According to statistics, from the Ming Dynasty to the Emperor Chongzhen Jingshan Park, * * * enjoyed the country for nearly 300 years and spread to the Emperor 16. Of the 16 emperors, except the founding emperors Zhu Yuanzhang and Ming Taizu Judy, most of the other 14 emperors were mediocre. Even considering that the History of the Ming Dynasty compiled by the Qing Dynasty was discredited, it is hard for the 14 emperors of the Ming Dynasty to be called "wise SHEN WOO".
Emperor Wanli, who has not been in court for 30 years, will not talk about it. Emperor Jiajing, who was superstitious about alchemy, was almost strangled by a group of ladies-in-waiting. Emperor Zheng De, who used eunuchs and indulged in womanhood, stopped talking. Even Emperor Chongzhen, the last emperor who was diligent in politics and lived frugally, did not do many stupid things to destroy the Great Wall, which made his relatives feel bitter and resentful.
It is amazing that such a mediocre dynasty has maintained its rule for nearly 300 years. What is the reason?
In ancient China, the emperor was the nominal monarch, and the prime minister was in charge of administration, which was the long-standing mindset of China people. Although emperors of past dynasties racked their brains to weaken, divide and balance the authority of the prime minister, it seems that no one ever thought of banning the concept of prime minister-until Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor. Although in 1380, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the left and right prime ministers and Zhongshu province after the Hu case, he just stopped appointing the "prime minister". The original work of Zaizhi will not disappear, but in essence he has become the prime minister himself. Moreover, the parallel management of the Chinese empire and the layers of personal attachment to small western feudal countries are not a concept. Even a master emperor like Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi needs a team of prime ministers. Who are you, Zhu Baba, and who do you want to bear it?
As the saying goes: "A hero has three gangs, and a fence has three piles." So after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, his successor, Ming Huidi Zhu Yunwen, established a cabinet system. Since then, through the continuous improvement of emperors such as Judy, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji, it has gradually matured.
The number of assistant ministers in the cabinet varies from one to seven, and most of them call themselves cabinet departments. At first, the cabinet university students only had advisory status, and the emperor had the final decision, while the university students rarely had the opportunity to participate in decision-making. In the period of Ming Renzong and Ming Xuanzong, the status was more and more respected. Since then, the power of the cabinet has increased day by day. By the middle of the Ming dynasty, Xia Yan, Yan Song and others were in charge of the cabinet, and their positions were impressively real prime ministers, and they could suppress six ministries. However, although the chief cabinet university (or cabinet record) has the right to draft a ticket, it has to rely on internal eunuchs to send a batch of red. The functions and powers of college students are the same as those of previous prime ministers, but they must cooperate with eunuchs in charge of major policies, such as Zhang Lianhe.
Of course, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were not all villains like Wei Zhongxian, like the great navigator Zheng He (Cheng Zuchao); Sharla Cheung, lay down his life to save the little prince (in order to protect Prince Zhu Shitang, he was framed by Wan Guifei and died by swallowing gold. Xian Zongchao); Carefully assisted Xiaozong to recommend many honest and talented officials and was regarded as eunuch Wynn (Xiaozong Dynasty); Carrying out Zhang's reform and being good at calligraphy is (1) a more educated eunuch; This great eunuch who faithfully assisted Guangzong in the later period was also one of the few Ming Dynasty eunuchs Wang An (Guangzong Dynasty) praised by scholars. Follow four cases to the end of life in Wang Chengen (four dynasties) and so on. Although we don't expect the dream combination of virtuous eunuchs and wise records, we have to admit that the cabinet system is still perfect in some periods.
We can see that since Zheng De, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty indulged in their hobbies, rarely asked about state affairs and retired behind the scenes. Extremists, such as Emperor Wanli, did not go to court even for 30 years. State affairs after the absence of the emperor are generally handled by the cabinet by drafting votes and amending laws and regulations. Later, the Ming emperor used the way of supporting eunuchs to balance the danger of excessive cabinet power. Although for a period of time, the cabinet controlled by civil servants waged a fierce struggle with eunuchs, on the whole, the regime was quite stable and the whole country was still operating normally. Even though Wanli didn't go to court for 30 years, it still won the victory of "Three Major Signs of Wanli", which was unimaginable in any previous dynasty.
In other dynasties, there were Li Yu, Queen of Southern Tang Dynasty, and Evonne of Song Huizong. However, only one generation of playthings lost their will, which led to the ruin of the country and became the king of the country. Compared with the Ming dynasty, which produced several generations of bad emperors in succession, the advantages of the cabinet system in the Ming dynasty are self-evident.
It is precisely because of this cabinet system that the normal operation of the Ming empire was guaranteed. Therefore, although the Ming Dynasty was plagued by internal troubles and foreign invasion since its establishment, absurd emperors came forth in large numbers, but it still enjoyed the country for 276 years, not counting the Han and Tang Dynasties that once perished. The Ming Dynasty is the longest-lived Han regime except the Song Dynasty, and it has created amazing miracles in the history of China.