Yu Qian (May 13, 1398 - February 16, 1457), courtesy name Tingyi, Hao Jie'an, Han nationality, native of Qiantang, Zhejiang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang, also known as Tongxiang), famous in the Ming Dynasty Minister, national hero. Together with Yue Fei and Zhang Cangshui, he is known as the "Three Heroes of West Lake". The most famous thing about him is the "Tumu Fort Incident". When he was seven years old, a monk was surprised by his appearance and said, "This is the prime minister who will save the world in the future." In the 19th year of Yongle (1421), Yu Qian passed the Jinshi examination.
In the early years of Xuande (1426), Yu Qian was appointed as the censor. In the fifth year of Xuande's reign, he was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War and patrolled Shanxi and Henan to reorganize military equipment. In the thirteenth year of Zhengtong (1448), he was promoted to the left minister of the Ministry of War. In the autumn of the following year, the main force of the Ming Jing Army was defeated in the Battle of Tumubao, Ming Yingzong was captured, and the Mongolian Wara Army took advantage of the victory to attack the capital (today's Beijing). At this juncture, Yu Qian opposed moving the capital and advocated the war of resistance. He was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War, led his army to defeat the Oara Army, and won the victory in the defense of Beijing. After the war, he pioneered the regiment and camp military system, strengthened border garrison, and appointed famous generals to guard it. He advocated seeking peace through war and defeated the Oara army's attacks many times, forcing its leader to release Yingzong and return to the court. In the middle of the first month of the eighth year of Jingtai (1457), Yingzong took advantage of the coup to regain the throne. On the 22nd, Yu Qian was framed and killed. Later, the injustice was avenged, and he was given as a gift to the Taifu. He was given the posthumous title of Sumin, and then changed to the posthumous title of Zhongsu. There is a collection of Yu Zhongsu.
Yu Qian went out to patrol Jiangxi and exonerated hundreds of prisoners who had been wrongly accused. He wrote a memorial to report that official schools in various places in Shaanxi were harassing the people, and ordered the censors to arrest them. The emperor knew that Yu Qian could take on important responsibilities. At that time, he was about to add the right minister of each ministry as the governor who was directly stationed in the province, so he wrote Yu Qian's name in his own hand and handed it to the Ministry of Personnel. He was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War and patrolled Henan and Shanxi. After Yu Qian took office, he traveled lightly on horseback throughout the area under his jurisdiction, visited his elders, inspected various things that should be established or reformed at that time, and immediately proposed them to Shu. It is thinned several times a year. If there is any flood or drought disaster, report it immediately.
During the Zhengtong period, the eunuch Wang Zhen monopolized power, exercised power and unbridled power and accepted bribes. Officials and ministers rushed to offer money and seek favors. During every court meeting, anyone who comes to see Wang Zhen must offer a hundred taels of silver; if he can offer a thousand taels of silver, he can entertain him with wine and food, and return drunk. Every time Yu Qian went to Beijing to perform business, he never brought any gifts. Someone advised him: "You are unwilling to send gold and silver treasures, why can't you bring some local products?" Yu Qian smiled smartly, shook his sleeves and said, "There is only a breeze." He also specially wrote a poem "Entering Beijing" to Mingzhi:
Handkerchief mushrooms and incense sticks are used by civilians but are a disaster.
The breeze blows with both sleeves toward the sky, lest Lu Yan talk too much!
This is how the idiom "the breeze on both sleeves" comes from. Luyan means lane. This sentence means to avoid being gossiped about. After this poem was written, it was recited far and wide and became a favorite story. Yu Qian's dissatisfaction naturally aroused the extreme dissatisfaction of the eunuch Wang Zhen.
In the sixth year of Zhengtong, Yu Qian wrote a letter saying: "Now Henan and Shanxi have stored millions of grains each. Please order all prefectures and counties to report the poor households who are short of food in March every year and distribute the grains to They will be given rice, millet, and rice first, and will be returned to the government after the autumn harvest. Those who are old, sick, and poor will be exempted from repayment. Those who fail to meet the quota will not be allowed to leave their posts, and supervisory officials will be ordered to conduct frequent inspections." The edict was issued and implemented accordingly. In places near the Yellow River in Henan, embankments are often breached due to rising water. Yu Qian ordered the protective embankment to be thickened, and pavilions were set up every mile. The pavilions had a pavilion chief who was responsible for supervising the repair of the embankment. He also ordered trees to be planted and wells to be dug, so the roads were lined with elm trees and there were no thirsty pedestrians on the road. Datong is alone far away from the frontier fortress, and it is difficult for the people patrolling Shanxi to go there. So I asked to set up another censor to manage it. All the fields cultivated privately by the garrison generals were turned into official villages to fund border defense funds. His prestige and kindness spread all over the country, and the thieves in the Taihang Mountains all fled or hid. After nine years in office, he was promoted to Zuo Shilang and received the salary of a second-grade official.
At the beginning, when Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu were in charge of the government, they all valued Yu Qian. Yu Qian's petitions were submitted in the morning and approved in the evening. They were all sponsored by "San Yang". But every time Yu Qian came to discuss state affairs, he always went in with empty pockets. Those powerful people could not help but feel disappointed. By this time, "San Yang" had passed away, and the eunuch Wang Zhen took power. There happened to be a censor with a similar name to Yu Qian, who once contradicted Wang Zhen. When Yu Qian entered the court, he recommended Wang Lai and Sun Yuanzhen to replace him. General Affairs Minister Li Xifeng responded to Wang Zhen's instructions and impeached Yu Qian for being dissatisfied with not being promoted for a long time and arbitrarily recommending someone to replace him.
He was handed over to the judicial department, sentenced to death, and imprisoned for three months. Later, Wang Zhen realized that he had made a mistake, so he released him and demoted him to the rank of Shaoqing of Dali Temple. Officials and people in Shanxi and Henan prostrated themselves in front of the palace gates and petitioned thousands of people to stay in office. King Zhou, King Jin and other vassal kings also made similar requests, and Yu Qian was appointed governor again. At that time, more than 200,000 refugees from Shandong and Shaanxi came to Henan to seek food. Yu Qian requested the release of corn relief accumulated by Henan and Huaiqing. He also asked the chief envoy Nian Fu to appease and summon these people, and gave them fields, cattle and seeds, and Lao Li supervised and managed them. During his 19th year in office, when his parents passed away, he was asked to go back to handle the funeral, and soon he took up his original position.
In the thirteenth year of Zhengtong, Yu Qian was recalled to Beijing and served as the left minister of the Ministry of War. In the autumn of the next year, he also launched a large-scale invasion, and Wang Zhen took the emperor hostage and marched in person. Yu Qian and Kuang Ye, the Minister of War, tried their best to dissuade him, but they refused to listen. Kuang Ye followed the emperor to manage the army, leaving Yu Qian to take charge of the work of the Ministry of War. When Ming Yingzong was captured in Tumubao, the capital was shocked and no one knew what to do. King Tan supervised the country and ordered his ministers to discuss strategies for combat and defense. The minister Xu Jue said that there were changes in the stars and the capital should be moved to Nanjing. Yu Qian said sternly: "Those who advocate moving south should be killed.