The three major palace cases of the Ming Dynasty were "梃怃", "红楼", and 逃宫"
In broad daylight, the 梃怃attack broke into the palace with a wooden stick and injured many people. ——Zhu Changluo immediately reported the matter to Emperor Wanli. Prior to this, the old emperor had not been in court for many years. He immediately ordered the judicial officer to bring charges for interrogation, and inspected the Imperial City Censor Liu Tingyuan to interrogate him on the spot according to law. The man's name was Zhang Cha, but he didn't say a few words before he started to behave like a madman. The censor repeatedly interrogated Zhang Chai, but Zhang Chai always talked nonsense about eating fast and asking for a seal. After questioning for several hours, Zhang Chai still failed to tell the truth. The judge impatiently handed him over to the Ministry of Punishment for final decision. After being handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, he was re-interrogated by doctor Hu Shixiang and others. At this time, Zhang Cha seemed to be more awake and replied: "I was bullied by my neighbors Li Ziqiang, Li Wanchang and others. They burned my firewood. I was very angry and planned to go to the capital to file a complaint and beat the drum to redress my grievances. So I went to the capital in April I arrived in the capital in the middle of the year. I walked in from the east gate, but I didn’t know the way, so I had to keep walking west. I met two men on the way, who gave me a jujube stick and told me to take it. A wooden stick can be used to redress the injustice. I don't know what happened. Maybe I got confused and walked to the palace gate. I injured many people and was finally caught." Hu Shixiang still couldn't come to a conclusion. He thought Zhang Cha was crazy, so he reported the situation to Emperor Wanli. Wang Zhicai, the prison chief of the Ministry of Punishment, saw something fishy. One day, Wang Zhicai was distributing meals to the prisoners in the prison and felt that Zhang Cha did not look like a crazy person. So he decided to interrogate Zhang Cha again. In order to get him to tell the truth, Wang Zhicai said to Zhang Cha: "If you tell the truth, I will give you food, otherwise I will starve you." Zhang Cha lowered his head and said nothing, and after a while he said: "I dare not say it." Wang Zhicai immediately ordered other jailers in the prison to avoid the situation, leaving only two jailers aside to interrogate him personally. Under coercion, Zhang Chai told the truth and revealed a shocking conspiracy.
As for what the conspiracy is, it is to let the emperor establish a prince, but it is not known who is behind the scenes.
The Hongwan Case
In the last years of Wanli, Zhu Changluo's status as prince was determined. Therefore, in order to please Zhu Changluo, the sinister and vicious Concubine Zheng gave him eight beauties for him to enjoy. Zhu Changluo's body was not strong, but he had sex with these women, and his physical strength gradually became exhausted. After only ten days on the throne, he became bedridden due to excessive drinking and debauchery. However, he did not control himself and still fooled around with these people. One night, in order to seek stimulation, Zhu Changluo took a "red pill". As a result, he became manic, laughed wildly, and was extremely excited. The next morning, Wu Zan, who was sleeping in bed, quickly invited imperial physician Cui Wensheng for diagnosis and treatment. Cui Wensheng didn't know that the emperor was suffering from yin deficiency and kidney failure, so he thought it was due to evil heat, so he prescribed a powerful medicine to relieve the fire and laxatives. As a result, Zhu Changluo suffered from diarrhea more than 30 times overnight and was in critical condition. Now, a big disaster had occurred, and the court was full of quarrels and curses. Important minister Yang Lian wrote a letter accusing Cui Wensheng of misuse of laxatives. Cui Wensheng retorted that it was not misuse, but the emperor's use of "red pills" that caused him to become seriously ill. The Donglin Party members immediately emphasized that not only did Cui Wensheng use the medicine improperly, but he also took the "red pill" issue to tarnish the emperor's reputation... Zhu Changluo, who was critically ill, was lying on the bed, seemingly obsessed with the "red pill" and wanted to take it. Li Kezhuo, the Prime Minister of Honglu Temple, immediately took a red pill. After Zhu Changluo took it, there was no movement. In the evening, Zhu Changluo asked to take another pill, and Li Kezhuo took another red pill. As a result, after a while, the emperor covered his heart with his hands, stared, struggled a few times, and died. Zhu Changluo has only been on the throne for thirty days, and the reign name has not yet been decided!
It is a tragedy...
The case of moving the palace
Portrait of Zhu Changluo, Emperor Guangzong of Ming Dynasty
[2] Forty-eighth year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty ( In July 1620), Zhu Yijun, the Wanli Emperor of the Ming Shenzong, passed away, and Zhu Changluo, the Taichang Emperor of the Ming Guang Zong, came to the throne. After Emperor Taichang ascended the throne, his son Zhu Youxiao and Li Xuanshi moved to Qianqing Palace together. One month later, Emperor Taichang died. Li Xuanshi took control of the Qianqing Palace and conspired with the eunuch Li Jinzhong (Wei Zhongxian) to kidnap Zhu Youxiao in order to become the empress dowager and control the government. This move aroused strong opposition from the courtiers. On the day Emperor Taichang died, Yang Lian, Liu Yishui and other court officials went straight to the Qianqing Palace and asked Emperor Taichang to visit him and see the emperor's eldest son Zhu Youxiao to discuss his accession to the throne. However, they were blocked by Li Xuanshi. With the efforts of the ministers, Li Xuanzhun Zhu Youxiao met with the ministers. When Yang Lian, Liu Yishen and others saw Zhu Youxiao, they kowtowed to the mountain and shouted long live. They protected Zhu Youxiao from leaving Qianqing Palace and went to Wenhua Hall to accept the worship of the officials. They decided to hold the enthronement ceremony on the 6th of this month. For Zhu Youxiao's safety, the ministers temporarily arranged for him to live in the Tai Palace, and the eunuch Wang An was responsible for protecting him. Li Xuanshi's purpose of holding Zhu Youxiao hostage failed, and he also proposed that all ministers' memorials should be handed over to her for review first, and then to Zhu Youxiao. The courtiers strongly opposed it. The courtiers asked Li Xuanshi to move out of Qianqing Palace and move to Erluan Palace, but Li Xuanshi refused. Li Xuanshi also asked for the title of Empress Dowager first, and then ordered Zhu Youxiao to ascend the throne. This was also rejected by the ministers, and the conflict gradually intensified. Portrait of Zhu Youxiao, Emperor Tianqi of Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty
[3] The date for Zhu Youxiao’s enthronement ceremony in the Qianqing Palace is approaching. As of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Li Xuanshi had no intention of moving to the palace, and it was rumored that he would continue to postpone his move out of the Qianqing Palace. The cabinet ministers stood outside the gate of Qianqing Palace, urging Li Xuanshi to move out. Wang An, the eunuch who accompanied Zhu Youxiao in the East Palace, tried his best in the Qianqing Palace. Li Xuanshi had no choice but to leave the Qianqing Palace in a hurry and move to the Erluan Palace in the Renshou Palace with the eighth princess in his arms.
On September 6th, Zhu Youxiao enthroned Fengtianmen, the emperor, and changed the next year to the first year of Tianqi. At this point, Li Xuanshi's attempt to become the empress dowager and control the government finally came to nothing. Although Li Xuanshi had "moved to the palace", the struggle was not over. A few days after "moving the palace", a fire broke out in the Erluan Palace. After struggling to save it, Li Xuan's mother and daughter were rescued. Officials who opposed the move spread rumors that Zhu Youxiao had violated the principle of filial piety and brotherhood by saying, "Who will pity the eighth sister of the emperor if she falls into the well? The widow will not complain." Zhu Youxiao, with the support of Yang Lian and others, refuted these rumors and pointed out, "I ordered the selection of attendant titles to be stopped to comfort the spirit of the Holy Mother in heaven. The selected attendants and the emperor's eight sisters were raised generously to comply with the emperor's wishes. You ministers can My heart is lifted up." At this point, the "gong move" crisis is temporarily over.
The most mysterious case in the history of the Qing Dynasty - the Queen Mother got married!
1. The theory of "The Queen Mother married off"
The Qingdong Tomb in Malanyu, Zunhua County, Hebei Province, surrounded by mountains and shaded by pines, was personally ordered by Emperor Shunzhi in the early Qing Dynasty. "An auspicious place for thousands of years", nine emperors' mausoleums and five concubine gardens were built here in the Qing Dynasty. Five emperors, Shunzhi, Kangxi, Qianlong, Xianfeng and Tongzhi, and many concubines were buried here. Today, the Qing Tombs have been listed as a world cultural heritage and have become a famous tourist attraction, attracting many tourists.
When entering the mausoleum area, the first thing people see is a cemetery isolated outside the Feng Shui wall at the foot of Changrui Mountain. If you look carefully, you can still find that its regulations are quite special among the ruins. The mausoleum does not have Makaogou, Yudai River and Qianqiao, but there is a Shinto stele pavilion in front of the mausoleum. Entering the gate, you can see that the three gates are located in front of the Xiang Hall. The Long En Hall has been demolished and only the foundation remains. Some information and old photos show that this hall is not the top of the hilltop that is common in the tombs of emperors and empresses, but the top of the double-eaves verandah with higher specifications, highlighting the nobility and respect of the tomb owner. This is Zhaoxiling. Buried in the mausoleum is the famous Empress Xiaozhuangwen in the early Qing Dynasty.
Empress Xiaozhuang Wen was the concubine of Emperor Taizong Huang Taiji of the Qing Dynasty, the biological mother of Emperor Shunzhi, and the grandmother of Emperor Kangxi. She went through several dynasties in her life and tried her best to assist her children and grandchildren to establish the world. She accumulated posthumous titles after her death. Known as the "Queen of Xiaozhuang Ren Xuan Cheng Xian Gong Yi Zhi De Chun Hui Yi Tian Qi Sheng Wen", she was highly respected by the Qing Dynasty. She was the most senior person buried in the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty, but why was she placed outside the Feng Shui Wall? This leads to the biggest mystery in the early Qing Dynasty - the Queen Mother's marriage.
According to unofficial records, at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty's entry into the Customs, the regent Dorgon took charge of the court. "It was forbidden to enter and leave the palace. At that time, he lived with his sister-in-law and his nephew, like a father and son in the family." The Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was in her prime. She was widowed and unhappy, and believed that Dorgon's meritorious service was the highest in the world, so she gave up the throne to her son. She was loyal and assisted in the government. Unless she repaid her with her own life, it would not be enough, so she committed herself to serve in order to win over Dorgon. Soon, Dorgon's wife died, so the ministers such as Fan Wencheng in the court took the opportunity to encourage the empress dowager and the regent to join the palace and formally get married. Naturally, both parties were very happy. After setting the wedding date, he issued an edict to the world in the name of the little emperor Shunzhi, declaring: "The Queen Mother has been a widow in her prime years, and the spring flowers and autumn moon are quietly unhappy. I am the emperor, and I am nourished by the world. I can only nourish my mouth and body, but not my ambition." Because the Holy Mother is widowed, she is in sorrow and depression. How can she teach the world about filial piety? Be kind and respectful, and obey the ceremony." In this way, the empress dowager condescended to marry her brother-in-law, and the regent Dorgon became the stepfather of the young emperor Shunzhi. Known as the "Royal Father and Regent". The imperial edict was quite straightforward: the young empress dowager finally found herself unable to stay in the empty confinement, so Hongxing stepped out and voluntarily married Dorgon, who had just lost his wife. Some novels even claim that as early as when Huang Taiji was still alive, Concubine Zhuang and Dorgon were already in love with each other and secretly crossed into Chencang. Their marriage at this time finally made their long-cherished wish come true.
It is said that in order to organize this wedding, the Ministry of Etiquette specially prepared a set of special wedding rituals, consisting of six volumes, called "The Wedding Ceremony of the Mother of the Nation". It was extremely grand and attracted all Chinese and foreign civil and military officials. Congratulations on the above table, it is a grand event. Even Zhang Huangyan, a famous anti-Qing general of the Southern Ming Dynasty who was far away on the island in eastern Zhejiang, heard about this incident and wrote a poem: "The Shangshou wine cup is a combination of Nin bottles, and the Cining palace is full of doors. The spring official entered the new ceremony yesterday, A great gift for the Queen Mother’s wedding.” This means that the Queen Mother’s birthday wine has become the wedding wine.
However, after Dorgon's death, he was immediately accused of treason and suffered ruthless political liquidation. However, Xiaozhuang's status became more and more respected. From the Empress Dowager to the Empress Dowager, upon reflection, she felt that remarrying was ridiculous. She felt sorry for her ex-husband Huang Taiji and had no face to meet him underground. Therefore, she did not want to be sent back to Shengjing to be buried with Emperor Taizong Huang Taiji after her death, so she asked her grandson Kangxi to bury her in Dongling. The mausoleum was built outside the Feng Shui wall, which had a derogatory meaning, and she was punished to be guarded by the royal family. And so on, there are many legends.
In feudal China, ordinary folk widows who worked hard to observe the festival would be commended and have an archway erected. If you remarry, you will inevitably be criticized by your relatives and neighbors. What's more, as the noble empress dowager throws the hydrangea ball again and scores twice, it is of course a shocking anecdote. As soon as this statement came out, it was widely circulated. In the early years of the Republic of China, people regardless of north or south, old or young, talked about the stories of the Qing Dynasty with great interest, and almost believed in history. As a result, many scholars later criticized "History of the Qing Dynasty". The failure of the "Manuscript" to "write straightly" is one of its shortcomings.