Chapter 19 2. Yu Qian settled the chaos

The fourteenth year of Ming Zhengtong (1449) was a year full of disasters.The first is fire, such as the Jinshen Temple in Nanjing; the second is flood, the Yellow River diverted, flooded the fields, and blocked the transportation;Let's just talk about a major historical event that happened between Fengtian Gate (Huangji Gate, Taihe Gate) and Meridian Gate. In August of this year, the leader of the Oala tribe of northern Mongolia also led the army and entered the Xuanhua area of ​​Hebei today.The military situation is urgent and the situation is serious.The great eunuch Wang Zhen encouraged Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen to conquer himself.The orthodox emperor of Yingzong did not like poetry and books since he was a child, but liked to go hunting on horseback.At that time, the orthodox emperor was only twenty-three years old. He didn't understand military affairs, was young and aggressive, and was superstitious about himself, so he decided to conquer himself.The ministers knocked on advice, but they didn't listen; they advised them to prepare, but they didn't listen.Emperor Zhengtong did not have sufficient preparations, careful planning, no combat strategy, no reconnaissance of the former enemy, and no logistical support. However, he personally led an army of 500,000 troops and marched to Tumubao (now Huailai County, Hebei Province) ignorantly.Days of wind and rain, turbulent human relations, food shortages for officers and soldiers, chaos in order.The great eunuch Wang Zhen was uneducated, ignorant of military affairs, arrogant and domineering, and reprimanded his ministers.Wang Zuo, Minister of the Household Department, was fined to kneel on the grass all day long, and Kuang Ye (ye), Minister of the Ministry of War, fell to the ground on a horse and nearly died.The outcome of this military game is: the Ming army lost more than 200,000 mules (horses), and "hundreds of thousands of dead" officers and soldiers. (Volume 10 of "History of Ming Yingzong") The Ming army was defeated and the emperor was captured.The report of defeat spread to the palace in the middle of the night, the harem cried loudly, and the government and the public were shocked.

When the Ming court was in critical condition, the Empress Dowager established Jianshen, the two-year-old son of the Zhengtong Emperor, as the crown prince, and the emperor's younger brother Zhu Qiyu, the king of Ying, assisted the government, and called a gathering of officials.King Yi was in court at the Meridian Gate, and the ministers impeached Wang Zhen, thinking that the emperor's capture was the eunuch Wang Zhen's mistake for the country.King Yi had no idea and asked the ministers to go out and stand by.As a result, the ministers fell to the ground and cried bitterly. At that time, Wang Zhen had been killed in the rebellion, so they asked the clan to punish Wang Zhen.There is an eunuch named Ma Shun, who is Wang Zhen's party member and serves as the commander of Jinyiwei.He kept yelling at the ministers to retreat, which annoyed the court officials.The official Wang Hong raised his arms, grabbed Ma Shun's hair and shouted: "If Cao rapes the party, he will be punished. I dare you!" Also swarmed up.Some officials took off Ma Shun's boots, thumped and beat him, chased him to Zuoshun Gate (Xiehe Gate) on the east side of Fengtianmen courtyard, and beat Ma Shun to death.There was great chaos in the imperial court, all the officials were crying together, and the sound of shouting shook the palace.King Yi was frightened by the situation and got up to leave.Wang Hong led a group of officials to follow King Tan closely, saying: "The eunuch Mao Gui and Chang Wang are also part of Wang Zhen's party, please bring them to justice!" King Tan ordered them to be handed over, but the ministers beat them up again died, and dragged his body to Dong'anmen.According to historical records, "Blood Stains Ting Majesty".When the court was in turmoil, Yu Qian, the Minister of the Ministry of War, tried his best to turn the tide.

Yu Qian (1398-1457), a native of Qiantang (now Hangzhou), Zhejiang, was a Jinshi in Yongle.When the officials were in chaos, he stepped forward, pushed aside the crowd, stepped forward to grab King Yi's clothes, and made known his benefits and harms.So King Tan declared: "Ma Shun and others should die for their crimes, and they will not be investigated for beating people!" Only then did the officials calm down.In this chaos, "Qianpao sleeves are completely torn", that is, the court robe and sleeves are torn.Yu Qian also strongly reprimanded his servant Xu Yu (Youzhen) for moving the capital to Nanjing, saying: "Those who talk about moving to the south can be killed. The capital is the foundation of the world, and if you move it, major events will go away, but you don't see Song Nandu!" ("History of the Ming Dynasty") Biography of Yu Qian, Volume 170) In this struggle, Wang Hong took the lead in launching the attack, and Yu Qian handled it properly, and made immortal contributions.After retiring from the court that day, Wang Zhi, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, took Yu Qian's hand and said with emotion: "The court is borrowing public ears! Although hundreds of kings are straight today, what can we do!" That is to say, the country really depends on you!Even if there are a hundred Wang Zhis today, what can they do!This represents the consensus of the imperial court, and Yu Qian also resolutely shouldered the heavy responsibility of the country's safety.After that, King Yi served in the imperial court at the Zuoshun Gate (Xiehe Gate) on the east side of Fengtian Gate (Taihe Gate), and became the emperor.The imperial court confiscated Wang Zhen's house, confiscating more than 60 treasuries of gold and silver, hundreds of plates of jade, more than 20 large corals six to seven feet high, and countless other treasures.

Here is the story of Yu Qian.During the Zhengtong period, Yu Qian served as the governor of Shanxi and Henan.In his tenure, he promoted the advantages and eliminated the disadvantages, helped the poor, cared about the people, and sought blessings for the people.But at that time official bribery was commonplace, especially the eunuch Wang Zhen blatantly asked for bribes.Yu Qian wrote "The Poetry of Entering Beijing" and said: "Handkerchiefs and incense sticks are used by the people, but it is a disaster. Qingfeng puts his sleeves up to the sky, so as not to talk long and short." He refuses to collude with corrupt officials.He was upright and unyielding, and Wang Zhen fabricated charges and sentenced him to death (with a reprieve).Thousands of people in Shanxi and Henan petitioned to praise Yu Qian's merits.Wang Zhen was forced to release Yu Qian.Later, Yu Qian was transferred to Beijing, served as the Minister of the Ministry of War, and was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War.Yu Qian stabilized Anbang in front of the Fengtian Gate, and led the army and civilians to win the Beijing Defense War.

In the historical farce in front of Fengtianmen, Wang Zhen is one of the notorious eunuchs, and so is Liu Jin.