According to the 17th century Chinese historian Mao Qiling, Zhu Zhanshan was supported by the Grand Empress Dowager Zhang, who was both his and the Xuande Emperor's mother.

[5] Lady Zhang, however, viewed Wang Zhen's influence on the emperor as dangerous and attempted to restrict him,[3] even going so far as to order him to commit suicide in 1437.

His colleague Ma Yu (馬愉) only handled routine work, and the new Grand Secretaries appointed in the late 1440s—Gao Gu (高穀), Chen Xun (陳循), and Miao Zhong (苗衷)—did not have a significant impact on politics.

[14] The immediate consequence of the introduction of grand coordinators was the transfer of command over the troops in the provinces to civilian hands,[14] likely due to the decline in the quality of hereditary officers.

[16] In the mid-1430s, a sixty-year cold period began in the Northern Hemisphere, accompanied by sporadic floods and droughts that resulted in crop failures, leading to famines and epidemics.

[19] The government attempted to assist the victims by remitting taxes in large quantities, particularly during the regency of Grand Empress Dowager Zhang, who consistently showed concern for the impoverished,[18] but despite these efforts, dissatisfaction among the population continued to grow.

[17] Even the emperor's ban on the private sale of blue-and-white porcelain in 1439, which aimed to protect the state monopoly, did not contribute to the growth of production.

[22] By the end of the Xuande era, the government had recognized the failure to enforce baochao banknotes as the main currency and began tolerating silver.

In 1433, Governor of South Zhili, Zhou Chen (周忱), introduced the payment of land tax in silver instead of rice in the most tax-burdened prefectures.

[31] In 1447, the Governor of North Zhili called for a renewed campaign against coinage, citing its exclusive use in trade in Beijing and the Grand Canal cities as the cause of the banknotes' failure.

[32] The shortage of currency resulted in a return to barter in certain regions, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Huguang, Shaanxi, and Shanxi.

[17] Private mints in Ming China also had an impact on foreign trade, as their coins were accepted as currency in other countries, despite the Chinese government's refusal to recognize them.

[34] The disruption of this supply in the early 15th century had a significant impact on the Japanese economy and even led to political turmoil, resulting in the division of Japan into competing domains during the Sengoku period.

[10][35] Wang Zhen believed that Grand Empress Dowager Zhang's tax policy was too lenient and saw the war as an opportunity to increase state revenue.

[35] Domestically, these wars were a success for Wang Zhen, increasing his prestige and reputation as a statesman, but they also revealed a lack of financial reserves and experienced generals on the northern frontier.

[41] The government attempted to calm the situation by forgiving unpaid taxes and granting a three-year exemption from compulsory labor for the population in the region, but the more radical faction of the rebels, numbering several hundred thousand men, refused to back down.

According to Japanese historian Tanaka Masayoshi, the Deng brothers' revolt was the first Chinese peasant uprising aimed at challenging class relations within the village.

[46] This gave the Oirats control over Mongolia, and their chief Toghon solidified their power by arranging for his daughter to marry the young Khan of the Eastern Mongols, Toghtoa Bukha.

[47] Esen was more ambitious than his father, and in 1443 and 1445, he launched attacks on Hami, an important city on the route from China to Central Asia near the Chinese border.

[54] Without consulting the government, Emperor Yingzong ordered the Beijing garrison to be mobilized on 1 August and decided to personally lead the campaign against the Mongols.

[56] Historians at the time, in an effort to avoid what is an obvious taboo of the country's head of state becoming a prisoner of war, referred to this chapter of Emperor Yingzong's life as the "Northern Hunt" (北狩).

On 17 September, Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne as the Jingtai Emperor and declared the captured brother as Taishang Huangdi (太上皇帝; 'Emperor Emeritus').

[64] On the night of 11 February 1457, the quiet atmosphere of the Southern Palace was abruptly shattered by a group of soldiers who forcefully entered the building, announcing to the former emperor that he had been reinstated and bringing him to the throne room.

This coup was orchestrated by a small group, led by the eunuch-general Cao Jixiang (曹吉祥), along with generals Shi Heng (石亨), Zhang Yue (張軏), and strategist Xu Youzhen (徐有貞).

In an attempt to improve his image, the emperor appointed respected scholars Xue Xuan (薛瑄) and Li Xian (李賢) to the Grand Secretariat.

[68] In late June 1457, Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang decided that they no longer needed the cooperation of Xu Youzhen, who headed the Grand Secretariat, and had him arrested and banished to Yunnan.

[71] The rebel troops, led by Cao, set fire to both the west and east gates of the imperial city, but the flames were quickly extinguished by rain once the fighting began.

Li Xian took charge of the Grand Secretariat with support from Peng Shi, while Wang Ao, Minister of Personnel, oversaw the outer court and ensured the quality of officials.

[15] During his second reign, Emperor Yingzong was actively involved in managing the government, starting his day early and attending to state affairs and correspondence daily.

[75] Empress Qian was unable to bear children, so upon Emperor Yingzong's death, his son Zhu Jianshen, born to Lady Zhou, one of his concubines, ascended to the throne.