Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 902 On History
Sun Chengzong was teaching the Crown Prince and Prince of Song. He was a very competent teacher. After all, he had many years of teaching experience and had also been the teacher of Emperor Tianqi.

Before coming to the capital, Sun Chengzong was somewhat reluctant. If it were not for Zhu Shenzui's insistence, Sun Chengzong even wanted to spend his old age in his hometown and never enter the court again.

As the Ming Dynasty's most outstanding civil official, Sun Chengzong, who was both civil and military, had long been famous throughout the world. In terms of being an official, except for never being the prime minister, he had reached the highest position. Moreover, when he was in charge of Liaodong, Sun Chengzong once reversed the Ming Dynasty's disadvantage against the Jiannu with his own efforts, greatly improved the situation of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong, and even almost completed the result of completely recovering Liaodong.

Unfortunately, Sun Chengzong ultimately failed to completely recover Liaodong, but this was not due to his ability, but to the factional struggles within the Ming Dynasty.

If the court had not replaced Sun Chengzong at that time, it would have been because Wei Zhongxian was dissatisfied with Sun Chengzong and feared that Sun Chengzong's power would be too great and threaten him, and the Emperor Tianqi wanted to balance the situation and recalled Sun Chengzong. If Sun Chengzong had continued to govern Liaodong, the so-called Qing Dynasty would not have appeared. After Sun Chengzong left Liaodong, the fate of his successor Yuan Chonghuan was known to the world. Since then, the situation in Liaodong began to deteriorate, and the bad situation continued to occur.

But these had nothing to do with Sun Chengzong. During the Ji Yi Rebellion, Sun Chengzong was ordered to repel the Jiannu and once again temporarily govern Liaodong. Unfortunately, Sun Chengzong could no longer achieve the same achievements as before. It was not because of his ability, but because the emperor on the throne had been replaced by Emperor Chongzhen from Emperor Tianqi. Emperor Chongzhen did not trust Sun Chengzong and used him only as a stopgap measure. It was precisely because of this distrust and the fact that many people in the court did not want Sun Chengzong to come back that Sun Chengzong eventually resigned sadly and returned to his hometown again.

It can be said that Sun Chengzong is a tragic figure. He has devoted his whole life to the Ming Dynasty, worked diligently, and made outstanding contributions. Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished, and he failed to fully realize his ideals. He paid so much, but he could not see the final result. Even if he was right, he could not stop the open and secret attacks from all sides, and could not display his ambitions.

This is why Sun Chengzong was disheartened after returning home again and completely gave up the idea of ​​continuing to serve the country. But he did not expect that with the appearance of Zhu Shenzhu, his life trajectory changed again, and he, an old minister over 70 years old, returned to the capital again because of an imperial edict.

As the chief instructor of the teaching hall, Sun Chengzong once again became a teacher, but this time his teachers were not the emperor, but the current crown prince and King Song.

Sun Chengzong could not refuse this position, and it was not his original intention. But since he became the chief chef, Sun Chengzong, who was always responsible, was extremely concerned. In his opinion, teaching the country's crown prince was a heavy responsibility. If he could teach an excellent student, although he could not solve the Liaodong problem for the country, he would have contributed to the country and fulfilled his wish.

Moreover, after teaching the crown prince and the prince of Song, Sun Chengzong discovered that both the crown prince and the prince of Song were very good at studying and had a solid foundation in their studies. It is said that this was all due to the emperor and the empress, especially the latter. Before Zhu Shenzhu became emperor, the empress had taken on the responsibility of enlightening the crown prince and the prince of Song. It was also because of this that the crown prince and the prince of Song not only completed their enlightenment, but their academic performance was also not bad.

Of course, this is still slightly insufficient compared with serious scholars. After all, what Xu Jingqiu studied is different from the imperial examination. But in Sun Chengzong's view, this is not a problem at all, because whether as a prince or a king of Song, they do not need to consider the imperial examination in their future. Especially the prince, as the heir to the throne, what he needs to understand is not the Four Books and Five Classics such as the imperial examination content, nor does he need to specialize in Confucian classics. These are merely secondary to him. What he really needs is to know how to govern the country, how to employ people, how to understand the use of power, and so on.

In other words, this is the art of being an emperor. To be an emperor is not to be an official through the imperial examination, and Sun Chengzong has always looked down on those scholars who only know how to study hard and can only write good articles. Even if these scholars write beautiful articles, they do not understand practical affairs, people's livelihood, and have no ability and means to govern. Even if they become officials, they are confused officials. What's the use of them?

After Sun Chengzong became the chief tutor, he began to formulate a strict education for the prince. The Four Books and Five Classics were not put at the top priority. The prince could read these books, but he did not need to study them too much. He just needed to read them through and understand them. In addition, Sun Chengzong talked more about history when he taught. He started with the historical books of various dynasties and taught in a simple and easy-to-understand way. At the same time, he used history as an example to carefully explain the gains and losses, pros and cons, etc., and extended these contents to talk about the political landscape, economic conditions, and military aspects of the time.

Sun Chengzong's teaching style is unique. Coupled with his outstanding abilities and many years of rich experience in governing, he can explain many issues clearly and thoroughly.

After listening to his lectures, the crown prince gained a lot of insights, and even the King of Song praised Teacher Sun for his lively and interesting lectures. After Zhu Shenzhui sat in on one of his classes at first, he was completely relieved to hand over the crown prince and the King of Song to Sun Chengzong. With such an excellent teacher like Sun Chengzong, what else could he be dissatisfied with?

On this day, Sun Chengzong continued to teach in the teaching hall as usual. He talked about the history of the late Eastern Han Dynasty today. He talked about the sixth year of Zhongping, when Emperor Ling of Han was seriously ill and entrusted Liu Xie to the eunuch Shangjun Xiaowei Jian Shuo. In April, Emperor Ling of Han died. Jian Shuo wanted to make Liu Xie the emperor first and kill the general He Jin, but was betrayed by his subordinate Sima Panyin and failed. Liu Bian then ascended the throne and became the emperor. This is the story of Emperor Shao of Han.

After Emperor Shao ascended the throne, Empress He was renamed Empress Dowager He and handled government affairs. He Jin and Grand Tutor Yuan Wei jointly assisted in the administration of the country. The power of the country was in the hands of He Jin. The eunuchs in the inner palace and the important officials in the court started a struggle for power. In April of the first year of Guangxi, Jian Shuo wanted to join forces with Zhao Zhong and other eunuchs to murder He Jin. Zhao Zhong and others helped He Jin deal with Jian Shuo instead. He Jin sent Huangmen Ling to capture and kill Jian Shuo and took over his army.

Later, He Jin quarreled with the Dong family again. In May, he captured General Dong Zhong and forced Empress Dowager Dong to return to Hejian. Empress Dowager Dong died of fear. In August, He Jin's plan to kill the eunuchs failed. Zhang Rang, Duan Gui and other eunuchs killed He Jin. Yuan Shao, the lieutenant of the imperial guards, Yuan Shu, the general of the tiger guards, and He Jin's generals led troops to counterattack and killed more than 2,000 people in one fell swoop.

As a result, the capital was in chaos and the emperor fled. Dong Zhuo entered the capital, deposed the young emperor and enthroned the Prince of Chenliu, thus marking the beginning of the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty.

Sun Chengzong paused here, looked at the Crown Prince and King Song who seemed to be thinking deeply, and asked: "Your Highnesses, the disputes at the end of the Han Dynasty began here. In your opinion, what was the main reason? Why was it that during the reign of Emperor Ling, although there were chaos in the Han Dynasty, it was still able to suppress the Yellow Turbans and maintain the stability of the imperial power? But after Emperor Ling's death, the Han Dynasty fell into complete chaos. Why is this?"

Listening to the teacher's questions, the Crown Prince and Prince Song thought intently. After a moment, Prince Song raised his hand, eager to try, and Sun Chengzong asked him to speak.

The King of Song said that this was because the ruler was young and the ministers were powerful. Although there was a will after Emperor Ling's death that favored Liu Xie, the heir was not really confirmed before his death. Liu Bian was the eldest son, and according to the system, Liu Bian should have succeeded to the throne. Moreover, Emperor Ling, whether he was the Shao Emperor at the time or the later Emperor Xian, was only a teenager. When Emperor Shao succeeded to the throne, the empress dowager was in power. Emperor Shao was just a puppet and had no real power. At that time, the struggle among officials of the Han Dynasty was extremely fierce, to the point of being incompatible. Especially because the conflict between the eunuch group headed by Jian Shuo and the general He Jin had reached an irreconcilable point, and the Shao Emperor was born to Empress Dowager He. If the Shao Emperor was in power, the fate of Jian Shuo and others could be imagined. Therefore, Jian Shuo had to kill He Jin in order to protect himself. He Jin also understood this. As a general, he wanted to monopolize power and must kill Jian Shuo. The two sides fought to the death, but they did not expect that the dust should have settled after Jian Shuo's death, but He Jin was still dissatisfied and wanted to kill all the eunuchs, which led to the eunuchs' resistance to self-protection. In the end, He Jin was tricked into entering the palace and died. After He Jin's death, the army lost control, and other eunuchs were also killed. More men without beards in the palace were mistakenly killed. The entire capital was in chaos, and the emperor and Prince of Chenliu fled. In addition, Dong Zhuo was ordered to enter Beijing at this time, and he took the opportunity to take control of the court. Dong Zhuo, a military man, deposed the emperor and established Prince of Chenliu based on his personal preferences, which seriously damaged the vitality of the Han Dynasty and caused the subsequent dire consequences.

Listening to the King of Song's answer, Sun Chengzong nodded slightly, feeling somewhat satisfied. Although the King of Song was young and what he said was just superficial, it was very difficult for him to understand to this extent at his age.

Looking towards the crown prince, seeing that he was still concentrating on thinking, Sun Chengzong could not help but ask, "Prince, what do you think about this?"

"Teacher, your question is too broad and I cannot answer it all at once." The prince bowed and replied to Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong raised his eyebrows and asked with a little interest: "Your Highness's words make this old minister a little confused. I wonder if Your Highness can explain it in detail."

The prince hesitated and said, "Since the teacher asked, I should answer. If my answer is not good, please correct me."

Seeing Sun Chengzong raised his hand to signal him, the prince organized his words in his mind, and then he spoke: "In my opinion, the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty was planted as early as the reign of Emperor Ling. After Emperor Ling ascended the throne, he relied heavily on eunuchs, promoted and trusted the Ten Eunuchs, and caused the Second Party Imprisonment Disaster. Emperor Ling was ambitious and built palaces on a large scale. He ignored the national strength and indulged in luxury. He also sold official positions openly to make money, which led to a great deterioration of historical governance. At the local level, Emperor Ling abolished the historian and established the pastor because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Although this had the effect of quelling the rebellion, it also planted the seeds of warlord separatism. Later, the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, and warlords rose up from Emperor Ling. Therefore, the Han Dynasty actually fell under Emperor Ling, not Emperor Xian."

Hearing the prince's answer, Sun Chengzong's eyes sparkled. He did not expect that the prince could have such judgment at such a young age. This alone was beyond most people.

The prince continued, "In fact, after Emperor Ling's death, the Han Dynasty still has a chance. The young emperor ascended the throne with legal orthodoxy, and with the assistance of Empress Dowager He and General He Jin, if the government can be stabilized, it is possible to restore order. After the center is stabilized, the local areas can be allowed to recuperate, and then the military power of the local areas can be gradually returned to the center. Within a few decades, the Han Dynasty can recover its vitality and even revive."

"It's a pity that Emperor Ling entrusted the wrong person. He knew that Empress Dowager He and He Jin were at odds with the eunuchs, and he also wanted to make Liu Xie the emperor, but the edict was just a trust? Moreover, the edict was given to Jian Shuo, the captain of the upper army who was at odds with He Jin. How could Jian Shuo not have other ideas when he had this thing in his hands? This led to the fight."

"In my opinion, Emperor Ling's arrangement is absurd to the extreme. As a monarch, he hesitated to make a decision, which led to chaos and sowed the seeds of disaster. I can't help but think of the incident with Emperor Wanli. Emperor Wanli also wanted to make Prince Fu the crown prince instead of Emperor Guangzong, but in the end, he chose Emperor Guangzong instead of Prince Fu for the sake of the overall situation. Regardless of who is capable of inheriting the throne, the succession system is the foundation of the country. If the monarch is hesitant at this time, how can the country not be in chaos?"

(End of this chapter)