ABSTRACT
No sooner had this sovereign become possessed of the royal authority than he handed over all authority and responsibility to his prime minister. He thus demonstrated the essential weakness of his character and proved himself to be worthy of being the last of the Mongol line. Sad disasters gave their ominous signs that the dynasty was near its close. A terrible flood in the capital, that inundated some parts of it to the depth of ten feet and caused a considerable loss of life as well, and similar calamities in Shansi and Honan, brought widespread sorrow over the most populous parts of the empire.
