However, his career as emperor did not last long. In 152 1 year, Zhu Houzhao died of pneumonia caused by falling into the water at the age of 3 1 year.
After Zhu Houzhao's death, posthumous title became the Ming Wuzong, the so-called hero, which means expanding territory. Different historians have different views on Zhu Houzhao and Amin Wuzong. According to the author of Ming History, Zhu Houzhao personally removed Liu Jin to resist the invasion of ethnic minorities. He is an emperor who wants to rule the world with martial arts. But he is playful and active, likes to be close to villains, and even calls himself a general, which is nothing like an emperor.
Fortunately, he knew that power was in his own hands and that saints must be used to remedy it, so as not to bring the Ming Dynasty into a state of extinction. Generally speaking, the evaluation of Zhu Houzhao in Ming history is like a teacher criticizing a playful and shrewd boy. He thinks that if Zhu Houzhao is as thrifty and diligent as his father Ming Xiaozong, he will surely become a promising emperor.
The author of Ming History has different views on Zhu Houzhao.
Under their description, Ming Wuzong is obviously a little emperor who is confused about small things and clear about big things. According to the Records of Wu Zong, Zhu Houzhao was both civil and military and prepared for danger in times of peace. It not only records the funny appearance of Zhu Houzhao drinking from his own glass, but also shows the scene of Zhu Houzhao riding a horse and holding a bow to the west in the snow to resist foreign enemies.
Interestingly, also in the Ming Dynasty, the note novel Wan Ye Li Supplement recorded a completely different Zhu Houzhao. Shen Defu, the author, created a vivid bad king Zhu Houzhao through various anecdotes that happened in Zheng De's period.
So, is Zhu Houzhao a wise monarch? Let's analyze a few things in detail.
According to the records in Ming History and Records of Wu Zong, Zhu Houzhao has repeatedly reduced the corvee and taxes of the people from the perspective of people's livelihood. A.D. 1506, in the year of Zheng Deyuan, a drought occurred in Shaanxi. When Zhu Houzhao heard about this newspaper, he reduced taxes and grain in Shaanxi. In the fourth year of Zheng De, that is, A.D. 15 10, after listening to the opinions of the Ministry of Industry, Zhu Houzhao stopped the project of Kaijun to Guhe, which saved the local people from the suffering of corvee. However, as an emperor, Zhu Houzhao extensively selected beautiful women and built tombs, which also brought many adverse effects to people's lives.
In terms of tactics, Zhu Houzhao appointed officials such as Li Dongyang and Wang Shouren to solve many disputes for the court. Zhu Houzhao has a special way to punish corrupt ministers by handing over money and food. Although this method cannot eradicate corruption, it still plays a deterrent role to some extent. In the second year of Zheng De, that is, A.D. 1507, Zhu Houzhao put the corrupt governor Shi Yu and other officials in prison, which gave the officials a considerable shock.
However, Zhu Houzhao does not always appoint people according to their abilities. He used Liu Jin first, and then approached Jiang Bin and other villains. Although Liu Jin was finally killed, it still caused confusion in the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty and greatly hurt the official foundation of the court.
Militarily speaking, the five cases of Zhu Houzhao and Amin gained and lost in the internal and external struggles. Zhu Houzhao, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, struggled with foreigners, governors and hostile forces all his life. During the reign, the rebellion of Anhua Wang Zhu Jian and Ning Wang Zhu was put down, which dealt a heavy blow to the rebellion of the vassal king. Zhu Houzhao is kind and kind to foreigners. Facing the thief who robbed Chen Yong, Zhu Houzhao resolutely sent troops to kill him. Facing the friendliness of Vencent Yang, the former ambassador of Bozhou, Zhu Houzhao gave him a python and a jade belt as a reward.
In the 12th year of Zhu Houzhao, Bo Yan, the little prince of Mongolian Tanque, invaded Yingzhou. Zhu Houzhao sent troops to resist. Five days later, after losing fifty-two Ming troops, the little prince was successfully led away.
For this military action, many people listened to jokes and always thought that Zhu Houzhao was playing. In fact, the little prince's invasion began in the sixth year of Zhu Houzhao's reign, which has already brought threats to Hetao and Ganzhou. Although Bai Cong, a general of the Ming Dynasty, once defeated the little prince in Chaigou, the invaders were still unwilling to admit defeat and eventually launched looting operations in the corresponding states and other places. If it weren't for Zhu Houzhao's victory, the little prince would certainly continue to endanger the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Houzhao's military action in Yingzhou, whether it is a joke or a personal expedition in The History of Renyi and Ming Dynasty, is worthy of recognition.
Diplomatically, North Korea, Annan, Japan and other countries can continue to pay tribute to Zhu Houzhao, which shows that the Ming Dynasty under Zhu Houzhao was not so bad. In the process of western learning spreading to the east, Zhu Houzhao personally met with Pilez from Portugal, which further deepened the impression of China in the west.
Legally, Zhu Houzhao followed Qin Shihuang's example and imposed extremely cruel punishments such as skinning on the captured thieves in an attempt to stop the uprising with heavy punishment. However, due to the reuse of Liu Jin and other villains, Zhu Houzhao's attitude towards the law was sometimes heavy and sometimes light. Liang, the son of Prime Minister Liang, once slaughtered more than 30 families in order to seize farmland. Such a heinous person was sentenced to exile just because his father was a prime minister, and even was reinstated after serving five years of military service. In addition, although Zhu Houzhao punished corrupt officials, his law enforcement was one-sided and disproportionate, which led to many uprisings of Zheng De.
Generally speaking, some people think that Zhu Houzhao is an emperor with room for improvement, while others think that Zhu Houzhao is a defective emperor. However, after summing up the gains and losses of Zhu Houzhao's administration, I think Zhu Houzhao is an emperor who has made great contributions. Although he did some good things in diplomacy, it is undeniable that his mistakes in law and politics brought great pressure to the people and the whole court.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao, Amin Wuzong, cannot be called a wise monarch, despite his commendable management.
Picture/from the network, deleted.