Emperor Wanli reigned for 48 years and did not go to court for 38 years. Therefore, in the whole history of the Ming Dynasty, although he was in power for the longest time, he was the laziest of all emperors. Many people are curious about why Wanli didn't go to court for ten years, and think that there are three theories about why Wanli became the laziest emperor.

First of all, Emperor Wanli favored Zheng Guifei and lived a luxurious life all day, so he ignored the failure of state affairs. However, this statement is about to be overthrown. If Zheng Guifei is only favored, it is reasonable for Wanli to ignore the failure of state affairs. However, among emperors, no concubine can be favored for 38 years and then let Wanli ignore state affairs, so this statement is too far-fetched for many people.

The second is that Emperor Wanli suffered from chronic diseases and could not go to court. Because Wanli suffered from a chronic disease that could not be cured at that time, this disease accompanied him until his death. Therefore, it is not that Wanli is unwilling to go to court, but that he cannot go to court.

Finally, I think the reason why Emperor Wanli didn't go to court was that he never had real power, so he gave up going to court directly. You know, Wanli was only ten years old. Because he was young, he listened to politics, but he left the DPRK-China affairs to Zhang. With the growth of Wanli, he gradually found that he had no real power. Although Emperor Wanli wanted to manage state affairs by himself, his decision was not adopted, but was criticized by civil servants, and Emperor Wanli gradually lost his desire to manage state affairs.