Know all about the secrets of the harem

Chapter 53 Disaster for the Country
Zhu Changluo, the eldest son of the emperor, was established as the prince, and Zhu Changxun, the king of blessing, was forced to move to Luoyang to take office. This was a heavy blow to Concubine Zheng.But even so, this woman did not relax her pursuit of the goal for a moment, but became more rampant, and her wolfish ambition continued unabated, causing the new court struggle to intensify.Concubine Zheng and her father Zheng Chengxian, uncle Zheng Chengen, and elder brother Zheng Guotai colluded with each other and worked harder than before to sow truth in secret, racking their brains to abolish the registered prince.They all knew in their hearts that they would be saved only if the prince was abolished, so they created the "demon book" case.

The so-called "demon book" case was a case that happened before the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Changluo, was registered.At that time, Lu Kun, the left servant of the Ministry of punishment, wrote a book called "Girl Fan Tushuo" (see "Ming History · Lu Kun Biography": "Kun wrote "Girl Fan", and only took the latter of Han Mingde, and later the nobleman entered the middle palace. To flatter the imperial concubine Zheng. Kun Shu and Chen are worried about the world, and they don’t talk about anything, but they are not as good as Jianzhu, so the meaning can be seen.") The book contains the stories of some virtuous and famous women in the past dynasties.This picture shows that Empress Ma, Emperor of the Han and Ming Dynasties, was the head, and Empress Ma was gradually promoted to empress from a court lady. Lu Kun's intention was obviously to show courteousness to Concubine Zheng, and to find an explanation for Concubine Zheng to become a queen in the future.Shenzong came across this book by chance, and gave it to Concubine Zheng.The giver has no intention, but the recipient has heart.After reading this little book, Concubine Zheng felt that she could use it to make some articles, so she added pictures of 12 more people, wrote a preface for it, and printed some for distribution to expand its influence.See "History of the Ming Dynasty Biography of Empress Concubine Zheng Guifei": "When Lu Kun, the assistant minister, was the inspector, he tasted the collection of "Girl Fan Tushuo". The eunuch Chen Ju saw it and held it to the emperor. The emperor gave the concubine, and the concubine re-engraved it. Kun Nothing." The reason why Concubine Zheng wanted to engrave this book was to set a precedent for her son Zhu Changxun to become the crown prince, and to publicize it.In the 31st year of Wanli (1603), Zhu Geng, a scholar of the University, discovered that there was a book called "Continuing Worry and Dangerous Discussion" circulating in the capital. , because the emperor had no choice but to register the prince as a last resort, implying that Concubine Zheng's beloved son, King Fu, will surely succeed.See "History of Ming Dynasty Biography of Empress Concubine Zheng Guifei": "The emperor has no choice but to stand in Dongguan, and it will change in the future. Those who specially use Zhu Geng's cabinet actually embody the meaning of easier change." Unexpectedly, the appearance of this book touched Zheng The concubine's heart disease, she cried and asked Shenzong to track down the person who wrote the book.As a result, the imperial court set up unjust prisons, and many courtiers and common people suffered innocent victims and died unjustly.However, the case ended up falling apart.

All kinds of conspiracies and tricks failed, and Concubine Zheng once despaired.But there is another possibility, that is the early death of the queen; if the queen really dies, the imperial concubine Zheng will be the only one in the main palace. At that time, "the son is more expensive than the mother", and the mother will be in the middle palace, and her son will naturally become the legitimate son Therefore, the crown prince of the eldest son of the emperor will not be able to be the crown prince of the East Palace.At this time, Zheng Guifei saw a glimmer of hope in despair, so she began to implement a new plan.It's just that although Queen Wang is in poor health, but because of her pure nature and asceticism, she has a detached attitude towards people and things, and coupled with the protection of Empress Dowager Li, she survived year after year, and finally reached the 48th year of Wanli ( 1620) died in the same year as Shenzong.Concubine Zheng has exhausted every means, and every illusion has been shattered. In desperation, she wants to take the risk.In February of the 42nd year of Wanli (1614), Empress Dowager Li passed away. Concubine Zheng no longer had any scruples and decided to give it a go.So Concubine Zheng and others took extraordinary measures, and this was the "Striking Case" that occurred the following year-this was the first of the three Ming Palace cases that occurred during the Wanli period.

In the evening of the fourth day of May in the 43rd year of Wanli (1615), an unknown man quietly broke into the Ciqing Palace where the crown prince Zhu Changluo lived with a stick in his hand, and injured the eunuch guarding the gate. captured.The three major cases in the late Ming Dynasty, which had been turmoil for many years, took this as a starting point and finally happened.

The next day, the crown prince hurriedly told Shenzong what happened that night.After Shenzong got the performance, he ordered the criminal to be handed over to the nearby judicial department for interrogation first.After the interrogation, Liu Tingyuan, the censor of Xunhuangcheng who tried the case, reported the general situation of the first trial: the criminal's name was Zhang Cha, he was from Jizhou (Jixian County, Tianjin today), and he claimed to make a living by begging. His appearance also looks very cunning.Because this person was suspected of murdering the prince, the case was then handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, where Liu Tingyuan, the censor, and Hu Shiping, a doctor of the Ministry of Punishment, were interrogated.At this time Zheng Guifei's elder brother, Zheng Guotai, visited the two secretly. After some negotiation, Liu and Hu followed Zheng Guotai's wishes and said: This man is called Zhang Cha, who is mentally ill and should be executed immediately. agreed.However, Wang Zhi's case, the chief prison officer, was very suspicious of this matter, so he asked Zhang Cha privately, and Zhang Cha admitted that he was instructed by his servant.Feeling that the case of Wang was of great importance, he immediately informed Zhang Wenda, the Minister of Criminal Affairs.For a while, the news that someone was going to murder the prince spread quickly in the capital.Because Concubine Zheng had been plotting to seize power for a long time, and her brother Zheng Guotai had another secret operation, the court all pointed to Concubine Zheng's brothers and sisters.Shenzong also realized that the matter was no small matter, so he ordered the thirteen divisions to interrogate.After this first trial, Zhang Chai also confessed that his murder of the prince was instigated by Zheng Guifei's confidant eunuchs Pang Bao and Liu Cheng.

At this time, the most nervous and frightening thing was Concubine Zheng. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and she had to resort to the last trick of a woman.So she went to Shenzong, crying and howling, asking Shenzong to make the decision for her, otherwise, she would die in front of Shenzong.After her making such a fuss, Shenzong really felt sad, sighed and said to his beloved concubine: "Now that the trouble has become like this, I'm afraid it's hard to solve it. I'm afraid it will be bad if I come forward. Now there is only one person who can save the lives of your mother and child." .” See "History of the Ming Dynasty Biography of Concubine Zheng Guifei":
"Emperor Day: 'The language of the foreign court is not easy to understand. If you have to ask for the crown prince yourself. When Concubine Zheng heard this, she couldn't help gasping for air: "How did this happen?" Shenzong said: "Based on his background, status and current situation, I think maybe he will spare you, so go and talk about it. Concubine Zheng Gui lowered her head and quickly calculated: It seems that this is the only way to do it.So he turned around and went to beg the prince himself.

When she arrived at Dongguan, Concubine Zheng first pretended to be very pitiful, sobbing, and bowed down to worship the prince when she saw the prince.

When the prince saw it, he was quite frightened and hurried back to pay his respects.Concubine Zheng took the prince's hand and cried sadly, saying how wronged she was, and only the prince could save her life and tell her right from wrong.After all, the crown prince is still young and lacks experience in life-and-death political struggles in the court. He has always been timid towards Concubine Zheng, so even though he knows that Concubine Zheng often wants to harm him, he has nothing to do; I think this is a good opportunity to ease the contradiction.After Zheng Guifei's performance, the crown prince happily asked his subordinates to draw up a decree, asking the ministers in the court not to get entangled in this matter anymore, since the murderer has already been caught, he should be punished immediately, and don't involve others anymore.Seeing this, Concubine Zheng thanked the prince again and again, and then left happily.Originally, the ministers thought that the instigator Zheng Guifei and his family must be found out, otherwise there would be no peace for the country and the people: but after the prince dealt with it, it was inconvenient for the ministers to see that even the person whose life was endangered was not held accountable. Get to the bottom of it.Later, the courtiers executed Zhang Chai according to the will, and executed Liu Cheng and Pang Bao in secret.This "striking case" that stirred up many people and was life-threatening was ended hastily, but Concubine Zheng Gui, who directed this farce from beginning to end, survived the crisis without any surprises.

Five years later, in July of the 5th year of Wanli (48), Ming Shenzong passed away.The crown prince Zhu Changluo ascended the throne in early August, and he was Ming Guangzong.But he has only been in office for 1620 days.Why are you only in office for so few days?This has to start with the second major case of the three major cases in the late Ming Dynasty - the "Hongwan case".

After the "striking case" was settled, Zheng Guifei saw that the crown prince's position was unshakable, so she was worried about her future: once Shenzong passed away, how would she deal with herself?For the sake of the future, we must please the crown prince now.So Zheng Guifei simply pushed the boat along the way, and tried her best to get close to the crown prince by thanking the crown prince for his rescue in the shooting case, so as to change the long-term tense relationship.The crown prince has been disfavored since he was a child, and has been treated coldly by his father and concubine Zheng for many years. He is cowardly by nature, mentally depressed, and in poor health.Concubine Zheng took advantage of the crown prince's weakness and resorted to a trick, thinking to herself: Firstly, this trick will definitely make the crown prince trust me and get closer to me, and secondly, the most important thing is to kill the crown prince.As expected by Concubine Zheng, the crown prince really fell into a trap.

Concubine Zheng first presented her favorite jewelry to the crown prince.The Crown Prince received a gift from Concubine Zheng, and seeing Concubine Zheng's attitude change, he also forgot the past personal grievances.Li Xuanshi is the crown prince's favorite concubine. The crown prince listened to Li Xuanshi's words and asked the Ministry of Rites to seal Zheng Guifei.However, it was not realized due to the resistance of some officials headed by Sun Ruyou, the Minister of Rites.

At the same time, Concubine Zheng selected the eight most beautiful beauties in her palace and gave them to the crown prince, so that they could serve the future emperor wholeheartedly and satisfy him.The crown prince started to indulge, and indulged in drinking and sex all day long. He was not yet forty, but he had already collapsed.By the time he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, he was already seriously ill, and within a few days he was terminally ill and bedridden.Cui Wensheng, the eunuch of internal medicine, prescribed a laxative. After Guangzong took it, the diarrhea continued, and he had diarrhea thirty or forty times a day.Later, Li Kezhuo, the prime minister of Honghe Temple, presented a red pill, claiming to be a elixir, and after taking it, Guangzong felt that his spirit improved greatly.After half a day, Li Kezhuo offered another one. After taking it again, Guangzong slept until the early morning of the next day and never got up again.This is the so-called "red pill case".

After Guangzong's death, officials at home and abroad first attributed the cause of his death to Li Kezhuo. See "History of Ming Dynasty Xizong Benji":
"Guangzong collapsed. The eldest son of the emperor will inherit the throne. The ministers have finished crying. Please see the eldest son of the emperor at the door of the bedroom, and send him to the Wenhua Hall to salute. Qian Qing officials, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Zhou Jiamo, etc., and the censor Zuo Guangdoushu, please choose the servant Yigong, and the censor Wang Anshun discusses Li Kezhuo's mistake in taking medicine, and the two cases of "Hongwan" and "Yigong" are naturally started. Later, I learned that Cui Wensheng, who had taken laxatives and suddenly aggravated his condition, was actually one of Concubine Zheng's subordinates, and Li Kezhuo was brought into the palace by Fang Congzhe. Both of them should have been sentenced to death, but in the end they were both given lighter sentences. Disposal: Li Kezhuo was exiled to the army, Cui Wensheng was demoted to Nanjing; Fang Congzhe and Concubine Zheng also escaped. The "Hongwan case" ended like this.

As soon as Guangzong died, Concubine Zheng felt relieved by removing a stone that had stood in front of her for many years. She felt that there was hope to achieve her goal, so she instigated Guangzong's concubine Li Xuan to serve as a servant of a clean and honest official, leading to the "moving palace case" ".

After Guangzong's death, Concubine Zheng tried to become the queen mother and listen to the government behind the curtain.On the one hand, she temporarily isolated the crown prince and prevented him from being enthroned to meet with the officials. On the other hand, she instigated Li Xuanshi not to move out the clean officials so that she could issue orders to the courtiers.But the officials of the court and the central government did not buy their account. They jointly accused Li Xuanshi of "neither the aunt's mother nor the biological mother, as if he lived in the main palace, and his highness (referring to Xi Zong Zhu Youxiao) was still the Ciqing official. This kind of status reversal The way to do it is to use the name of support and implement the reality of dictatorship, and the disaster of Empress Wu will be seen today."And arranged for the eunuch Wang An to secretly pick up the prince from the officials, and suddenly ascended to the Wenhua Hall to accept the worship of the officials.The new emperor came to the throne, Ming Xizong.The next day, the ministers surrounded the new emperor and gathered for honest officials, forcing Li Xuanshi to relocate.Seeing that the raw rice was ripe, Li Xuan had no choice but to leave to be an upright official.Soon, the officials announced in the name of Xi Zong that Li Xuan's title of servant would be cut off, and they ignored Concubine Zheng.During the few years when the Donglin party members controlled the government, Zheng Guifei's dream of colluding with Li Xuanshi to listen to the government behind the curtain was shattered.This is the so-called "moving palace case".

During Ming Xizong's reign, although Concubine Zheng's desire for power remained the same as before, she was over sixty years old and unable to do what she wanted.In July of the third year of Chongzhen (1630), this woman, who enjoyed all her life in glory and wealth and even dreamed of being a queen, failed to realize her dream and ended her legendary life.

However, it was such an insidious and venomous imperial concubine who made the whole of the Daming country into darkness, and she was inseparable from the Ming Dynasty forever, causing a disaster that was rare in all dynasties. For the rest of his life, this kind of ending can be regarded as a "miracle".After the death of Concubine Zheng, she was posthumously named "Gongke Huirong and Concubine Jinghuang" and was buried in Yinquan Mountain.

(End of this chapter)