The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 522 How the Ming Emperor Saved His Life
Being the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a notoriously high-risk job.

In history, among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, apart from the four relatively long-lived emperors Hongwu, Yongle, Jiajing and Wanli, there were only two who lived beyond the age of forty.

In other words, ten of the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty died in their thirties or even twenties!

This lifespan was much shorter than the average lifespan of ordinary people at that time.

This shows how dangerous the job of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was.

According to historical records, most emperors of the Ming Dynasty died of illness.

This is bullshit!

If the medical technology level of the Ming Dynasty is not good enough, then it is still possible.

The problem is that the level of medical technology in the Ming Dynasty was not low.

It can be said that as long as you have money to treat your illness, you can basically live a long life.

This is clearly evidenced by the records of important officials in the court recorded in historical materials.

Few important officials in the Ming Dynasty court lived beyond the age of sixty, but many lived to seventy or eighty.

On the other hand, it was difficult for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty to live past forty. Was it possible?
The ministers all have money to treat their illnesses, but the emperor has no money to treat his illnesses. Is this possible?
The Ming royal family did not have a gene for short life.

Emperor Hongwu and Emperor Yongle both lived to be in their sixties or seventies, but Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong could not?

Emperor Jiajing could live to be sixty years old, but Emperor Longqing couldn’t?

Historically, Wanli lived to be 58 years old, but during the reign of Taichang he couldn't get over 40?

Also, by the time of Tianqi, you won’t even live to be 24?
These are obviously extremely abnormal.

There is no consensus on how many emperors of the Ming Dynasty were assassinated, but there are indeed quite a few who are suspected of being assassinated.

Moreover, basically, as long as the emperor wants to control the power of the court and work hard to strengthen the country, he will most likely die inexplicably.

It can be said that if the Ming Dynasty wants to continue, the key is how the emperor can save his life.

He not only has to consider his own survival, but also the survival of his descendants.

The royal inheritance must not be broken, and his descendants must not be controlled by civil servants with ulterior motives.

If a wise and brave or even clear-headed emperor among his descendants was killed and replaced by a puppet, the Ming Dynasty would decline.

There is no need to think about it. The civil servants assassinated the emperor in order to fight for power and profit. Once such civil servants controlled the power of the court, the interests of the Ming Dynasty would be drained away by these civil servants.

By then, the Ming court would have no money and would not even be able to pay food and wages. The millions of troops would surely become demoralized. Once the army began to lose its morale, the Ming Dynasty would be on the verge of destruction.

This is just one aspect. The consequences of the Ming Dynasty's interests being drained by a small group of civil servants are far more than that.

For example, when a natural disaster breaks out, if the Ming Dynasty government has no money to provide disaster relief, the starving people will rebel due to hunger.

To put it bluntly, the reason why the Ming Dynasty perished in history was that the interests of the entire Ming Dynasty were sucked away by a small group of civil servants, and the court had no money to pay food and wages and no money to provide disaster relief.

Therefore, the interests of the Ming Dynasty must never be sucked away by a small group of civil servants. To ensure that the interests are not sucked away, the imperial power must be preserved. To preserve the imperial power, future emperors must save their lives.

So, how can we save the lives of future generations?
Wanli thought about it carefully, then said decisively: "Uncle, summon Doctor Wan and Jianzhong to come to see me."

Wan Bangzhong and Li Jianzhong were on duty in the palace at the moment, and they arrived very quickly.

After a while, two people came quickly.

They thought that Wanli or Zhu Changxun was unwell?

Who would have thought that Wanli was sitting there holding little Zhu Changxun and nothing happened.

What is going on here?
After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli said with a friendly expression, "Doctor Wan, Jianzhong, do you have any children around five years old at home? Why don't you let them come to the palace to play?"

what?
Wan Bangzhong and Li Jianzhong were stunned when they heard this.

What does it mean?
Do the little princes and princesses in the palace lack playmates?

It seems there is no shortage.

Those little guys have a lot of fun every day.

It was really puzzling what he said, and there was no need to hide such things.

Seeing that both of them were inexplicably awe-inspiring, Wanli simply said, "You two know each other, right? After he came to the palace to play a few times, Meng Meng and he became childhood sweethearts, and they have a very good relationship.

I think this is a good idea. Instead of an arranged marriage, it would be better to let them get to know each other from a young age. That way they will develop feelings for each other and be happier in the future."

This means choosing a son-in-law!
Can the son of a medical family become a prince consort?
There is no problem with this.

According to the previous rules, the royal family should choose a son-in-law from among the common people. Qin Yiming's identity is not suitable for being a son-in-law.

It is most appropriate for the son of a medical family to be the prince consort.

Upon hearing this, Wan Bangzhong and Li Jianzhong were both delighted and happy. They bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

If the sons of this family become the prince consorts of the emperor, they can be considered as royal relatives.

Wanli nodded slightly, then said meaningfully, "We will be considered relatives from now on, sharing weal and woe. I hope you will take good care of my descendants in the future."

This is natural.

The two of them bowed repeatedly and swore an oath.

Wanli nodded slightly and signaled the two to leave.

Then he ordered people to call over Xu Wenbi, Duke of Dingguo, Zhu Yingzhen, Duke of Chengguo, and Zhang Yuangong, Duke of Yingguo.

These three dukes were the first princes and nobles he had won over. All three of them were responsible for managing the Five Military Commandery and part of the Wanshengtang's business.

They thought Wanli had invited them here to discuss business matters. But after the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, Wanli asked, "Have you decided on a prince?"

Of course, it is not as troublesome for them to appoint a crown prince as to enthrone a prince.

However, it didn't seem like a big deal for them to choose the crown prince, at least not for the current emperor.

Why did His Majesty suddenly ask this?
The three of them were a little puzzled, but they nodded repeatedly and said, "It's been decided a long time ago, it's been decided a long time ago."

Seeing this, Wanli simply spoke frankly: "You should know that some civil servants are greedy and have evil hearts.

They always wanted to control the power of the court and seize the interests of the Ming Dynasty. This is also the fundamental reason why they always have conflicts with the emperor of the time.

These guys keep saying that they are working for the country and the people, but in fact they are only doing it for themselves. They just want to grab benefits so that they can enjoy wealth and glory and even live a life of luxury.

Once they feel that the current emperor is out of control or can no longer be fooled, they will take the risk of killing the emperor and replacing him with a puppet who obeys their orders.

what?
Why are you telling us this?
This is true, some civil servants are indeed very cruel, and dukes and nobles have been tortured to death by these guys.

The question is, can something like regicide be discussed openly?

When the three heard this, they were stunned and at a loss.

Seeing this, Wanli explained in detail: "This kind of thing must be prevented. I plan to recruit the sons of dukes, marquises, nobles, or eldest sons to enter the palace to take turns to protect me.

However, there are too many newly promoted dukes, marquises and nobles, and their princes or eldest sons probably do not understand the principle of sharing weal and woe with the royal family and the dukes, marquises and nobles.

You should understand this principle. I want you to teach them well, and then select them in batches to be sent to the palace to protect the emperor."

Oh, that's what happened.

Not all dukes, marquises, and nobles understood the principle of sharing weal and woe with the royal family, and those who did not understand it basically disappeared.

Countless dukes, marquises and nobles of the Ming Dynasty disappeared. Most of them did not understand this principle and only cared about immediate interests.

For example, Xianning Hou Qiu Luan, this guy must be mentally ill, he actually led Altan Khan to attack the capital!

If the Ming Dynasty is finished, will these dukes and nobles still be dukes and nobles?
To put it bluntly, even if the princes were to quell the rebellion, if the emperor came to power, these dukes and nobles would likely be purged.

The Hongwu nobles had been almost all purged, and the ones who survived now were basically the Yongle nobles and the nobles after the Yongle Dynasty.

Therefore, all of them, dukes, marquises, and nobles, must do their utmost to protect the royal family and the Ming Dynasty. This is the fundamental way for them to maintain their positions as dukes, marquises, and nobles.

When the three heard this, they nodded solemnly to show that they understood.

Wanli then explained in detail, "This must become a custom. From now on, all the princes, nobles, or eldest sons of legitimate wives who reach the age of fifteen must come to the capital to receive your instruction and screening.

If selected, one would have to take turns guarding the palace for at least three years.

Of course, this duty also has its benefits. If they perform well, they will definitely be rewarded. The sons of hereditary dukes, marquises, nobles and nobles will be entrusted with important tasks, and the eldest sons of non-hereditary dukes, marquises, nobles and nobles may also be given hereditary scrolls and inherit the title from then on.

In short, this is now up to you. As for how to train and select, you can discuss and set a rule. Next month, you will begin recruiting the princes and eldest sons of dukes, marquises, and nobles to come to the capital."

This is a big task.

There are so many dukes, marquises and nobles nowadays.

More importantly, these princes and eldest sons of dukes, marquises, nobles and legitimate wives were recruited to protect the emperor.

If anything goes wrong, they can't afford it.

When the three heard this, they all nodded solemnly.

Wanli thought about it carefully again, then raised his hand slightly and said, "Well, let's get ready."

The three of them quickly bowed and took their leave.

Little Zhu Changxun watched their backs disappear through the doorway, then he cautiously asked, "Father, is it okay to just leave such an important matter to them?"

You don't understand them, but I have understood them in detail.

Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Don't underestimate these three dukes. There is a reason why they have been able to inherit for more than a hundred years and always receive the favor of the royal family.

Their abilities may not be the strongest, and their martial arts skills may not even be as good as those of many newly promoted dukes and nobles, but they are the ones who know best how to gain the favor of the royal family, and they never take advantage of their favor to become arrogant.

This is the most important thing.”

Do you mean just being able to flatter is enough?
Why does this sound so unreliable?

After hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun thought about it carefully and couldn't help asking, "Are they really loyal to our royal family?"

This is certainly not absolute.

Wanli thought for a moment, then patiently taught: "We can't just look at them, what we do is also important.

If their loyalty is met with suspicion, neglect or even punishment from the royal family, then no matter how loyal they are, they will probably change their hearts over time.

You have to be good to them, and you have to let them realize that the more loyal they are to the royal family, the better it will be. Do you understand?

I gave them the power to manage the Five Military Commanderies, and also gave each of them a dividend of over one million taels every year.

Think about it, in this situation, is it possible that they could betray us?
Who else could give them such a great benefit?"

Oh, I see.

Little Zhu Changxun nodded slowly and asked, "Father, how do you tell if there's something wrong with a eunuch or a palace maid?"

You really can't tell the difference.

Wanli thought for a moment, then said aloud, "Call Luo Sigong."

(End of this chapter)