vrcanaries Chapter 157 The Mighty General Zhu Houzhao
Chapter 157 The Mighty General Zhu Houzhao
Upon hearing this, Tang Jian from another time and space looked at Li Jing, who was standing ramrod straight.
Li Jing: What are you looking at me for! I haven't even started yet!
Back to the live broadcast room.
Lin Ke glanced at Zhu Houzhao, who was sprawled on the sofa, rubbing his belly. "This kid's full!" he thought.
Li Jing, who witnessed the whole process: ...
"Khan Jieli was no match for the Tang soldiers and was captured by Zhang Baoxiang, the deputy commander of the army. In the process, he also obtained a dancing skill card."
"When Li Shimin saw Khagan Jieli dancing in front of him, I think he forgot all about the Alliance of the Wei River. That didn't matter! It all depended on what Jieli was doing!"
Empress Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: Every cause has its effect! Your retribution is me!
"After this war, Li Jing was promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, second only to Fang Xuanling, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
"When Li Jing was sixty-three years old, Li Shimin was still hesitant to send him out to fight because he was worried about his health, but Li Jing still insisted on fighting against Tuyuhun."
"Li Jing won a great victory in his first battle and pursued the enemy. He chased the Tuyuhun Khan while burning wild grass to cut off the Tang army's fodder."
"Opinions differed, but as the saying goes, truth often lies in the hands of a minority. So Li Jing followed Hou Junji's advice and led his troops in two separate campaigns, defeating the Tuyuhun at Niuxindui and Chishuiyuan."
"Shortly afterward, the Khan of Tuyuhun was killed, and his eldest son, Murong Shun, the King of Daning, killed the King of Tianzhu and led his people to surrender."
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: Now I know why he was called the God of War of the Tang Dynasty!
A spoiled young master from the Song Dynasty: An undefeated record, how could he not be amazing!
A skilled farmer in the Ming Dynasty: No wonder he was later written into mythology!
……
"Li Jing destroyed Tuyuhun in just two months, but what awaited him was not official appointment and titles, but false accusations."
"The reason was that a prefect named Gao Zeng of Lizhou failed to arrive on time and was scolded by Li Jing. He held a grudge and conspired with Tang Fengyi of the Guangzhou Governor's Office to frame him for treason."
"But who is Erfeng? Could she be fooled by these two?! In the end, both of them were exiled!"
Lin Ke couldn't help but sigh, "The Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty is truly enchanting. Perhaps other emperors wouldn't have done this! Erfeng himself was a General of the Heavenly Strategy who fought his way up from the battlefield."
"Here's a joke: Li Jing, despite choosing the wrong side of the enemy, never lost a battle. In fact, the only battles he ever lost were when he was on the verge of becoming a god!"
Great War God Li Jing: ...
"Later, Li Jing retired from the court at the height of his military achievements, and lived a peaceful life with Hong Fu Nu and Kunlun Nu behind closed doors."
"Among military generals, Li Jing was considered to have died a peaceful death, living to the age of 79."
"By the way, legend has it that Emperor Taizong of Tang was troubled by nightmares and ordered Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong to guard the door. But these two are human after all and cannot not sleep, so Emperor Taizong of Tang pasted their portraits on the door to pray for peace."
"Later, people gradually followed suit, so these two were also regarded as door gods."
Qin Qiong/Yuchi Gong of the Tang Dynasty: !!!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: Why don't I have such a legend!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: ...
During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty
At this time, Li Shimin had only been on the throne for a short time, and he was still angry when he thought of the Wei River Alliance!
Now look what's happened! This Khagan Jieli is here to dance for me!
Hahahaha! Li Jing is great! Hahahaha!
……
"Next, let's introduce Zhu Houzhao. First of all, Zhu Houzhao was one of the few princes in ancient times who had few competitors. His father was the son of Zhu Jianshen, whom we talked about before."
"His father, Zhu Youcheng, only had one wife, Empress Zhang. He had no concubines, so in the end, the only child born and raised was Zhu Houzhao."
"Therefore, we don't have any competitors. Being a candidate for emperor doesn't mean his parents love him. After all, his mother, Zhang, is a notorious 'brother-supporting demon' in history. Perhaps his father, Zhu Youcheng, loves him more than his mother."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: So that's how it is! The princes of the Qing Dynasty would probably be envious! They get the throne without even having to fight for it!
Qing Dynasty prince: ...
"Here we need to mention a premise: Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Zhu Youcheng, was an emperor who was extremely close to civil officials, so his reputation was much better than that of his son."
"The civil officials who had been spoiled by their fathers were fundamentally unshakable by Zhu Houzhao's various methods."
"I believe the culprit behind all this can indeed be traced back to the time of the Oirat students studying abroad—the military and noble groups were collectively wiped out, and Zhu Yuanzhang's policy that officials did not have to pay taxes on their land also sowed the seeds for later land annexation."
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: This is a disgrace to his son!?
The optimist Su Dongpo: So later the Ming Dynasty followed the same path as the Song Dynasty!?
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty: ...I never expected this!
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary General: I'm so angry! It's all your son's fault @Zhu Zhanji of the Ming Dynasty!
……
"On another note, it is said that Zhu Houzhao's birth chart is very similar to that of the Ming Taizu, which was considered an auspicious sign."
"So when he was 2 years old, his father named him Crown Prince and also gave him a top-notch learning package. Even his teachers were the best among all the officials."
"Zhu Houzhao was exceptionally intelligent from a young age. He not only treated his teachers with great respect but also possessed an outstanding memory."
"Whether it's the content he memorizes or the teacher who lectures him, he can memorize it the next day, and he can even detect if one of the twenty-odd teachers is absent the following day."
"This child can write poetry [with ease, without any planning], unlike that weakling, the Great Ming War God. Zhu Houzhao's horsemanship and archery skills are truly full of martial virtue."
"However, he learned the humanities subjects like the Analects and the Book of Documents very slowly. He didn't finish them before he ascended the throne. Besides his father dying early, he was too enthusiastic about riding and archery, so he naturally didn't have the time for these humanities subjects."
Emperor Zhu Youcheng of the Ming Dynasty: Go back and watch him study!
Judy, the General Who Conquers the North: I just don't like studying that damn Analects...
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Damn it, every time we talk about our Ming Dynasty, we have to bring up that brat!
……
"Overall, Zhu Houzhao's life was quite carefree until his father, Zhu Youcheng, passed away when he was fourteen years old, and everything changed."
"The Ming Dynasty was a dynasty where imperial power was highly centralized but also constrained by various ritual systems. However, the concentration of imperial power here does not mean that the emperor's personal power was highly centralized."
"When Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the position of prime minister, he never imagined that his descendants would produce a great war god of the Ming Dynasty, nor did he imagine that the power of the civil service group would be greater than that of the prime minister."
Lin Ke sighed and continued, "I never thought that his descendants, if they did not meet the expectations of the civil officials, would be bound by various ancestral rules. If I had to give an example, it would be equivalent to seven or eight Wei Zhengs offering advice!"
"However, Wei Zheng is worlds apart from them! This group of people can't even compare to a small fingernail of Wei Zheng. I'm just referring to their argumentative, pedantic abilities."
Wei Wumei of the Tang Dynasty: ! ?
Empress Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: Seven or eight! I immediately felt short of breath! It's terrifying!
All civil officials during the Zhengde period: ...
Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty
Upon hearing this, all the civil officials in the court erupted in uproar! Their faces flushed red, and they were filled with righteous indignation!
This woman's words are utterly absurd!
They were doing it all for Your Majesty's good; following ancestral rules is what Your Majesty should do!
They were loyal to the emperor and loved their country; they were for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!
Suddenly, the court was filled with a cacophony of voices, as if a hornet's nest had been stirred up, and it became noisy.
……
On the other side, Zhu Houzhao closed his eyes, his eyes feeling sore.
It turns out that he had never succeeded in fighting against the powerful civil officials throughout his life. If it weren't for his great-grandfather... which led to the rise of the civil officials, well, he shouldn't blame his ancestors! In the end, it was his own fault!
Li Jing, standing beside him, was also surprised to hear this. In the Ming Dynasty, the civil official group had become too powerful, and the military generals had almost no say.
He was constantly attacked by trolls; even if he were the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he would probably be in trouble. So he felt even more sorry for the boy next to him!
Young Zhu Houzhao: ? ? ? Are you alright?!
……
Before his death, Zhu Youcheng summoned three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet: Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Li Dongyang.
Just like Zhu Zhanji left behind the Three Yangs, Zhu Youcheng also instructed them: "My eldest son Zhaozhao is smart but loves to play. You must assist him and study hard."
Zhu Zhanji of the Ming Dynasty: ...
"But as the child grew older and entered his rebellious phase, he preferred playing to studying the dry Confucian classics. Therefore, at this time, he was very fond of the eunuchs led by Liu Jin."
"From the emperor's perspective, Zhu Houzhao's heavy reliance on eunuchs was perhaps to counter the civil official group, which is understandable."
"For example, in the dispute over imperial estates, the Ming Dynasty had a rule that taxes collected from commoners and landlords had to go into the national treasury and the emperor could not use them arbitrarily. However, the money obtained from imperial estates did not have to go through such trouble!"
"But the civil officials felt that the emperor's private money came from stepping on the people, so when Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, they wanted to advise him to study hard while he was young, not to compete with the people for profit, and to directly abolish Huangzhuang and distribute these lands to those landless people, wouldn't that be better?"
A hint of mockery flashed in Lin Ke's eyes as she continued, "Are these people truly speaking out for the people without any selfish motives?"
“I tell you that during the Wanli era, when Zhang Juzheng reformed the national land statistics, the total number of hectares nationwide increased from 432 million hectares during the Hongzhi era to 701 million hectares.”
"After the land survey, the actual cultivated land in the country was 503.4 million hectares, which was 80.6 hectares more than the 422.8 million hectares of taxable land in the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign!"
"These 80 hectares are what the landlords and gentry have concealed! Even if the imperial estates are abolished, will they really be given to those landless peasants in the end?"
"You have to understand that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, these officials kept telling the emperor that they had no money, but Li Zicheng found 70 million taels of silver in their possession. The actual number was probably even higher!"
"This minister's land might actually be less than the emperor's!"
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: ...
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary Army: This is fucking...%?
During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty
Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent after hearing Lin Ke's words, his eyes revealing confusion.
It was precisely because of the ancestral rules he himself established that the Ming Dynasty later became unsustainable!
Suddenly, veins bulged on Zhu Yuanzhang's forehead, and he clenched his fists tightly, slamming them heavily on the table.
His roar echoed throughout the room: How dare these civil officials be so audacious! They have no respect for the emperor!
……
"On the other hand, Liu Jian, the trusted minister entrusted by Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, learned of Zhu Houzhao's attitude, so he forced Zhu Houzhao to agree by resigning four times."
"At the same time, the other two regents, Xie Qian and Li Dongyang, were in the same situation, and Zhu Houzhao, in a stalemate, could only do some superficial work."
"Actually, with the abolition of the imperial estates, apart from the officials and gentry having fuller wallets, neither the emperor nor the common people benefited. One lost their treasury, and the other remained poor and landless!"
"The Ming Dynasty ministers demanded that the emperor follow the ancestral rules, which were what Zhu Yuanzhang once said: 'His descendants should not presume to be clever and disrupt the established laws; not a single word should be changed!'"
"But during Zhu Yuanzhang's time, anyone who embezzled sixty taels of silver was punished. Why don't these civil officials follow the ancestral rules?! Or do they just want an obedient emperor?!"
A minister during the Zhengde era: Just listen to us, don't cause us any trouble!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: ...So you're just targeting our Zhu family descendants, huh!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: Do these officials just want to treat the emperor like a puppet?!
First Emperor: ...If you want an obedient emperor, then the dynasty is not far from its demise!
……
"Therefore, Zhao Zhao also said: 'Are all the affairs of the world ruined by eunuchs? It is often the court officials who ruin things, six or seven out of ten times.'" (From Ming Tongjian)
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: That makes perfect sense!
"After this incident, the officials saw that it had been effective, so they wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of the eunuch group. So in October 1505, Han Wen, the Minister of Revenue, took the lead and submitted a memorial with a tough attitude, requesting the execution of the Eight Tigers, led by Liu Jin."
"Afterwards, Liu Jian came to Zhu Houzhao and cried, complaining that the late emperor had entrusted his son to him, but now one bad apple had spoiled the whole bunch. How could he face the late emperor again?"
No sooner had Liu Jian finished crying and left than Liu Jin ran over and clung to Zhu Houzhao's leg, sobbing that even the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs in the palace was siding with the civil officials.
"If we think from the emperor's perspective, if these civil officials keep threatening to resign or even die to pressure him, then what's the point of him being emperor? He might as well resign too!"
"Therefore, Zhu Houzhao not only approved the resignation applications of these ministers, but also placed eunuchs such as Liu Jin in important positions, and tacitly approved Liu Jin's punishment of the ministers who started it."
"As a result, apart from Li Dongyang who did not take sides, all the ministers who led the trouble resigned, and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs in the palace was also completely reshuffled."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty said: "If these eunuchs are eliminated, the emperor will likely be rendered powerless."
Emperor Chongzhen: This operation looks so familiar!?
A farming expert from the Tang Dynasty: If the emperor is sidelined, wouldn't these people be in charge of everything?
An old farmer from the Ming Dynasty: ...Then wouldn't we farmers be even less miserable!
……