The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 1: Bullying the Master and Destroying the Ancestor
Ming Shilu:
On the 20th day of the sixth month of the tenth year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Tutor and Minister of Personnel of the Crown Prince, and Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Palace, died.

The emperor was shocked and mourned, and suspended court for a day. He sent the eunuch Zhang Cheng from the Imperial Household Department to manage the funeral, and also gave him 500 taels of silver, six pieces of silk, gauze, firewood, cloth, incense, candles, tea, rice, oil, banknotes, salt and charcoal as well as other gifts.

Later, the Ministry of Rites, in accordance with the custom, granted sacrifices at nine altars, and added seven more altars. Officials were sent to prepare the funeral, and he was posthumously awarded the title of Wen Zhong and the title of Shang Zhuguo.

While the young Emperor Wanli was mourning the loss of his imperial tutor Zhang Juzheng, rumors circulated that he was secretly delighted!
This rumor is quite vicious.

In fact, it was not Emperor Wanli who was secretly delighted, but those civil servants with ulterior motives, and it was also those civil servants who spread the rumors.

The young Emperor Wanli had no time to rejoice these days. He was extremely tired.

Not only did he have to arrange for people to take care of Zhang Juzheng's funeral, he also had to review memorials.

During the Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and thirteen provinces received at least four to five hundred memorials every day. During the period of political reform, the number of memorials received was particularly astonishing.

Originally, these memorials were handled by Zhang Juzheng. Even if Zhang Juzheng returned to Huguang to attend the funeral, the memorials had to be sent over thousands of miles. This was also the case even when Zhang Juzheng was ill. Zhang Juzheng was still reviewing memorials the day before his death.

Zhang Juzheng could be said to have been exhausted to death. Reviewing memorials was extremely tiring. Emperors such as the Hongwu Emperor and the Yongle Emperor had to review all memorials personally, and they often reviewed them until one or two in the morning.

Now, this heavy burden suddenly fell on Wanli, who was only 19 years old, and he really couldn't bear it.

While he was reviewing the memorials with a sorrowful face, those civil servants who were secretly delighted were plotting to liquidate Zhang Juzheng and abolish the reforms. A storm that could destroy the Ming Dynasty was waiting for him.

On June 24th, Yiyou, there were dark clouds, it was hot and stuffy, and there was no wind.

At around Chou time in the early morning, the entire capital was as dark as ink, with only a hint of light in the Qianqing Palace of the Forbidden City.

This ray of light seemed to be the last hope of the Ming Dynasty, but it also seemed as if it would be swallowed up by endless darkness at any time.

At this time, in the imperial study of the Qianqing Palace, the young Emperor Wanli was so tired that he fell asleep among a pile of memorials.

There was only a white-haired eunuch beside him who was fanning him gently with a large palm-leaf fan.

This person is Feng Bao, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

Zhang Juzheng passed away suddenly, and Feng Bao was also very worried.

Only the two of them can control the government together. Without Zhang Juzheng, he doesn't know what to do.

Perhaps, the little emperor would listen to him, and he could still control the government.

The question is, can this rebellious boy listen to him?
He looked at the young emperor in front of him, and his face, which was originally full of wrinkles, was almost wrinkled into a ball.

Suddenly, Wanli trembled all over and raised his head abruptly.

He had a nightmare in which he seemed to be hit by an armored vehicle.

No, he was really hit by a car.

What's going on? Why do I feel like there are two people in my head?
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

He was just in a daze when suddenly a clapper sound was heard next to him.

Why are you speaking in a hoarse voice, man?

He turned his head subconsciously.

Feng Bao!

Am I Wanli?

I am the emperor today!

The two souls merged rapidly, and the originally confused eyes gradually became clear.

Wanli only felt that he suddenly understood everything.

As he looked at Feng Bao in front of him, many things flashed through his mind.

What can I say about this Feng Bao? Wait, why does this guy look like the same person?

I look like a person.

He thought about it and simply said, "Bronze mirror."

Feng Bao heard this and asked carefully, "Your Majesty, do you want to wash up?"

Why are you so long-winded?

Wanli frowned and said, "I want to look in the mirror."

Why are you looking in the mirror for no reason?
Feng Bao was stunned for a moment, but still walked outside, took a small bronze mirror the size of a palm from the palace maids waiting in line, and turned around and walked in.

Wanli took the bronze mirror and looked at it in the light, and finally understood who he looked like.

Ning Caichen!
He really looks like the scholar who lives in an ancient temple and is preparing for an imperial examination in a certain drama, but because of the Zhu family's genes, the right corner of his mouth is slightly upturned, making him look a bit evil.

Who does Feng Bao look like?

He looked at Feng Bao beside him again, and a look of realization appeared on his face.

If this guy puts some powder on his fat face, he will definitely look like a tree demon.

He thought about it carefully again and frowned again.

Am I the culprit that led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty?
History kept emerging in his mind, and his brows were getting deeper and deeper.

The Ming Dynasty fell during the Chongzhen reign, but actually fell during the Wanli reign, and began to fall during the Jiajing reign.

Why do we say that the Ming Dynasty actually perished during the Wanli reign?

Both official history and unofficial history vaguely point to one reason: the reason why the Ming Dynasty perished was because of his rebellion.

Because he hated the fact that the imperial tutor Zhang Juzheng was too strict in his discipline when he was alive, he ordered the search of Zhang Juzheng's house, stripped him of all his official ranks, and forced him to take away the imperial seals he had granted during his lifetime, thus abolishing Zhang Juzheng's reforms.

Also, because he favored Concubine Zheng, he wanted to violate the "Imperial Ming Ancestor's Instructions" to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest, which sparked a dispute over the foundation of the country. When he was defeated by his ministers, he did not attend court for decades.

The Ming Dynasty, which was originally on the road to revival and prosperity, fell into the abyss of destruction because of his rebellion!
Is this the fact?
Not at all!
That's the rumor.

Does he hate the imperial tutor Zhang Juzheng now?

Just kidding.

He has been busy these days arranging people to handle Zhang Juzheng's funeral affairs. He also gave a lot of money and property, and posthumously awarded the imperial teacher Zhang Juzheng the title of Shang Zhuguo.

Who made up this rumor?

He is sick. He just gave the Zhang family money and property but then ordered people to confiscate their property. He just posthumously awarded Zhang Juzheng the title of Grand Pillar of the State but then stripped him of all his official rank.

Why is this matter so inconsistent and absurd?
He was fooled by those civil servants with ulterior motives, whose purpose was to use his rebellion to liquidate Zhang Juzheng and abolish the reform.

Moreover, those civil servants with ulterior motives fabricated rumors and distorted history, putting all the blame on him.

How could a nineteen-year-old boy like him have so many evil thoughts?
To be precise, he is only eighteen years old now. He was born on September fifth day of the forty-second year of Jiajing. He will not be nineteen years old until after September fifth day.

To put it nicely, he is as pure as a blank sheet of paper. To put it bluntly, he is a rookie who has no idea of ​​the wickedness of human hearts, let alone how terrible the intrigues in the court are.

However, this was him just a moment ago.

He is different now because he has merged with a soul from another life.

This soul in this later life is also a rebellious teenager. This guy's rebelliousness lies in his obsession with novels. Every day when he opens his eyes, he reads novels. He reads while eating, sleeping, walking, and reading all the time. He will not listen to anyone.

Originally this was not a good habit, but now it is a great habit for him.

I have read quite a few novels from the Ming Dynasty.

He is no longer a pure blank sheet of paper. This blank sheet of paper is already filled with history and the intrigues in the court.

More importantly, he seemed to have had an epiphany, and his thinking became extremely clear and meticulous.

It is true that the Ming Dynasty actually perished during the Wanli reign.

However, the Ming Dynasty did not perish at the hands of Emperor Wanli, but at the hands of civil servants with ulterior motives.

The Ming Dynasty now seems to be on the road to revival, but in fact it is not yet.

Zhang Juzheng's reforms had just begun, and the Ming Dynasty was still plagued by internal and external troubles, with the barbarians in the north and the Japanese in the south.

The northern barbarians were about to develop into the Haobai Rebellion, and the southern Japanese were about to gather hundreds of thousands of troops to attack the doorstep of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty court was full of corrupt officials and constant factional struggles.

Most importantly, the Ming Dynasty’s land annexation was too serious.

Those corrupt officials often own tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres of land, but the land in the hands of ordinary people is getting smaller and smaller. Many ordinary people even have no land at all and have become refugees, looking for grass roots and tree bark to eat everywhere.

If the common people lose their land and eat all the grass roots and tree bark, they will be so hungry that they will rebel. If land annexation is allowed to continue, the Ming Dynasty will surely perish.

Zhang Juzheng implemented the land survey regulations in preparation for taking drastic measures to deal with those civil servants who were frantically annexing land.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see this, because according to the salaries of Ming Dynasty officials, even if an official did not eat or drink for decades, he would not be able to buy thousands of acres of land.

The price of farmland is at least twenty taels of silver per mu, and tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of mu of land would be hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels. Where does this money come from?

If you can’t prove the legitimate source, your property will be confiscated and you will be exiled!
This is going to cost them their lives. Can those civil servants allow the reform to continue?

Historically, those civil officials took advantage of his rebelliousness to induce him to betray his teacher and ancestors and abolish Zhang Juzheng's reforms.

This way they can continue their crazy land acquisition.

The Ming Dynasty thus fell into the abyss of destruction.

He was fooled by these guys, and after that they put all the blame on him, making it seem as if the fall of the Ming Dynasty was entirely his fault.

In other words, as long as he didn't listen to those civil servants, didn't let himself be led by the nose, and didn't abolish the reforms, the Ming Dynasty could still be saved.

The question is, can he not listen to those civil servants?
It seemed that he had no choice but to listen, because he had no power at all. His imperial authority had been hollowed out. Not to mention his imperial edicts being issued outside the palace, he had no say in the matter inside the palace.

The people in charge of the palace now are Feng Bao in front of him and Empress Dowager Li in the Cining Palace.

Feng Bao would not listen to him, and Empress Dowager Li would not listen to him either. No one in the palace would listen to him.

He is like a canary locked in a cage, without any power or freedom!
This was a fact. He particularly remembered the incident two years before, in the eighth year of the Wanli reign. He had drunk a little too much and was waving his sword around, accidentally cutting off a eunuch's hair.

As a result, Feng Bao filed a complaint, and Empress Dowager Li was so angry that she wanted to depose him and make Prince Lu the emperor.

He knelt in the Cining Palace and cried for a whole day, begging bitterly until his voice became hoarse and he fainted from crying. Only then did Empress Dowager Li forgive him.

This is his current situation. Not to mention the imperial edict to leave the palace, he has to be careful in the palace. If he is not careful, he will be tortured to death.

I am the true emperor, I am the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, why do you bully me like this?
A sudden surge of anger rose in his mind, and he was uncontrollable.

This is what teenagers in their rebellious period are like, they are irritable and easily angered.

If it were in the past, he would have lost his temper for no reason.

However, after the soul of another rebellious teenager merged into his mind, he became a completely different person.

He became extremely rebellious.

This is just the surface. Even when he was in a rebellious period and his emotions were extremely unstable, his thinking was still unusually clear and meticulous. Even when his temper flared up, he was still able to control his thinking and consider the problem carefully.

What is the ultimate rebellion?

That means you have to go against others in everything!
You want to induce me to abolish the reform, right?

I insist on continuing to implement the reforms.

You want to trick me into betraying my teacher and ancestors, right?

I will destroy you all!
He could have used the young man's rebelliousness to deal with those civil servants, take back everything that belonged to him, and save the Ming Dynasty from danger.

Anyway, in the eyes of others, he is just an ignorant and rebellious teenager. No matter how much he loses his temper or even acts recklessly, others will think it is normal.

The problem is that it is useless to just lose your temper. If you want to make a mess, you need power to deal with those civil servants. If you don't have power, you will just make a fool of yourself by making a mess.

Now that he has no power, how can he deal with those civil servants?
He must first take back the imperial power that belongs to him.

So how can the imperial power be taken back?

He thought about it carefully for a while, and then he realized that he could use Feng Bao in front of him to regain the imperial power.

Many books say that Feng Bao used Empress Dowager Li to bully him, and he must kill Feng Bao first.

It's actually a waste to do this.

When fighting for power, one cannot care about right or wrong, and one cannot be swayed by personal emotions. Fighting for power and profit is all about profit. One should do whatever is beneficial to oneself.

If he wants to take back the imperial power, there will definitely be a bloody storm, and someone must take the blame for the indiscriminate killing, and he cannot take it.

More importantly, he has no power at all now and no one listens to him, while Feng Bao has great power and many people under him.

Feng Bao was not only the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, but also the governor of the Eastern Depot and the seal holder of the Imperial Horse Department.

This guy controls the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot. All the Jinyiwei have to listen to him, and many eunuchs and maids in the palace also have to listen to him.

He could easily use Feng Bao to stir up a bloody storm, seize back the imperial power, and then push this guy out to take the blame and appease the public anger!

As for how to use this guy, it is actually very simple. He is now in a difficult situation and can hardly save himself.

It is true that Feng Bao had great power, but this guy's power came from Zhang Juzheng and Empress Dowager Li.

Now that Zhang Juzheng is dead, Empress Dowager Li also wants to replace him with her own confidant to control the power of the inner palace. If this guy has no support, he will be liquidated.

This is what happened in history. After Zhang Juzheng's death, Feng Bao's property was confiscated and he was exiled, and his death was unclear.

Such a tool for killing people and taking the blame cannot be wasted.

He thought about it carefully, then pretended to be sad and said, "Otomo, do you want to die?"

What are you talking about?

Who wants to die?

Feng Bao was stunned when he heard this.

(End of this chapter)