Zhu Chao accompanied me to watch short videos

Chapter 185: Powerful Ministers of Successive Dynasties

He unified Mongolia and then conquered Europe and Asia. The strongest country in Central Asia, Khwarezm, was defeated by Genghis Khan. However, Genghis Khan died of illness in 1227 when he attacked Xixia before the country was unified.

The person who founded the Yuan Dynasty or renamed the Mongol Empire to Yuan was Kublai Khan. The original monarch of Mongolia was Kublai Khan's brother Mongke, but unfortunately this capable and skilled commander was killed in the battle of Diaoyucheng.

After learning of Mongke's death, Kublai Khan returned to his country to fight with his brother Alibuga for Mongke Khan's inheritance. Although he won the battle for the throne, he accidentally broke up the Mongol Empire. The four Khanates became independent and refused to recognize the Yuan Dynasty's suzerainty. But Kublai Khan said that it was more important to quickly destroy the Song Dynasty than to deal with the four Khanates, which were not very obedient.

So he started the farewell mode and successfully took over the Song Dynasty in 1279. However, the Yuan Dynasty's policy towards the Han people was very unfriendly, and the survival of the people became a problem in the late Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang was forced to embark on the road of fighting bosses in such an environment. In fact, when he was a monk ringing the bell, he did not think that he would become an emperor one day, but later he married the beautiful and wealthy Empress Ma, inherited the power of his father-in-law Guo Zixing, and had the ability to compete for the Central Plains.

Zhu Yuanzhang then successfully defeated Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang, and went all the way to the final with the Yuan Dynasty, and finally dared to cut off the Yuan Dynasty. In 1368 AD, he opened a truly prosperous Ming Dynasty.

This emperor who rose from the grassroots was really kind to the people, but he was very stingy with his officials. Officials could hardly make ends meet with their salaries, and even had to farm for a living after attending court. However, although Zhu Yuanzhang worked hard to govern the country, his descendants were not very successful, and there were endless striking emperors and carpenter emperors.

Facing the strange emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci said that it didn't matter, he would take action. He raised an army with 13 sets of armor, unified the Jurchens all the way, and aimed at the Ming Dynasty. This monarch who was invincible in the world was sent away by Yuan Chonghuan with a cannon, and could only wait for his children and grandchildren to help him realize his dream of attacking the Ming Dynasty.

In 1644, the Qing army entered the pass and the story of the Ming Dynasty came to an end. In order to ensure that the Qing Dynasty would not repeat the old path of the Ming Dynasty and produce a strange emperor, the Qing monarch decided to start a 007-style special emperor training camp. However, as time passed, the Qing Dynasty still ushered in the fate of decline.

【Understand the historical knowledge of powerful ministers in all dynasties in one breath】

There is a group of people in history who, although they are not emperors, hold the power of life and death and influence the historical process of the dynasty. Some of them even the emperor dare not speak in front of them and can only be a mascot. In this video, let us take stock of these ministers who are comparable to the top leaders of the dynasty.

First place: Lü Buwei The most powerful prime minister in history should be Lü Buwei. He was originally a businessman. When he was doing business in Handan, Zhao State, he noticed the Qin prince Yiren, who was still a hostage in Zhao State at that time.

Seeing this, Lu Buwei made the most successful investment in his life. He first formed an alliance with Yiren and gave him his concubine Zhao Ji in 258 BC. He then went to Qin State to persuade Lady Huayang, the favorite concubine of the Qin Crown Prince, to recognize Yiren's son as his own.

Later, with the help of Lady Huayang and Lu Buwei, Yiren successfully ascended the throne. Lu Buwei also entered the Qin court and became the prime minister in 249 BC.

After becoming the prime minister, Lü Buwei had all the power in his hands. He not only had a fief of 100,000 households, but also 3,000 retainers and tens of thousands of guests. Even Li Si, the later prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, was one of his retainers. When he was at his most powerful, even King Ying Zheng of Qin had to call Lü Buwei "Zhongfu" when he saw him.

However, after Yiren died, Lu Buwei began to have an affair with Zhao Ji again. As Zhao Ji's son, King Ying Zheng of Qin, grew older, Lu Buwei was afraid that the affair would be discovered, so he presented a fake eunuch, Lao Ai, to take his place in the affair with Zhao Ji.

Unexpectedly, in 238 BC, his affair with Zhao Ji was exposed, and Lü Buwei was implicated and demoted. Then, fearing that King Qin Ying Zheng would continue to pursue him, he committed suicide by taking poison.

Second: Huo Guang. If Lu Buwei supported the monarch to ascend the throne, then the next powerful minister was able to influence the monarch's dethronement and enthronement, and he was Huo Guang.

He was a veteran of three dynasties of the Han Dynasty. The empress of Emperor Zhao of Han was his granddaughter, the empress of Emperor Xuan of Han was his daughter, and the fierce general Huo Qubing who conquered the Wolf and the Lair was his biological brother.

In 119 BC, Huo Qubing brought Huo Guang to Chang'an and introduced him to the workplace. Huo Guang, who had just entered the workplace, served as a Langguan in the court, which was equivalent to the secretary of Emperor Wu of Han.

Facing the big boss, Emperor Wu of Han, Huo Guang was very cautious. It is said that Huo Guang had been an official for more than 20 years and had never made a mistake. Even when he entered and left the palace, he would always step exactly where he had last stepped. Huo Guang's years of cautious behavior earned him the trust of Emperor Wu of Han.

When Emperor Wu died in 87 BC, Huo Guang was appointed as a minister of state to assist the young Emperor Zhao of Han. From then on, Huo Guang began his path to absolute power. During the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han, Huo Guang monopolized power and his 6-year-old granddaughter became the empress.

However, in 74 BC, Emperor Zhao of Han, who was destined to be childless, died. Huo Guang decided to welcome Emperor Wu of Han's grandson, King Changyi Liu He, to the throne. However, Liu He was not only incompetent, but also wanted to take power into his own hands at the beginning of his reign. This undoubtedly angered Huo Guang. As a result, the emperor was deposed by Huo Guang 27 days after he ascended the throne. What later generations called "doing what Yi Yin did" meant that ministers influenced the dethronement and enthronement of kings, and the "Huo" in it referred to Huo Guang.

After that, he supported Emperor Xuan of Han to ascend the throne and still held the power of the court. His wife even killed the empress during the reign of Emperor Xuan and made his daughter the empress, thereby further enhancing the power and status of his clan.

Huo Guang died in 68 BC. After his death, he was buried with the specifications of an emperor. However, as soon as the powerful minister Huo Guang died, Emperor Xuan of Han found an opportunity to wipe out his family.

Third place: Yan Song. If the period when Huo Guang was in power benefited the people of the Han Dynasty, then Yan Song’s autocracy brought disaster to the country and the people.

This prime minister initially rose to power by currying favor with his fellow villager, the Minister of Rites Xia Yan. However, in 1542, after gaining the trust of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, Yan Song quickly toppled Xia Yan and embarked on the path of autocracy.

After that, Yan Song was determined to please Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Shizong admired Taoism, so he built a secret hall for the Zhai Palace. For this purpose, he even spent two or three million taels of silver. At that time, the annual tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty was only 200 million taels of silver.

In addition, because Sejong loved celadon, Yan Song also had great attainments in writing celadon. Even in the "Gengxu Incident" in 1550 AD, when a country's soldiers surrounded Beijing, Yan Song devoted himself to writing celadon and ignored state affairs.

However, it was Yan Song's precise attack on the preferences of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty that made him deeply favored by Emperor Shenzong. As a result, Yan Song controlled the government and dominated the government and the country.

When he was at the height of his power, even the emperor's daily life, diet and daily life were reported to Yan Song, and the selection of officials had to go through Yan Song. As long as you bribe Yan Song, you can get an official position of the corresponding price. Yan Song's son Yan Shifan even said that even the court was not as rich as the Yan family.

Such a powerful prime minister fell out of favor with the emperor in his later years. In 1567, his property was confiscated and he died in poverty and illness.

Fourth: Yan Temur. Powerful ministers not only existed in the Han regime. The Yuan Dynasty established by the Mongolians also had powerful ministers. Yan Temur was the most representative one among them. He was so powerful that he even forced the empress dowager to be his wife.

When talking about Yan Temur's rise to power, we have to start from the death of Emperor Taiding of Yuan Dynasty in 1328 AD.

After his death, Yan Temur supported Yuan Wenzong to ascend the throne. Without his support, Yuan Wenzong would have no chance of succeeding to the throne. Therefore, after Wenzong ascended the throne, he not only appointed Yan Temur as the right prime minister of the Secretariat, but also named him the King of Taiping.

In 1329, Yan Temur helped Yuan Wenzong poison Yuan Mingzong, a strong contender for the throne. After that, he was more trusted by the emperor. Yuan Wenzong even sent his own son to Yan Temur's house as an adopted son, and personally adopted Yan Temur's son. From then on, Yan Temur was in great power, and the government was firmly controlled by Yan Temur. Officials at all levels, princes and princesses had to be respectful in front of Yan Temur.

Once people gain power, they cannot control their desires. One of Yan Temur's major bad habits was his lust for women. After he came to power, he forcibly married the empress of Yuan Taiding Emperor, and later took more than 40 women from the royal family as concubines.

After Emperor Wenzong of the Yuan Dynasty died, Yan Temur was afraid that the new emperor would hold him responsible, so he blocked Emperor Shundi from ascending the throne. However, due to his excessive debauchery, Yan Temur died shortly after Emperor Wenzong's death, and the life of a powerful prime minister came to an end.

Fifth: Dorgon Dorgon was the fourteenth son of Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty. During the founding process of the Qing Dynasty, he became Huang Taiji's most capable confidant.

In 1643, Huang Taiji passed away and the young Emperor Shunzhi ascended the throne, with the assistance of the regent Dorgon. Before Shunzhi took power, the military and national affairs of the Qing court were mostly decided by the regent Dorgon.

He used his advantageous position as regent to quickly complete the process of centralization and further weaken the power of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers was in a state of confusion, and unconsciously centralized power in the hands of the regent in the name of state affairs.

After Dorgon came to power, he assessed the situation and made a series of strategic adjustments in politics and military with agility and decisiveness, which enabled the Qing army to successfully enter the pass and occupy BJ, gaining political and military advantages and seizing the initiative.

In 1646, Dorgon asked people to move all the imperial seals to his own palace and store all kinds of ceremonial objects and the emperor's seals in his own palace, on the grounds that it was very inconvenient for Emperor Shunzhi to live in the palace and every time he deployed troops, he had to ask for permission.

There were 1650 kinds of ceremonies in total, but the specific number of each kind was slightly less than that of the emperor. In the official memorials, the emperor's uncle and regent were also called the Ninth Prince, and Dorgon did not have to perform the same rituals as Emperor Shunzhi. However, on December 12, 31, Dorgon suddenly died in Kara City outside Gubeikou at the age of 39.

Sixth: Zhang Juzheng, who would never give up his grudges. In history, Zhang Juzheng was described as a powerful official who was "skilled in planning for the country but poor in planning for himself." In 1525, Zhang Juzheng was born in a poor scholar family in Jiangling, without any prominent background.

In 1536, when he was 12 years old, Zhang Juzheng participated in the provincial examination. The prefect of Jingzhou liked him very much and changed his name to Juzheng. At the age of 23, he passed the imperial examination and ranked ninth in the second class, which was the twelfth among all the imperial examinations in the country. Considering his age, he was definitely a genius.

Before Zhang Juzheng became the Prime Minister, he had experienced four disputes for the position: the dispute between Xia Yan and Yan Song, the dispute between Yan Song and Xu Jie, the dispute between Xu Jie and Gao Gong, and the dispute between Gao Gong and himself.

Although Zhang Juzheng faced strategic problems when he first entered the workplace, both Yan Song and Xu Jie valued him. Even though Zhang Juzheng chose to rely on Xu Jie, Yan Song, who was the chief minister at the time, did not suppress him or hinder his development.

After Yan Song was purged, he died tragically in his hometown. It was Zhang Juzheng who wrote a letter to local officials, asking them to be kind enough to bury Yan Song.

In 1567, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong became the chief ministers of the cabinet, and all military and political affairs were presided over and decided by Zhang Juzheng. During his 10 years as the chief minister of the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng implemented a series of reform measures.

In terms of finance, the land was checked and the Single Whip System was implemented to support the annual income of Taicang, which increased the treasury funds to more than 400 million.

In terms of military affairs, he appointed famous generals such as Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang to guard the border and quell the rebellion in the southwest. In terms of civil service, he implemented the performance evaluation system to evaluate officials at all levels. Even though they were thousands of miles away, their orders were delivered the next morning, and the administration was awe-inspiring.

In 1582, Zhang Juzheng died of illness at the age of 57. Emperor Wanli bestowed upon him the title of "Pillar of State", the posthumous title of "Wen Zhong", and the title of "Grand Master". However, not long after, the emperor, who was gradually regaining power, began to settle accounts with Zhang Juzheng, even digging up his grave to vent his hatred, which eventually led to the destruction of Zhang Juzheng's reforms.

[A review of historical knowledge about real female heroes in history]

As the saying goes, "Women are as good as men." Throughout history, there have been many female heroes who have changed the world. Hua Mulan, who served in the army, Fan Lihua, the ecological army who defended the country, and Mu Guiying, a hero of the family, are all heroines, but they are all classic images in literary works, not real historical figures. Today, let's take stock of the heroines in Chinese history who have gone down in history.

First: Fu Hao Fu Hao is one of the most frequently appearing female names in the existing oracle bone documents. She was the first documented female hero in Chinese history and the queen of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty.

Fu Hao held a very prominent position during the reign of Wu Ding. Not only was she skilled in martial arts and possessed a superb military mind, she was also a high priest who represented the emperor in communicating with ghosts and gods.

The Shang Dynasty's military power reached its peak during the reign of Wu Ding, and the general who led Wu Ding's conquests was Fu Hao. Her weapon was an axe decorated with double taotie patterns and weighing 9kg.

According to oracle bone inscriptions, she personally led troops to defeat more than 20 states surrounding the Shang Dynasty, expanding the territory of the Shang Dynasty several times. In that era when combat was usually limited to a thousand men and the fighting method was basically hand-to-hand combat, Fu Hao's highest record of commanding troops was 1.3, which was equivalent to half of the country's military strength at the time, and was also the largest scale of troops dispatched during the Wu Ding period.