China knows everything for 5000 years

Chapter 55

In 1562 AD, the Japanese plague in Fujian became more and more serious, and Qi Jiguang was dispatched to help Fujian.After Qi Jiguang led his army into Fujian, he first captured Hengyu and beheaded 2600 people.Then, he captured Niutian and destroyed the Japanese pirates' lair.The Japanese pirates fled to Xinghua one after another. Qi Jiguang took advantage of the victory and pursued them. He fought overnight, defeated 60 battalions, and beheaded countless people.After that, Qi Jiguang returned to his teacher Fuqing and wiped out 200 Japanese pirates who landed.At the same time, Ming general Liu Hao also repeatedly defeated the Japanese pirates, and almost all the Japanese pirates entrenched in Fujian were wiped out.Later, after Qi Jiguang returned to Zhejiang, a large number of Japanese pirates invaded Fujian again.In 1563 AD, the imperial court ordered Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang to be the chief and deputy commanders-in-chief of Fujian, leading troops to suppress, and Qi's army entered Fujian again.The army of the Ming Dynasty fought Japanese pirates in Pinghai. Qi Jiguang led the army to go to the city first. Yu Dayou and Liu Yong successively killed 2200 enemies and rescued 3000 people who were looted.In 1564 A.D., the Japanese pirates gathered more than [-] remaining parties and besieged Xianyou. Qi Jiguang was first defeated in the city, and then pursued the remaining pirates and wiped out a large number of Japanese pirates.Later, Qi Jiguang defeated the Japanese pirates in Funing again, and together with Yu Dayou finally wiped out the Japanese pirates in Fujian.After the Japanese pirates in Fujian were expelled, the Japanese pirates in Guangdong became serious, and Yu Dayou was ordered to put down the Japanese pirates in Guangdong.At this point, the Japanese invasion in the southeast coast was finally put down.Qi Jiguang's anti-Japanese heroism infected courtiers and common people, and he was hailed as a national hero, and his deeds were passed down to the world.

●Hai Qingtian prepares the coffin for writing
Hai Rui, whose name is Ruxian, is from the Hui nationality.When he was young, Hai Rui worked hard to study, passed the provincial examination, and was sent to Nanping (now Nanping, Fujian) as a teacher.He taught strictly and kept the school in good order. Four years later, Hai Rui was promoted to the county magistrate of Chun'an.There are many mountains and little land in Chun'an, and the people are very poor.After Hai Rui took office, he was very sad to see the tragedy.After investigation and research, he first rectified the administration of officials in a county and formulated many regulations.The county magistrates, masters, edicts, and subordinates must all fulfill their duties and do their best to engage in private and fraudulent activities. If there is any corruption other than salaries, they will be severely punished; All unreasonable demands.Even if it was the extra apportionment from his boss, Hai Rui dared not to do it.The people called him "Hai Qingtian".

Later, Hai Rui was transferred to Beijing as the head of the household department.He saw Zhu Houcong, Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, praying for gods and offering sacrifices all day long, instead of going to the court to govern, and the ministers blindly catered to him, but no one cared about the suffering of the people.Sad and angry, Hai Rui risked his life to write a memorial to "Public Security", which was very strong and worded.Then, he made arrangements for the funeral, and submitted the memorial to the Secretary of General Affairs.

Sejong received Hai Rui's memorial, and when he saw the content, he vehemently criticized himself, saying: "The current imperial court is 'the way of the emperor is not right, and the duties of the ministers are unclear'. The emperor has ignored the government for more than 20 years, the laws and regulations have been lax, the officials have been corrupted, and the finances have been corrupted. Bengbo made the country poor and the people poor. That's why people say that Jiajing means that every family is clean and poor to the point of having nothing! The emperor doesn't care about the growth of the prince and lacks the relationship between father and son. Love; killing and humiliating courtiers because of others' slander and own suspicion, lack of affection between monarch and ministers; living in Xiyuan for a long time, worshiping gods and taking medicine for longevity, and not returning to the palace, is no love between husband and wife. There are too many mistakes, Your Majesty, please repent and change course..." Shizong became more and more angry: This is not a letter, it is simply counting my crimes!He slammed Hai Rui's memorial on the ground, slapped the table and shouted: "Go and arrest Hai Rui, don't let this guy escape!" Eunuch Huang Jin said beside him: "Long live Qicha, Hai Rui didn't want to run away at all. He bought the coffin before he went to the memorial, dismissed all the family members who followed him, and now he is waiting for punishment at the court!" Shizong listened for a while, then picked up the memorial for a while, and then looked down , sighed while looking at it, put it on the table casually, and said to himself: "This guy wants to be Bigan, I'm not a king!" So he kept Hai Rui locked up without conviction.Since no one dared to speak out so bluntly to Shizong for decades, the news of Hai Rui preparing a coffin for writing quickly spread throughout the court, and everyone in the world knew that there was a "Master Hai" who was not afraid of death.

●Western monk Matteo Ricci
In 1582 AD, Italian missionary Matteo Ricci traveled across the ocean and came to Macau, China.In order to be accepted by the Chinese and prepare for missionary work, he devoted himself to learning Chinese, and under the guidance of missionary Luo Mingjian, he learned about China's customs and national system with great interest.In 1583 AD, Matteo Ricci and Luo Mingjian were approved by the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to live in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. They were very happy.Matteo Ricci said: "Many Chinese people believe in Buddhism. We might as well call ourselves monks from the West. This may be easier for the common people to accept." Luo Mingjian nodded and said yes.So the two shaved their heads, wore monk's clothes, and called themselves "Western monks".

With the help of the prefect of Zhaoqing, a few days later, the governor approved them to build their own church.In order to avoid the suspicion of the local people, they changed the house into a Chinese style, with a hall and two wing rooms.In this way, in the eyes of the magistrate, Matteo Ricci and Luo Mingjian are no different from Chinese monks, and their residences are naturally Buddhist temples.Therefore, the magistrate happily ordered a pen to inscribe two plaques "Xianhua Temple" and "Xilai Pure Land".Matteo Ricci hung the former in the hall and the latter in the reception room.In order not to stimulate Chinese xenophobia, he gave himself a Chinese name, spoke Chinese, ate Chinese food, wore Chinese clothes, read Chinese classics of Confucius and Mencius, and did not even hang the Virgin Mary at home. portrait.Living in China for more than ten years made him understand that the best way to successfully preach in China is to influence the will of the emperor, the highest authority in China.Finally, with the help of a powerful eunuch, he launched an "offensive" against the emperor of China.

In 1600 AD, Matteo Ricci came to Beijing.He wrote a very humble letter to Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun and presented some gifts to the emperor.The presents included an icon of God, a statue of the Virgin Mary, a Bible, a harp, a map of all nations, and most importantly, two chime bells, large and small.When Shenzong saw the Western tribute, he was most satisfied with the two chime bells.The clock hands moved with the ticking sound, chiming on time, and Shenzong Longyan was very happy.But 8 days later, the clock suddenly stopped.Shenzong immediately ordered the eunuch to ask Matteo Ricci what happened.Matteo Ricci explained in detail the principle and purpose of the chime clock, and then put a spring on the chime clock, readjusted the time, and the chime clock started ticking again.Shenzong felt that Matteo Ricci was indispensable by his side, so he ordered Ricci to stay in Beijing for dispatch.This was exactly what Matteo Ricci wanted, and from then on he could be close to the emperor.Later, Shenzong approved him to build a church in Beijing.Therefore, he had the opportunity to preach publicly. After three or four years, Matteo Ricci accepted more than 200 apprentices in Beijing, and his influence ranged from the emperor to the common people.Matteo Ricci's method of preaching is very clever. He makes people believe that most of what he said is consistent with Confucius and Mencius.In this way, by influencing the scholar-bureaucrats and making them help him preach, he made Catholicism truly spread in China.

Although the purpose of Matteo Ricci’s mission in China was to preach, he introduced advanced western mathematics, astronomy, and geography knowledge to China; on the other hand, he began to introduce China’s national conditions to Europe in the form of letters based on his experience and knowledge during his mission in China. , has made great contributions to the cultural exchanges between China and the West, especially the spread of Western learning to the east.In terms of mathematics, he and Xu Guangqi had only been in contact for three years, but the two collaborated in translating Euclid's most famous mathematical work "Elements of Geometry"; in terms of geography, he compiled a world map "Kun Yu Wan Guo Quan Tu" ; In terms of linguistics, he wrote "The Miracle of Western Characters", which uses the sound of Western methods to annotate the sound of China, making the Fanqie phonetic notation, which has always been regarded as complicated by people, into something simple.Matteo Ricci introduced Catholicism to China and was the greatest pioneer in the history of cultural exchanges between China and the West.

●Gu Xiancheng Donglin Party Conference
In 1594 AD, Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun planned to make Zhu Changxun, the son of Concubine Zheng, the crown prince, but most ministers believed that the eldest son of the emperor Zhu Changluo should be made the crown prince.Gu Xiancheng, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, strives to "establish a leader without a heir", which violates Shenzong.The Chief Assistant Wang Xijue will resign, and Gu Xiancheng elects Wang Jiaping to be the Chief Assistant.Wang Jiaping was also a member of the Lichang sect, so Gu Xiancheng once again angered Shenzong and was dismissed from his post and returned to his hometown.

Gu Xiancheng, born in Wuxi, has Donglin Academy in his hometown, which was originally the place where Yang Shi preached in the Song Dynasty.After being dismissed, Gu Xiancheng and his younger brother Gu Yuncheng refurbished Donglin Academy and gathered like-minded friends Gao Panlong, Qian Yiben, Xue Fujiao, Shi Menglin, Yu Kongjian, etc. to give lectures here. meeting".At that time, some banished scholar-officials or those who could not tolerate the world and retreated to the mountains, after knowing the news, they all responded and surrendered.They satirize current affairs and judge people.Officials in the DPRK also responded from a distance.Donglin Academy gradually formed its own party, which was later called Donglin Party, and Gu Xiancheng was honored as "Mr. Donglin".Gu Xiancheng once said: "The chariot hub, the ambition is not in the emperor's writing; the official seal of the frontier, the ambition is not in the people's livelihood; living in the forest by the water, the ambition is not in the world; a gentleman has nothing to do." So although he is giving lectures in the academy, he often satirizes current affairs. .Later, Sun Piyang, Zou Yuanbiao, Zhao Nanxing and other upright gentlemen were deposed by the court, and they also went to Donglin to give lectures one after another.They were proud of their integrity and fought against the imperial court. This was the beginning of the Donglin Party Conference.

●Hakamagi, Benimaru and Yigong

In the late Ming Dynasty, three suspicious cases occurred around the competition for the throne of the emperor.These three cases occurred during the reigns of the three emperors Shenzong Zhu Yijun, Guangzong Zhu Changluo and Xizong Zhu Youxiao.

Shenzong's eldest son, Zhu Changluo, was born to him and a palace girl surnamed Wang.Later, he named the palace maid as Concubine Gong, but he didn't like Concubine Gong, and of course he didn't like his eldest son Zhu Changluo either.Concubine Zheng is his favorite, and Concubine Zheng's third son, Zhu Changxun, is also favored by him.Therefore, Zhu Changluo was not established as the prince until he was 20 years old.In 1615 AD, a strange thing happened.One day, a middle-aged man stumbled into the Prince's Ciqing Palace with a wooden stick in his hand.This man beat up anyone he saw, kept rushing in, and was about to enter the prince's room. Fortunately, the guard called the police in time, and a large number of guards tied up the middle-aged man and put him in prison.Breaking into the womb of the crown prince is not bad, and he also holds the murder weapon.Shenzong attached great importance to it, and immediately ordered the officials of the Ministry of Punishment to torture him severely, and he must ask the truth.The man couldn't survive the torture, so he had to confess the truth.He confessed: "My real name is Zhang Wuer, and I am a homeless person. I did not want to break into the Ciqing Palace this time, but my father-in-law Pang Bao and Liu Cheng asked me to do it, and said that I would be rewarded afterward. Zhang Wu'er's confession was sent to Shenzong. He knew that Pang Bao and Liu Cheng were eunuchs in Concubine Zheng's palace. Obviously, this matter must have something to do with Concubine Zheng.It seems that Concubine Zheng wanted to murder the prince and make her own son the prince.Shenzong immediately brought his followers to Concubine Zheng's palace and angrily let her read the confession.Concubine Zheng knelt down and kowtowed to beg for mercy when she saw the plot was exposed, but Shenzong didn't have the heart to punish her.When he went to court the next day, Shenzong said in front of all the officials: "It is the axiom of the past and the present that I establish the eldest son Chang Luo. Now everyone wants to murder the prince, and I firmly cannot allow it." Then he put Zhang Wuer, Pang Bao, and Liu Cheng together All killed.This is the "Jing Strike Case", "Ting" means stick.

Guangzong Zhu Changluo was almost 40 years old when he succeeded to the throne, and died after only one month as emperor.He died so early, we have to start with the mysterious case of "Hongwan Case".Guangzong was weak, but regardless of his health, he still spent time, wine, and indulged in pleasure.After his concubine Concubine Guo died of illness, there were four other servants.Xuante is a kind of low-level concubine. Apart from them, there are countless beauties accompanying Guangzong.Guangzong only knows how to enjoy himself, but his body is getting worse and worse.One night after Guangzong became emperor for a month, he suddenly had a stomachache and a headache.An official named Li Kezhuo presented the red pill to the emperor, saying that it was made from a secret recipe handed down from his ancestors, and that it would cure all diseases.Guangzong didn't care about Sanqi 21, eat it first and then talk.On the second day, Guangzong's energy was doubled, and his face was full of red.He was very happy, not only greatly praised Li Kezhuo's loyalty, but also asked him to donate another one.That night, after Guangzong ate the second red pill, he died.No one can figure out how the emperor suddenly fell ill and died, and this mysterious "Hongwan case" has become an eternal mystery.

As soon as Guangzong died, his 16-year-old son Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne. This is Xizong.Not long after Xi Zong ascended the throne, another famous "moving palace case" occurred. This "moving palace case" was caused by Li Xuanshi, one of Guangzong's four original servants.Concubine Guo, the main concubine of Guangzong, died of illness, and there was no queen in the palace.When Xi Zong ascended the throne, Li Xuan wanted to be the queen mother.She cried and dragged the little emperor in Qianming Palace, insisting that the little emperor make her queen mother.Qianming Palace was the emperor's bedroom, but Li Xuanshi relied on being the late emperor's concubine and stayed in Qianming Palace.Xi Zong is only 16 years old and has no idea.He didn't want to appoint Li Xuan as a servant, but it's not proper for Li Xuan to stay in Qianming Palace, so what should I do?There was an eunuch named Wang An beside Xi Zong, who bowed and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this cannot continue. Your Majesty can immediately issue an edict to force Empress Li to move out of Qianming Palace." Xi Zong pondered for a while and said, "Okay. Lian immediately issued an edict. This matter will be handled by you, and you will be rewarded if you do it well." The power of the imperial edict was really great, and Li Xuan waiter had no choice but to move out of Qianming Palace in despair, and moved to the palace where the maid lived. There is no day to come.This is the "moving palace case" in Ming history.

●Carpenter Emperor Zhu Youxiao
After Guangzong Zhu Changluo came to the throne, he didn't care much about his son's studies.The ministers advised him to quickly find a teacher for the prince Zhu Youxiao to study, but he said that he was not in a hurry and would talk about it in two days.As a result, he died within a few days, and Zhu Youxiao became emperor for Ming Xizong.Xi Zong didn't study much, but he had a good craft, that is, carpentry, and he was a genius.

At that time, the beds made by the artisans were extremely heavy, and it took more than a dozen people to move them, and their styles were also very ordinary.Xi Zong designed the pattern himself, sawed the wood and peg boards, and immediately made a new bed.This bed is extremely exquisite, with various patterns engraved on the bed frame, and the bed board can be folded, so it is easy to move and carry, even those old craftsmen are amazed.He also likes to use wood to make all kinds of small toys. He has carved many lifelike little wooden figures with facial features and limbs, men and women, old and young, with different expressions.He can still do the work of a painter, so he painted these wooden figures with five-color paint, which made the colorful paintings look like life.He sent eunuchs to quietly take them to the market to sell. People didn't know that these toys came from "dragon hands", so they still bought them at high prices.Xi Zong was also an architect. He once built a small palace in the courtyard in the style of Qianming Palace, which was no more than three or four feet high, with subtle twists and turns, and exquisite workmanship.He not only made models, but also used this talent in the construction of real palaces.The imperial court once carried out a large-scale reconstruction project on the Zhongji Hall, Huangji Hall and Jianji Hall in the Forbidden City. Xi Zong visited the site in person and put forward many opinions on the construction of the palace.

Xi Zong once designed an exquisite fountain, filled with water in a large copper tank, drilled holes in the bottom of the tank and set up organs.When the mechanism was activated, the water sprayed out.First it poured down like a waterfall, then scattered like flying snow, and finally surrounded by a high stream of water, and many gold-plated wooden balls also rolled out, hugged the top of the water column, hovered up and down, and did not fall for a long time.

If Xi Zong were a commoner, he might be known as "the second Luban" and go down in history.It's a pity that he was destined to only be the emperor, so he became a famous faint king.

●Zhu Youjian eradicated the Wei Party
In 1627 A.D., Emperor Xizong Zhu Youxiao died of illness in Qianming Palace. He was only 23 years old. His dying edict: "The fifth younger brother of the emperor, the king of Xin, Yujian heir to the throne." Zhu Youjian was the fifth son of Emperor Guangzong Zhu Changluo, in 1610 A.D. Annual.Zhu Youjian entered the palace on the night of Xizong's death, and was crowned emperor on the third day. The following year was the first year of Chongzhen.

After Zhu Youjian came to the throne, he did not really take charge of the government. At that time, Wei Zhongxian dominated the court.The first thing Zhu Youjian has to do is to take back power from Wei Zhongxian.At this time, Wei Zhongxian had realized that Xi Zong's early death had made him lose his backing. Although he still had some power in his hands, he did not dare to be as presumptuous as before.In September, Wei Zhongxian asked to resign from the East Factory, but Zhu Youjian did not approve, and he "begged for a living temple", but he was only allowed to do so.After October, the Wei Zhongxian Group had its own conflicts, and some people impeached Wei Zhongxian for the crime.Zhu Youjian took the opportunity to attack Wei Zhongxian. He first ordered Wei Zhongxian to be placed in Fengyang, and then ordered to arrest him.Wei Zhongxian hanged himself after knowing the news.As a result, Zhu Youjian truly grasped the power of the country and eradicated the remnants of the Wei family.

●Li Zicheng Uprising in Northern Shaanxi
Li Zicheng is a native of Mizhi, Shaanxi. He was born in a peasant family. He liked horseback riding and archery when he was young, and he practiced martial arts very well.Later, his father died and his family was poor, so Li Zicheng went to work as a groom in the Yinchuan post station.He treats people warmly, and the postmen love him.

Li Zicheng's family has always been responsible for collecting rent and tax on behalf of the government.The harvest of Mizhi has been poor year after year, and the farmers cannot afford the rental tax.There was a big local landlord surnamed Ai who took the opportunity to lend usury and wanted to exploit the peasants.Li Zicheng saw that everyone could not pay the rent and tax, so he borrowed debts and paid the tax by himself.After a while, the landlord surnamed Ai forced Li Zicheng to repay the debt, but Li Zicheng couldn't pay, so the surname Ai instigated the government to arrest him, beat him half to death, put him in shackles, and put him in the sun without letting him eat.The people and postmen begged the magistrate to put Li Zicheng under the shade of a tree and let him eat, but the magistrate refused.This enraged the crowd, and everyone rushed forward, broke Li Zicheng's shackles, escaped with Li Zicheng from Mizhi, and went to Gansu to serve as a soldier.

(End of this chapter)