign, Zhu Youxiao had no one to rely on in the palace, so he bestowed the title of Lady Fengsheng upon his wet nurse, Madam Ke, and promoted Wei Jinzhong, the eunuch who had served him since childhood, to the position of Grand Eunuch, and gave him the name Wei Zhongxian. He then put these two in charge of the inner palace for him."

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di all remained expressionless.

The emperor's wet nurse took charge of the harem, effectively replacing the empress dowager. This would be unthinkable in a normal dynasty, but in the late Ming Dynasty, a period known for its bizarre occurrences, it seemed quite normal.

Unbeknownst to the three, Liu Kuan actually had something else to say.

That is, the rumor is that Zhu Youxiao has an Oedipus complex and his feelings for Madam Ke are unusual, which is why he respects Madam Ke so much—this rumor has no evidence and is useless to say, so Liu Kuan would not deliberately say it to make the old Zhu disgusted.

"In terms of politics, Zhu Youxiao, mindful of the contributions of the Donglin Party members, promoted a number of civil officials from the Donglin Party after ascending the throne, resulting in the Donglin Party members occupying almost all important positions in the cabinet, the Censorate, and the Six Ministries." "As for the localist parties such as the Qi Party, the Zhe Party, and the Chu Party that fought against the Donglin Party during the Wanli era, they were either driven out of the court or marginalized."

"For a time, the Donglin Party became the most powerful force in the imperial court, enjoying unparalleled influence!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but comment: "No wonder later generations concluded that Zhu Youxiao did not learn any imperial arts or the way to govern a country."

"If he had learned even a little about the art of being an emperor, he wouldn't have promoted the Donglin Party members so vigorously at the beginning of his reign, directly creating a situation where one faction held absolute power in the court."

Zhu Di remained silent, while Zhu Biao gave a bitter smile.

The two suddenly realized that the Ming Dynasty was incredibly resilient, having managed to hold on for another twenty or thirty years despite the disastrous actions of the Wanli Emperor and his descendants.

Liu Kuanze said: "In fact, when the Donglin Party was first established, it was relatively advanced compared to the parties and groups in Zhejiang, Qi and Chu that were mainly focused on local interests."

"During the Wanli era, the factional strife in Zhejiang, Qi, and Chu, which arose from the struggle over the succession to the throne, not only disrupted the imperial court but also made local officialdom even more corrupt and repeatedly ruined national affairs. It was one of the main reasons for the decline of the Ming Dynasty's national strength in the late Ming period."

"The Donglin Party was originally composed of a group of literati and gentry who were not in the government. Unlike local parties in Zhejiang, Shandong and Hubei, these people were not confined to their regions. Instead, they aimed to eliminate the long-standing problems in the court and promote a clean government, advocating the traditional and positive ideals of civil officials governing the country. They opposed empty talk and metaphysical discussions and promoted seeking truth from facts and practical learning."

"It is called the Donglin Party because its leader initially used the Donglin Academy as a place to give lectures, and gathered like-minded people through lectures, thus forming a party."

"Because the Donglin Party had relatively lofty political goals, and those who initially joined it were indeed mostly people with positive ideals and ambitions, although the Donglin Party was dominant in the court in the early years of the Tianqi reign, it did reduce corruption in the Ming court and officialdom, and the atmosphere became cleaner."

At this moment, Zhu De showed a cold smile, clearly not optimistic about the Donglin Party, and even harboring great hostility towards them.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were somewhat puzzled: although the existence of the Donglin Party clearly restrained imperial power, according to Liu Kuan, the Donglin Party was indeed much better than those local parties.

So how did the Ming Dynasty end up in that state?
Liu Kuan sighed, “Although the Donglin Party is more advanced than the parties in Zhejiang, Qi and Chu, it is still a very immature party.”

"Although they had relatively lofty political ambitions, they were not clear enough and were mixed with a lot of private political needs, making them very impure."

"Furthermore, although the organizational structure of the Donglin Party was more rigorous than that of the primitive party groups in Zhejiang, Qi, and Chu, it was only relatively more rigorous. From the establishment of the Donglin Party to its gradual growth and the 'righteous people filling the court' in the early years of the Tianqi reign, countless people with ulterior motives infiltrated it."

"Furthermore, the Donglin Party did not restrict its members to any particular region. It could be said that as long as a scholar or gentry showed signs of supporting the Donglin Party and had one or two acquaintances to introduce them, they could become a member of the Donglin Party."

"Therefore, before the Donglin Party was 'full of upright officials,' it was already a mixed bag. It can be said that there were many people who 'only sought personal gain and disregarded national affairs,' while those who could put the country before themselves and speak up for the middle and lower classes were becoming increasingly rare."

"The very few members of the Donglin Party who were truly dedicated to the country often lacked the right methods or the necessary abilities, and were even exploited by unscrupulous individuals. These factors, it can be said, determined the ultimate fate of the Donglin Party."

Liu Kuan's words made Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di all fall into deep thought.

Previously, they only knew that political parties were not allowed to exist in the court, but they never thought about what kind of political party would be beneficial to the court, or even to the emperor.

In particular, Zhu Yuanzhang vaguely sensed that he was about to encounter a tremendous political change, a change completely different from any previous dynasty.

Unfortunately, this feeling is too vague, and there is no experience to draw upon, so I cannot form a clear idea.

Liu Kuan said: "Although Zhu Youxiao did not have the same clear and profound understanding of the Donglin Party as later generations, as time went by, he quickly realized that the Donglin Party's dominance was a great hindrance to the imperial power."

"It can be said that Zhu Youxiao may not have received much education in the art of being an emperor, but he was quite talented in this area."

"In the second year of the Tianqi reign, after some tests, he realized that it would be difficult for him to shake the Donglin Party with his own strength, so he decided to let Wei Zhongxian take charge of the Eastern Depot and quickly created a eunuch faction to counter the Donglin Party."

"The eunuch faction was led by Wei Zhongxian, the supervisor of the Eastern Depot, and supported by Madam Ke in the palace. Even Zhu Youxiao supported them. As a result, once their banner was raised, many former officials from Zhejiang, Qi, and Chu who had been suppressed by the Donglin Party flocked to them."

"Thus, Wei Zhongxian quickly became a powerful eunuch who held immense influence in the court. It is said that because Zhu Youxiao liked woodworking and even became so engrossed in it that he neglected state affairs, Wei Zhongxian would specifically choose times when Zhu Youxiao was doing woodworking to report on matters. Zhu Youxiao often did not listen carefully to the matters and was unwilling to think about them, so he would leave it to Wei Zhongxian to handle."

"Wei Zhongxian took this opportunity to forge imperial edicts and abuse his power, and to ostracize and persecute Donglin Party members who opposed him. Later, when his power reached its peak, he was even called the Nine Thousand Years."

"Those who originally belonged to the Zhejiang, Qi, and Chu factions, after joining forces with the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian, naturally turned the eunuch faction into an even more greedy group, and the Ming court and officialdom quickly became even darker than in the mid-to-late Wanli period."

"Of course, there were also some officials with political ambitions who wanted to do practical things, who either actively or passively became members of the eunuch faction and used the political resources of the eunuch faction to do some things that were beneficial to improving the situation of the Ming Dynasty."

"Unfortunately, these few things are just a drop in the ocean in terms of improving the situation in the Ming Dynasty, and they cannot change the nature of the eunuch faction."

"Although Zhu Youxiao only reigned for a short period of time, and the eunuch faction only flourished for three or four years, it caused the Ming Dynasty to decline and the situation to deteriorate further."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sneer, "I understand now. No matter what kind of local factions they are, such as the Zhejiang, Shandong, and Hubei factions, the Donglin Party that claims to be upright gentlemen, or the eunuch faction that claims to be doing what's best for the emperor, none of them are good people!"

Zhu Biao also sighed: "The Niu-Li factional strife in the Tang Dynasty and the New and Old factional strife in the Song Dynasty both led to political chaos and ruined the country—these are clearly written in the history books. What can be done if later generations think about them but do not learn from them?"

Zhu Di said sullenly, "It seems that it would be best to have no political parties at all, and the court should only listen to the emperor's words."

(End of this chapter)