Emperor Jiajing's bad reputation has completely spread far and wide, both ancient and modern, and it is due to Hai Rui, an official of the Qing Dynasty.

Hai Rui's "Public Security Sparse", which bluntly talked about the world's ills, scolded Jiajing miserably, and was scolded so badly by Hai Qingtian, Jiajing's bad emperor image can never be changed.

As a person, Emperor Jiajing's family was unhappy, the three queens did not die well, how early the children died, and in the end there was only one son left, and "the two dragons did not meet".

He didn't care about his grandson, and even refused to hear the news of his grandson's birth, because he was superstitious that the birth of his grandson would make him die.

Emperor Jiajing has almost no friends in his life, he just coldly watched the ministers fighting each other, and his pragmatism was extremely strong, when the ministers were useless, he would not hesitate to throw them away and then change someone to be manipulated by him, his pragmatism, so that the ministers actually stayed away from him.

Emperor Jiajing is very extravagant and lustful, his number of concubines is relatively large in the Ming Dynasty emperor, superstitious Taoism, in Taoist rituals and the construction of Taoist temples, Jiajing did spend a lot of money, and his Yongling is quite luxurious in the Ming Tombs.

Looking at Jiajing from the perspective of evaluating emperors and politicians, if we look at it from the standpoint of the more upright ancients, Hai Rui's scolding of Jiajing is basically correct, and Jiajing is indeed not a competent emperor.

Jiajing was captured in the south and in the north, and the internal and external troubles were very serious, and it was indeed not a peaceful era.

Emperor Jiajing's evaluation has not been high, and even his sense of existence has not been high, when it comes to Emperor Jiajing, he is basically associated with the corrupt official Yan Song and the Qing official Hai Rui.

The image of Emperor Jiajing has always been basically a faint monarch.

After the fire of "Ming Dynasty 1566", Emperor Jiajing can be regarded as having a certain popularity among the general public, and his opinion of this faint monarch has also changed to a certain extent.

In the hearts of a thousand viewers, there are a thousand Hamlets, and later Ming Shire appeared, Emperor Jiajing's popularity has improved to a certain extent, and even the style of overturning the case has risen, and many people have re-evaluated Jiajing, thinking that he is a Ming Jun, a very smart emperor and so on.

In fact, Emperor Jiajing has long had a more objective evaluation in the professional field, Emperor Jiajing is indeed a very smart person, in terms of shrewdness, he may be worse than Zhu Yuanzhang in terms of power, cruelty, worse than Zhu Di, and indulgence and absurdity in private behavior, he is not as good as his cousin Zhu Houzhao.

However, shrewd, cruel, absurd, and like to play with power, but he is all in one.

Emperor Jiajing was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty who could best appreciate and apply the superiority of imperial power.

Jiajing is not a Ming monarch, nor is he a pure faint monarch.

How to look at a historical figure, especially a politician, should be judged from the impact of what he did on the times, comprehensively look at the entire history of the Jiajing Dynasty, and draw conclusions.

Jiajing is a smart person, and he is really a good seedling for politics.

But Emperor Jiajing's cleverness, in Wei Bao's opinion, can only be regarded as a little cleverness.

Because Jiajing didn't use his wisdom in the right place.

From the son of the vassal king to the highest helmsman of the Ming Empire, although there is a certain degree of chance, but the person who can enter the old minister Yang Ting of the Three Dynasties and this kind of old oil is definitely not a fool.

From his coming to power in 1522, he began to compete for the title of his father Xingxian King to launch the "Great Rites Dispute", and finally defeated Yang Tinghe and the group, got rid of the thorn in the eye, and sat firmly in the country, before and after the time was only three years, when Yang Tinghe fell, Jiajing was still an eighteen-year-old young man, a hairy guy.

Yang Ting and this old man have gone through the three dynasties of Xianzong, Xiaozong, and Wuzong, with deep roots, and their protégés and former officials are all over the government and the opposition, and their power is not extensive, and even Liu Jin has to retreat when he sees him in the Wuzong Dynasty.

As you can imagine, its power is profound.

But this three dynasties Zaisuke was finally defeated in the hands of this young man who was less than twenty years old, and the taste of this is really creepy to taste.

It was a coincidence that this fifteen-year-old boy was able to ascend the throne and become the supreme ruler of the empire.

He is neither the eldest son of the Ming Empire's royal family, nor is he a direct family member, nor is he the successor of Wu Zong during his lifetime.

From this point of view, it stands to reason that he could not have become a ruler, both by blood and in law.

A vassal king who cannot become an emperor naturally has no need or even the conditions and ability to obtain the pre-job training that belongs to the emperor.

Therefore, as a vassal king, he had no political experience and means of struggle before he ascended the throne.

But he was able to transform from a person who was pressed and beaten to a person who was beaten by others in just three years, supported Zhang Xuan to defeat the civilian clique, and also brought down Yang Tinghe, a veteran of the Three Dynasties, which shows that he has a very high understanding of politics and power.

A teenager under the age of twenty can have such scheming and skill, even if such a person is put now, it is rare.

He manipulated Zhang Xuan, Xia Yan, Yan Song, and Xu Jie to control the court situation, and he commanded behind the scenes.

After the change of Renyin Palace, he moved to Xiyuan for alchemy, and the affairs of the court can still be clear, so that work and life are correct.

can make the emperor do this, and I can't find a few in the history books of the past dynasties.

Therefore, Jiajing is indeed an out-and-out genius when it comes to political control.

But from the courtier's point of view, this is undoubtedly fatal.

Such a scheming, manipulative and extremely intelligent man is both fickle and suspicious.

As a courtier, if you encounter such an emperor, if you are not careful, you will be dismissed from office, or you will die without a place to be buried.

The young and mature Emperor Jiajing learned to play with power prematurely, and also saw the darkness and cruelty of politics too early, coupled with the improper position, at least the lack of self-confidence that the civil official group basically did not buy his account in the first three years of his succession, and so on, also made him gradually develop a ruthless and arbitrary character.

After the Great Etiquette Controversy, Emperor Jiajing completely lost his favor with the civil officials.

Therefore, even if the civilian class is used later, it is to check and balance other forces in order to maintain their own supreme authority.

Out of prejudice against the civil service, he naturally would not hand over part of his power to the civil service.

Coupled with his suspicious personality and fear of improper position and obsession with power, he was also reluctant to delegate power to the eunuch group around him.

In this way, the triangular political pattern formed by the Ming Empire since Yingzong, the iron triangle of emperors, civil officials, and eunuchs was successfully broken in the hands of Jiajing, and the supreme power of the Ming Empire was once again concentrated in one hand.

The core of the formation of this political pattern came from the emperor, and it was the result of the emperor's delegation of power, rather than the product of the active division of power between ministers and eunuchs.

When power was recentralized, the disadvantages of the arbitrariness and arbitrariness of the centralized patriarchal autocracy were once again revealed.

After the controversy over the ceremonies, out of the desire for power and the affirmation of his own ability, he abandoned the civil and eunuch clique and regained power, and his own prejudice against the civil clique and the defects of his own character made him successfully alienated into a complete egoist. Let such a scheming, power-tricked, suspicious, ruthless, and unsympathetic person monopolize power. In the absence of effective checks and control, it is easy to go wrong.

Because the starting point of such a person in handling state affairs is not to protect the people's livelihood or leave a name in history, but to safeguard his own selfish interests. Its essence is to assert its own supreme authority.

In his eyes, national politics is just a tool to protect his own selfish interests.

He has been on the throne for 45 years, in fact, the core of everything he does has the same meaning, what do you like, don't step on my bottom line, what am I doing is my own business, no one is allowed to persuade me, and don't try to challenge my authority, otherwise I will control your loyal ministers and traitors, and kill you.

This is why he can use Xia Yan or Yan Song, and he can let Xu Jie kill Yan Song without killing Hai Rui.

You can not only let the Qi family army fight the Japanese invaders, but also let the Mongols burn, kill and loot under the city of Beijing, and engage in the Gengxu Rebellion.

Because the core of his rule is not to seek the welfare of all the people in the world, but to maintain the supreme authority of his own supreme ruler.

Emperor Jiajing was a smart man, he played politics to the fullest, and he never lost power in the 45 years of his reign.

The courtiers are like chess pieces and toys in his hands, letting him turn his hands into clouds and his hands into rain.

However, Jiajing's starting point is wrong, his purpose in doing all this is not for the future of Jiangshan Sheji and this huge empire, he has no heart, and he does not want to pave the way for the future of the empire, but for himself.

Although he has the ability and means to make the Ming Empire better in his hands.

Even, he connected the class people did not pay attention. Engaging in Jiao rituals, superstitious nonsense that the two dragons do not see each other as a priest, not setting up a prince, not paying attention to the cultivation of successors, and not paying attention to cultivating the human relationship between father and son, as the ruler of a large empire, this is extremely wrong.

The supreme ruler of a large empire does not pay attention to the cultivation of the next successor, nor does he pay attention to family and human relations.

This is undoubtedly a huge damage to the future of the empire.

is linked to the defects of his successor Mu Zongzhu Zaigao's weak personality and lack of assertiveness...... You can understand how little he cares about the cultivation of this successor.

Judging from Chong's point of view, it shows that the dynasty died in Jiajing, and Wei Bao thinks that he is really not wronged.

Objectively, although I admit that during his reign, the empire's cultural development was brilliant, the market began to take off, and three copies of the four great masterpieces were printed and distributed in his time.

However, the prosperity of culture does not cover up or fill the gaps in his governance.

After all, he obviously has the ability and means to make the future of the empire better, but he refuses to do it, and the empire loses a good opportunity for reform.

The Ming Empire did not make much progress during his 45 years of rule.

Land annexation is gradually intensifying, and the southern and northern captives are also eating away at the body of this empire.

In the 25th year of the reign of the emperor, who had a mysterious religious cult, the Mongols in the north took away the Hetao Plain, which belonged to the empire, so that the empire lost a treasure of horse-producing land.

In the 34th year of his ascension to the throne, the Japanese invaded the second capital of the empire, the city of Nanjing.

However, fortunately, there were many famous ministers of his time, and thanks to their help, the empire survived these crises without danger, and the southern Japanese were driven out of the territory of the empire by Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, and the Mongols gradually gave up the idea of invasion due to the reinforcement of the imperial border.

Although the external troubles were temporarily suppressed, the internal troubles continued, and the peasants continued to suffer the loss of their land, while the territory of the royal nobles and noble landlords gradually expanded.

He was almost blind to all of this, and this arrogant disregard became even more prominent in the last 20 years of his rule.

He only focused on the courtiers and lacked a deep understanding of the people.

This seems to be a common problem of all the emperors of the Ming Empire, of course, except for their founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, because he came from the countryside and had a very accurate grasp of the affairs of the people, so that Zhu Yuanzhang was more biased towards the peasants and the low-level people in formulating administrative countermeasures and operating rules.

Because the founding monarch knew deeply that the common people were the pillars and foundations that kept the empire running.

Zhu Houxi is different, he completely focused his attention and political talent on controlling the courtiers, burning pills and refining mercury, and playing with power.

In terms of political decision-making, it seems to be more biased towards the landlords and gentry, and the annexation of land and the expansion of imperial estates have pented up the anger of the people at the bottom.

Unfortunately, the officials at the top of the empire rarely paid attention to this, and greatly ignored the inner feelings of the people at the bottom of the empire, who were also the pillars.

From this point of view, Wei Bao personally believes that this is quite a manifestation of slackness.

Burning Dan and refining mercury, although it looks good, but Taishang Daluo Heavenly Immortal Purple Extreme Immortal Saint Wisdom Zhao Lingtong Yuan Zheng Ying Yu Void Palm Yin Yang Five Thunder Great True Person Xuandu Realm Wanshou Emperor Jun is still dead after all.

So, why can't you do more for the empire in your limited life?

Emperor Jiajing, Wei Bao's evaluation of him is that he is an excellent strategist and the darling of Houheixue, but it cannot be said that he is an excellent emperor and an excellent helmsman of the Ming Empire.

The ruler must be an incomparable strategist, but an excellent strategist may not be able to be an excellent emperor.

Zhu Houxi, very smart, even so smart that it makes people frightened, but unfortunately, your cleverness is not in the right place.

After the death of Emperor Jiajing, and then, the Ming Empire operated for another eighty years, the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the civil uprising had nothing to do with him, and the empire did not completely collapse until the Chongzhen period, so the responsibility for the death of the country should not be put on the head of Sejong?

This logic is wrong, the correct logic is that Emperor Jiajing is the cause, and the collapse of the empire is the effect.

Emperor Jiajing's forty-five years of rule over the empire led to the failure of the empire's operating mechanism to some extent, and this reason can be large or small, and this impact may be negligible, or it may be a turning point in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In the final analysis, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was Jiajing in front and Chongzhen in the back, not the other way around.

Therefore, the cause must not be inferred from the effect.

Because the empire continued to function for 80 years after his death, and the Manchu Qing and the popular rebellion had nothing to do with him, Sejong could not be held responsible for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. This argument is a reverse cause and effect, and it is completely wrong.

The Anshi Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty began in the 14th year of Xuanzong Tianbao of the Tang Dynasty, in 755 AD, and it was 153 years before the Tang Dynasty was replaced by Zhu Liang in 907, and there were still 153 years, a full century and a half.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Empire lasted longer than the Ming Empire.

Can it be said that because of the Huangchao Uprising, the Tubo invasion in the late Tang Dynasty, and the Manna Change, Xuanzong has nothing to do with Xuanzong, so Xuanzong is not responsible for the fall of the Tang Empire? Of course not.

Emperor Jiajing wanted to take care of things, but because of the huge power of the ministers, he did not have enough ability, so choosing to do nothing was the best way, which was not an act of neglect, but a helpless choice.

When Wei Bao was in modern times, he consulted various historical books of the Ming Dynasty and found that the historians did not have a low evaluation of Sejong.

Most of them fully affirmed their ability in the early days of their administration, and greatly appreciated their understanding of the people's livelihood, reforming the malpractices, and being diligent in government administration in the early days of their administration.

For his personal character - benevolence and filial piety, he also spared pen and ink, and wrote a special book.

If you look closely, you will find that this is a good-looking emperor who is not bad at governing the country in the early stage.

According to the history of the Ming Dynasty, it belongs to the medium talent.

In the case of the record, it is believed that he is the immortal holy lord.

In short, whether it is a record or a history of the Ming Dynasty, the evaluation of his ability is average, or above average.

An emperor with medium or upper ability, an emperor who has the skills to be a royal and has been sitting for 45 years, is a puppet fool who can only be led by the nose by the ministers? It's impossible.

If he was really a puppet of the Wenchen Group, then there would not be a strange phenomenon of being diligent in government and understanding the people in the early stage, and only taking care of alchemy and cultivation in the later stage, regardless of things.

Of course, there will be no three-year-long movement and controversy.

In the history books, all emperors who have this kind of lazy behavior are basically human spirits.

Tang Xuanzong Li Longji is like this, and so is Zhu Houxi.

The real puppet emperor in Chinese history is basically speechless or even speechless, and there is only one thing he can do, which is to sign the prepared documents or reports.

If such emperors want to seize power, they will inevitably find a new group as their backup, such as eunuchs, relatives, or their trusted ministers and generals, to help them seize power from the hands of those who control them.

However, during the 45 years of Emperor Jiajing's reign, he never completely used any political group as a backup, and there were no eunuchs or civil officials.

What he chose was to kick these forces away one by one and take over the power himself.

And this package is 45 years, until he dies.

Such an emperor, whether he is a puppet or a ruler who can only choose to rule by inaction, is impossible.

It is impossible for a puppet to sit on the throne for half a century, and he can still play with his ministers in the palm of his hand without showing up in the court for 20 years.

Of course, it is even more impossible to receive such high praise.

Jiajing is capable, at least he can do things well.

In many ways, Wei Bao felt that Emperor Tianqi was very similar to Jiajing, but Zhu Youxiao was a little inferior, lazier, and an orthodox emperor, so he didn't have to worry about someone attacking the legitimacy of his throne, so he didn't believe in any force like Emperor Jiajing, but chose to entrust the empire to the eunuch group to manage.

At least in Wei Bao's opinion, the Apocalypse Emperor is not inferior to anyone else.

The problem with Wei Bao now is that both the ministers of the eunuch clique and the ministers of the Donglin clique are inclined to accept his proposal to open up treaty ports and merge and reorganize all the sailors of the Ming Dynasty.

Even the Emperor of the Apocalypse, Zhu Youxiao, was inclined to accept it.

Because everyone doesn't think that opening up the sea trade will have much impact on the Ming Dynasty, which has a strong self-supply capacity.

The impact must be there, it will not be big, and everyone is not optimistic that the new policy of opening up maritime trade can be maintained for a long time.

Because there will definitely be a lot of people who oppose it, and the big farmers who rely on the sea will definitely resolutely oppose it.

If a short-lived New Deal can help solve the shortfall of eight million taels of silver, or even nine million taels of silver, why not?

In the general view of the Ming people, the Daming Water Division does not have much sense of existence, and after the reorganization and merger, the overall number of the Ming Water Division declines, and there will be no sense of existence.

Wei Bao was worried at first that everyone would think that he wanted to control the water master, and he would be suspicious and wary, but it seemed that he was thinking too much, but no one thought so.

Compared with the sailors, others will be more wary of Wei Bao's current military power in Liaodong and Shandong, and Wei Bao's direct control of the infantry army exceeds 100,000 people, and they are all the elite of the elite in the Ming army system.

Compared with more than 100,000 infantry troops, no one cares about tens of thousands of sailors.

The biggest obstacle now is Wei Zhongxian, which Wei Bao didn't expect at first.