Chapter 354: The Life of Zhang Weixian, Duke of Ying of the Great Ming — Serializing

Two points first:

1. I haven't researched every detail here as thoroughly as I do for the main text — there may be errors, and corrections are welcome.

2. Why "serializing"? Because the Duke of Ying's story is not yet finished. The protagonist has crossed over, and what happens next is unknown.

All right, enough preamble. Now, please look through the eyes of this man in his sixties and see the changes in the Great Ming over these sixty-two years.

Forty-fifth year of Jiajing. Born. Qi Jiguang pacifies the Japanese pirates in Fujian and Guangdong.

First year of Longqing. Age two. The Longqing opening of maritime trade. Zhang Juzheng enters the Grand Secretariat.

Second year of Longqing. Age three. The Yellow River breaches its dikes; great floods in Shandong.

Third year of Longqing. Age four. Altan Khan of the Tumed attacks Datong. Pan Jixun begins regulating the Yellow River.

Fourth year of Longqing. Age five. Altan Khan's grandson defects to the Ming, spurring negotiations for the "Altan Enfeoffment and Tribute" accord.

Fifth year of Longqing. Age six. The Altan Enfeoffment and Tribute: the Ming court enfeoffs Altan Khan as Prince of Shunyi, opens border trade, ending two centuries of Mongol-Han warfare.

Sixth year of Longqing. Age seven. The Longqing Emperor dies (5th month). Zhu Yijun succeeds to the throne; the following year the reign era changes to Wanli. Zhang Juzheng becomes Chief Grand Secretary.

First year of Wanli. Age eight. Zhang Juzheng implements the "Performance Evaluation Law" to overhaul the bureaucracy. Yin Zhengmao suppresses the Yao rebellion in Guangxi.

Second year of Wanli. Age nine. Zhang Juzheng reforms tax and corvée, piloting the "Single Whip Law." Liaodong Regional Commander Li Chengliang routs the Jianzhou Jurchen chieftain Wang Gao.

Third year of Wanli. Age ten. Spain seizes Manila in the Philippines. The Yellow River breaches its dikes, causing great floods in Jiangsu.

Fourth year of Wanli. Age eleven. Zhang Juzheng launches a nationwide land survey. Matteo Ricci arrives in Macao.

Fifth year of Wanli. Age twelve. Zhang Juzheng's father dies; the "forced retention" controversy erupts. An earthquake in Yunnan kills and injures over ten thousand.

Sixth year of Wanli. Age thirteen. Li Shizhen completes the Compendium of Materia Medica. Pan Jixun's Yellow River regulation project is finished.

Seventh year of Wanli. Age fourteen. Zhang Juzheng orders the closure of private academies nationwide. Altan Khan founds the city of Hohhot (Guihua).

Eighth year of Wanli. Age fifteen. The Single Whip Law is implemented nationwide. The Ming court appoints Nurhaci as Guard Commander of the Left Guard of Jianzhou.

Ninth year of Wanli. Age sixteen. Zhang Juzheng completes the nationwide land survey, adding 180 million mu of taxable farmland. The Dutch War of Independence breaks out.

Tenth year of Wanli. Age seventeen. Zhang Juzheng dies of illness (6th month). Emperor Shenzong confiscates his family property. Matteo Ricci enters Zhaoqing in Guangdong to preach.

Eleventh year of Wanli. Age eighteen. Nurhaci raises troops to attack Nikan Wailan (the beginning of the Later Jin's founding). The Kaifeng imperial clan revolts over land seizures.

Twelfth year of Wanli. Age nineteen. Emperor Shenzong proclaims Zhang Juzheng's "crimes"; all reforms are abolished. Spain seizes Keelung in Taiwan.

Thirteenth year of Wanli. Age twenty. Qi Jiguang is dismissed from office and returns home. A nationwide drought leads to a locust plague.

Fourteenth year of Wanli. Age twenty-one. The "Succession Struggle" begins: officials petition to install the eldest son Zhu Changluo as crown prince; Shenzong delays.

Fifteenth year of Wanli. Age twenty-two. Qi Jiguang dies of illness. Hai Rui dies of illness in Nanjing. Nurhaci unifies the five tribes of Jianzhou.

Sixteenth year of Wanli. Age twenty-three. A great famine in Jiangnan; people eat one another. Nurhaci annihilates the Wanyan tribe.

Seventeenth year of Wanli. Age twenty-four. Emperor Shenzong begins his withdrawal from governance (thereafter he does not hold court for thirty years). A mutiny erupts at the Yongchang Guard in Yunnan.

Eighteenth year of Wanli. Age twenty-five. The Mongol Huoluochi tribe of Qinghai attacks Taozhou. Matteo Ricci's first attempt to enter Beijing is rejected.

Nineteenth year of Wanli. Age twenty-six. Japanese troops attack Busan in Joseon; Joseon requests aid. Shen Shixing is dismissed as Chief Grand Secretary.

Twentieth year of Wanli. Age twenty-seven. The Imjin War: Toyotomi Hideyoshi invades Joseon; Li Rusong leads Ming troops to intervene.

Twenty-first year of Wanli. Age twenty-eight. The great victory at Pyongyang (Ming forces retake Pyongyang). The Battle of Byeokjegwan ends in a Ming defeat.

Twenty-second year of Wanli. Age twenty-nine. Japanese forces withdraw south; Ming-Japan peace talks begin. Gu Xiancheng establishes the Donglin Academy.

Twenty-third year of Wanli. Age thirty. The Ming court enfeoffs Toyotomi Hideyoshi as King of Japan (he refuses the title). The Bozhou tusi Yang Yinglong rebels in Guizhou.

Twenty-fourth year of Wanli. Age thirty-one. Japan invades Joseon again. The Ming court dispatches eunuchs nationwide to open mines and levy taxes.

Twenty-fifth year of Wanli. Age thirty-two. The Second Invasion of 1597: Ming forces intervene in Joseon a second time. A disastrous defeat at the Siege of Ulsan.

Twenty-sixth year of Wanli. Age thirty-three. The great victory at the Battle of Noryang (11th month); Japanese forces retreat in defeat. Toyotomi Hideyoshi dies of illness. This year, Zhang Weixian's father, the previous Duke of Ying Zhang Yuankang, dies; Zhang Weixian inherits the title.

Twenty-seventh year of Wanli. Age thirty-four. Yang Yinglong's rebel forces seize Qijiang. Nurhaci creates the Manchu script.

Twenty-eighth year of Wanli. Age thirty-five. The Bozhou Campaign: Li Hualong pacifies Yang Yinglong; Zunyi Prefecture is established.

Twenty-ninth year of Wanli. Age thirty-six. The crown prince is installed: Zhu Changluo is finally named heir apparent. Matteo Ricci settles in Beijing.

Thirtieth year of Wanli. Age thirty-seven. Shenzong, during an illness, intends to abolish the mining taxes, but regrets it after recovering. The Dutch East India Company is founded.

Thirty-first year of Wanli. Age thirty-eight. The "Case of the Evil Book": a literary inquisition falsely accusing the crown prince of plotting rebellion. A great earthquake in Quanzhou kills and injures tens of thousands.

Thirty-second year of Wanli. Age thirty-nine. The Yellow River breaches its dikes and inundates Xuzhou. Donglin Faction member Gu Xiancheng lectures and debates politics.

Thirty-third year of Wanli. Age forty. A great drought in Beijing leads to a locust plague. Matteo Ricci's Kunyu Wanguo Quantu is published.

Thirty-fourth year of Wanli. Age forty-one. A popular uprising in Yunnan kills the tax eunuch Yang Rong. Nurhaci annihilates the Hoifa tribe.

Thirty-fifth year of Wanli. Age forty-two. Catastrophic floods in Liaodong. Nurhaci annihilates the Ula tribe, unifying the greater part of the Jurchen.

Thirty-sixth year of Wanli. Age forty-three. An anti-tax uprising in Jiangnan: Ge Xian leads Suzhou weavers against the eunuch Sun Long.

Thirty-seventh year of Wanli. Age forty-four. Liaodong Regional Commander Li Chengliang abandons the six forts of Kuandian. The Dutch seize Penghu.

Thirty-eighth year of Wanli. Age forty-five. The Yellow River breaches its dikes and inundates the Ming ancestral tombs at Sizhou. The Western missionary Sabatino de Ursis enters Beijing.

Thirty-ninth year of Wanli. Age forty-six. Li Sancai is impeached and dismissed (intensifying Donglin factional strife). The White Lotus sect rises in revolt in Shandong.

Fortieth year of Wanli. Age forty-seven. A drought in Liaodong; people eat one another. Nurhaci campaigns against the Mongol Khorchin tribe.

Forty-first year of Wanli. Age forty-eight. The "Case of the Bludgeon": a man with a club breaks into the Eastern Palace to assassinate the crown prince; factional conflict reaches a fever pitch.

Forty-second year of Wanli. Age forty-nine. The Prince of Fu, Zhu Changxun, proceeds to his fief in Luoyang. Li Zhizao translates the Tongwen Suanzhi.

Forty-third year of Wanli. Age fifty. Nurhaci establishes the Eight Banners system. The White Lotus leader Xu Hongru rises in revolt in Shandong. This year, the Duke of Ying submits a memorial on Mongol border affairs; Shenzong replies that it should be referred to the ministries for deliberation — the only time in his life he submitted a memorial on border affairs.

Forty-fourth year of Wanli. Age fifty-one. The Later Jin is founded: Nurhaci declares himself Khan (2nd month), with the reign title Tianming; the Ming court acknowledges his state letters.

Forty-fifth year of Wanli. Age fifty-two. A great famine in Shandong. The Later Jin campaigns against the Sahaliyan tribe of the Amur region.

Forty-sixth year of Wanli. Age fifty-three. The Later Jin attacks the Ming: Nurhaci issues the "Seven Grievances" and invades the Ming, capturing Fushun and Qinghe.

Forty-seventh year of Wanli. Age fifty-four. The Battle of Sarhu (3rd month): Ming forces lose over a hundred thousand men across four routes; Yang Hao is imprisoned.

Forty-eighth year of Wanli. Age fifty-five. Shenzong dies (7th month). Zhu Changluo succeeds to the throne (the Taichang Emperor); in the 8th month, the "Red Pill Case" leads to his sudden death. Zhu Youjiao ascends the throne and changes the reign era to Tianqi.

First year of Tianqi. Age fifty-six. The Later Jin captures Liaodong and Shenyang: Shenyang and Liaoyang fall; Ming forces retreat to Shanhai Pass. The White Lotus sect seizes a strategic town in Sichuan.

The second year of Tianqi, age fifty-seven. The Battle of Guangning ended in catastrophic defeat; Xiong Tingbi was imprisoned. The Dutch seized Penghu.

The third year of Tianqi, age fifty-eight. Wei Zhongxian became Director of the Eastern Depot. Portuguese occupation of Macau was legalized.

The fourth year of Tianqi, age fifty-nine. The Donglin Faction's impeachment of Wei Zhongxian failed; Yang Lian and others were demoted. The Dutch invaded southern Taiwan.

The fifth year of Tianqi, age sixty. The Prison of the Six Gentlemen: Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, and others were tortured to death in prison. Nurhaci moved his capital to Shenyang.

The sixth year of Tianqi, age sixty-one. The Battle of Ningyuan: Yuan Chonghuan used red barbarian cannon to wound Nurhaci (who died in the eighth month). The Suzhou uprising against the Wei faction (the Five-Man Tomb incident).

The seventh year of Tianqi, age sixty-two. Yuan Chonghuan repelled Hong Taiji (the Battle of Ningjin). The Tianqi Emperor passed away; the protagonist takes the stage.