The Ming Dynasty: Starting with Emperor Chongzhen's crackdown on factionalism

It is now March of the third year of the Chongzhen reign, 1630 AD.

Yuan Chonghuan has been imprisoned in the imperial prison for nearly four months and will be executed by slow slicing in September.

Li Zicheng was still working as a courier in Shaanxi, while Zhang Xianzhong had only recently raised his army.

Huang Taiji, who lived outside the Great Wall, had already changed the name of his country to Qing and was accumulating strength.

Fourteen years remained until the fall of Beijing and Zhu Youjian's suicide at Coal Hill.

The Ming Dynasty in 1630: A Crossroads of Fate.

He himself was a seventh-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy, earning a monthly salary of seven and a half shi (a unit of dry measure), living in a rented house in the capital, with no background or connections.

The original owner of this body was introverted and not good at socializing, and was also a marginal figure among her colleagues in the Hanlin Academy.

His only strength is his good handwriting and neat writing style.

At this point in time, such a status is almost a dead end.

Chen Zhiyuan stood up and walked to the window.

The cold air seeped in through the window paper, making him shiver.

Early spring in Beijing is colder than historical records indicate.

In his previous life, he had studied the climate at the end of the Ming Dynasty and knew that it was the peak of the Little Ice Age, and the cold in the north was far greater than usual.

But the sensations of this body are more real than any data.

He recalled what he had done over the past three days.

On the first day, he pretended to be sick and did not go to the Hanlin Academy. Instead, he went through all the books and manuscripts in his residence to learn about the basic information of this era.

The next day, he forced himself to go to roll call and went to the Wenyuan Pavilion to review recent official gazettes and copies of memorials.

On the third day, he decided to write the memorial.

That "Memorial on Wang Anshi's Reforms" took him a full six hours.

Every word was carefully considered, aiming to address current issues without being overly radical.

It is necessary to attract Zhu Youjian's attention without offending the emperor.

He had to make use of his understanding of Zhu Youjian's character.

Suspicious, stubborn, and impatient, but also possessing a strong sense of responsibility and a desire for national rejuvenation.

The section on "responsibility for speech" in his memorial actually stemmed from his previous research on the Ming Dynasty's supervisory system.

The fact that officials in the Censorate could report matters based on hearsay without taking responsibility, and the lack of joint liability in the recommendation system, were systemic reasons for the escalating factional strife at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

However, he could not directly say that "there is a problem with the system," so he could only use the past to illustrate the present, using the failure of Wang Anshi's reforms as an allusion.

The memorial has been delivered to the Ministry of Justice.

According to procedure, it should have already been sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial, and perhaps it has already reached the Emperor.

Chen Zhiyuan sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He didn't know what this memorial would bring.

It might be lost without a trace, it might attract criticism, or it might even... bring about its own demise.

Zhu Youjian was not an emperor who could tolerate his ministers interfering, especially when it came to fundamental issues of state.

But he had to do something.

In his previous life, as a teacher at a Party school, he had studied the rise and fall of too many dynasties.

The fall of the Ming Dynasty was not caused by a single reason.

The Little Ice Age caused years of famine, the reduced inflow of silver triggered a fiscal crisis, land annexation led to the problem of displaced people, and the military decline following the collapse of the garrison system.

And most importantly: factional strife.

Donglin Party, Qi Party, Chu Party, Zhe Party, Xuan Party, Kun Party...

These factions began fighting during the Wanli reign and reached their peak during the Tianqi reign with the rise of Wei Zhongxian's eunuch faction. Although the fight seemed to have subsided after Zhu Youjian eliminated the eunuch faction, in reality, the various factions went underground, and the struggle became more covert and intense.

The case of Yuan Chonghuan was a concentrated outbreak of such an event.

Chen Zhiyuan clearly remembers the historical records.

After Yuan Chonghuan was executed by slow slicing, all the generals in Liaodong were in danger. Although Zu Dashou was persuaded to return, he already harbored resentment.

The court officials were even more reluctant to take responsibility and shirked their duties in everything.

Zhu Youjian's trust in civil and military officials plummeted, and in the following fourteen years, he replaced fifty Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet and fourteen Ministers of War.

This is the beginning of a vicious cycle.

And now, he stands at the starting point of this cycle.

Footsteps could be heard outside the window.

Chen Zhiyuan opened his eyes and saw the door to the main room being pushed open, and an old official carrying a lantern came in.

"Editor Chen, you've arrived very early today."

The old official put down his lantern and began to light the charcoal brazier.

Chen Zhiyuan nodded without replying.

The original owner was taciturn to begin with, which saved him the trouble of pretending.

The charcoal fire gradually ignited, bringing some warmth to the room.

After the old official left, Chen Zhiyuan took out a small booklet from his pocket.

This is the key information he has compiled from memory over the past three days.

The first page lists several time points.

In the third year of the Chongzhen reign: Yuan Chonghuan died.

In the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign: the Yellow River breached its banks, causing a severe drought in Shaanxi.

In the sixth year of the Chongzhen reign: Kong Youde rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty with cannons from the Red Barbarians.

In the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign: Gao Yingxiang proclaimed himself the King of Chuang, and the bandit forces grew powerful.

In the ninth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign: Huang Taiji declared himself emperor and changed the dynasty name to Qing.

In the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1644), Yang Sichang proposed the strategy of "suppressing bandits by forming a net in four directions, six corners, and ten sides."

In the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign: the Qing army launched its fourth invasion of the Great Wall, and Lu Xiang-sheng was killed in battle.

In the twelfth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign: Zhang Xianzhong rebelled again, and Yang Sichang committed suicide.

In the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Li Zicheng entered Henan and proposed the "equal land distribution and tax exemption" policy.

In the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign: the Battle of Songjin resulted in the annihilation of the main force of the Ming army.

The fifteenth year of the Chongzhen reign: The peace negotiations between the Ming and Qing dynasties failed.

In the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign: Li Zicheng captured Xi'an and established the Great Shun Dynasty.

On the 19th day of the third month of the 17th year of the Chongzhen reign: Beijing fell, and Zhu Youjian hanged himself.

Behind every point in time lies the life and death of tens of thousands of people, and the slow but inevitable collapse of a dynasty.

Chen Zhiyuan turned to the second page, which contained his analysis of the core issues facing the Ming Dynasty.

1. Fiscal collapse.

The annual income of the imperial treasury was less than three million taels, while the military expenses of the nine border regions required four million taels, and the stipends of the imperial clan required two million taels, resulting in a huge deficit.

The additional taxes levied on Liaodong, the suppression of rebellions, and the training of soldiers led to widespread peasant uprisings.

Second, military corruption.

The garrison system collapsed, generals privately occupied military farms, and soldiers deserted.

The Liaodong border troops still have fighting strength, but they are short of food and pay and their morale is low.

The inland garrisons are no longer capable of fighting.

Third, administrative inefficiency.

With officials' salaries being too low, corruption has become an unspoken rule.

The performance evaluation system has become a mere formality, and promotions are largely based on connections and factional infighting.

Local officials, in order to meet performance targets, concealed the extent of the disaster and levied exorbitant taxes.

Fourth, social conflicts intensify.

Land consolidation was rampant, leading to widespread bankruptcy among self-sufficient farmers.

Years of famine have resulted in millions of refugees.

The handicraft industry was impacted by the reduced inflow of silver, and there were many unemployed people in the cities.

Fifth, the ruling group splits.

The emperor was at odds with the civil service, internal factional struggles within the civil service were endless, and the central government and local governments were becoming increasingly alienated.

Any one of these problems could have brought down a dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty had all five.

Chen Zhiyuan closed the booklet and took a deep breath.

He knew he couldn't change the fundamental situation.

There was no modern industrial base, no new crops, and no systematic fiscal reform plan.

Individual efforts alone cannot reverse the natural disasters of the Little Ice Age, resolve the silver crisis, or rebuild an army overnight.

But he might be able to change some details.

For example, could Yuan Chonghuan have died a little later?

Or perhaps the way they died wasn't so gruesome?

For example, at a crucial juncture, could you remind Zhu Youjian of a problem that has been overlooked?

For example, allowing certain people who should have died to live, and preventing certain people who shouldn't have been promoted from taking office.

These small changes may, like the butterfly effect, cause some differences over fourteen years.

But this requires him to survive and gain influence first.

The first step to gaining influence was to get Zhu Youjian to see his memorial and summon him.

At the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), colleagues from the Hanlin Academy began to arrive.

Chen Zhiyuan sat in his seat, organizing the draft of the previous dynasty's official records.

This is the editor's primary job—history writing.

At the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), colleagues from the Hanlin Academy began to arrive.

Chen Zhiyuan sat in his seat, organizing the draft of the previous dynasty's official records.

This is the editor's primary job—history writing.

"Brother Yichen, I heard you were unwell the other day, are you feeling much better?"

A clear voice came from the side.

Chen Zhiyuan looked up and saw that it was his colleague Huang Daozhou.

At this time, Huang Daozhou was only a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, but he had already gained some fame among the Qingliu faction due to his extensive knowledge and upright character.

In the original owner's memories, this person was usually serious and stern, but he was serious and meticulous in his studies and work. Although he did not have a deep relationship with marginal colleagues like Chen Zhiyuan, he never looked down on them.

"Brother Lao Youxuan's worries are no longer a concern."

Chen Zhiyuan responded with a cupped-hand salute, following the original owner's habit.

Huang Daozhou nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned back to tidy his desk.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

A eunuch appeared at the door of the main room with two junior eunuchs, scanned the room, and asked in a shrill voice.

"Which one of you is Chen Zhiyuan, a compiler at the Hanlin Academy?"