The Yingguo Duke ZhangMao And The Evolution Of Meritorious Aristocrats' Politics In The Middle Period Of Ming Dynasty

ZhangMao is the son of the Yingguo Duke ZhangFu,the grandson of the famous general ZhangYu.After the TuMu incident,ZhangMao inherited the Yingguo Duke.By virtue of the prominent family background and the the protection of the powerful elders,ZhangMao stay away from the court dispute,safely through the JingTai and TianShun dynasty.In the ChengHua Dynasty,ZhangMao stood out from the young Meritorious Aristocrats.He was favored by the Emperor Xianzong for his mature and cautious temperament and outstanding talent.Late in HongZhi and ZhengDe two dynasties,ZhangMao is still in respect,continue to play an important role in the court.Although ZhangMao did a lot of illegal things,he still maintained the trust of the three emperors:Xianzong,Xiaozong and Wuzong,Meanwhile ZhangMao was established a friendly relationship with Other forces in the court,which makes ZhangMao rich and respected in his life.ZhangMao took his title of nobility in the turbulent era after the TuMu incident,and he was highly involved the political scene in the ChengHua,HongZhi and ZhengDe three dynasties,which is a very powerful era of centralization.With ZhangMao's life experience as the entry point,we can see the course of the Meritorious Aristocrats' power changes in the middle period of Ming Dynasty,which was from the trough to the peak,and gradually from the out of control to the limited in JingTai and TianShun period,And then the rise and fall of their positions and functions in the court under the strong restriction of the power of civil officials and eunuchs in ChengHua,HongZhi and ZhengDe dynasty.It can be found from the vicissitudes of the Meritorious Aristocrats' power in the middle period of Ming Dynasty: Although the military characteristics of the MeritoriousAristocrats in the Ming Dynasty were increasingly degraded,as a special political force in the Court of the Ming Dynasty,Meritorious Aristocrats always played the role of balancing the current political situation and consolidating the imperial power in the military field by taking charge of the defense of Beijing battalion,and participating in the military's administrative affairs,and taking charge of the WuJunFu Government affairs.In addition to the role of checks and balances of military power,the privileges of the Meritorious Aristocrats,and the military and social resources they possessed endowed the Meritorious Aristocrats with the power to take extraordinary actions under extreme circumstances,so they were regarded by the emperor as a safeguard for emergencies.The ceremonial functions of the Meritorious Aristocrats were also valued by successive emperors.This unique function of auxiliary imperial power is the main reason why the Meritorious Aristocrats have always been favored by the emperor and maintained their transcendent status.