The name Zhu Gaozi was not well known among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and everyone was basically unfamiliar with him.
That's because his reign was too short, and he abdicated less than a year after he became emperor. However, in the historical data, the evaluation of Zhu Gaozi is very high. The reason for this is not only because Zhu Gaozi began to assist his father Zhu Di in his ruling career during the Yongle Dynasty, but also because Zhu Gaozi's temperament was gentle and benevolent, ending the overloaded fortune maintained during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty during the Hongxi period, creating a "benevolent government" and giving the people at that time a stable and healthy living environment.
Although Zhu Gaozi had only been emperor for less than a year, his actual participation in power was not short. Since Zhu Di ousted his nephew from the throne, Zhu Di has always been keen to do some big things, north into Mongolia, south into Jiaozhi, west, and move to Beijing, all kinds of things require a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and when this series of major events are concentrated in a certain period of time, it is not only a waste of manpower and material resources, but also a delay in the emperor's own political affairs. No matter how prosperous Zhu Di was, he could not do it, so he had to pay attention to big things and let small things go unchecked, and focus on the military, in the 22-year history, Zhu Gaozi was at least half in power. Do not think that Zhu Gaozi is only as a supervising prince of the state, in his hands, tedious political affairs are in his hands and methodically carried out. Historical records praise: "The East Palace governs the country, and the north has nothing to do." Governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh. "It's already suitable but to describe Zhu Gaozi." It fully shows the role played by Zhu Gaozi in the Yongle court at that time. Because Zhu Di had spent too much national power in Yongle, Zhu Gaozi knew the dangers of this move. However, he was only a prince who supervised the country, and some things could still pass him in terms of political strategy, and Zhu Gaozi did not dare to act on his behalf because of his personal health and other reasons. Very afraid of Zhu Di. And as Zhu Gaozi spent more and more time supervising the country, Zhu Di became more and more susceptible to zhu Gaozi's influence, so Zhu Gaozi could only alleviate Daming's heavy burden in some way within his own ability. It can be said that Zhu Gaozi played a very important role in the stable development of the Yongle Dynasty.
In the twenty-second year of Yongle, the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di died of illness during an expedition. In August of the same year, Zhu Gaozi ascended the throne as the Hongxi Emperor. After Zhu Gaozi ascended the throne, he knew how heavy a series of large-scale projects in Yongle were for the entire Ming Dynasty, and after withdrawing from Annam and stopping military activities against the Mongols, he immediately ordered the cessation of all these load projects and, most importantly, the requisition of various materials from the people. The relocation of the capital to Beijing caused various other expenses to be huge, so Zhu Gaozi simply made the decision to return the capital to Nanjing.
In terms of national policies, Zhu Gaozi encouraged agriculture and restored the agricultural economy. In his reign of less than a year, he almost repaired all the hidden dangers of Daming during the Yongle period. Zhu Gaozi was highly praised by the history books, not only for his handling of state affairs, but also for his own morality, and also by people's respect and admiration.
The royal civil war was brutal and merciless. After all, the temptation of the Lord of the World is not something that everyone can resist, and Zhu Gaozi has encountered such a royal war in the period from the time of the prince to the emperor. Although Zhu Gaozi was the eldest son, because of his stature and personality, Zhu Gaozi was not very popular in the heart of his father Zhu Di. Because Zhu Gaozi did not like sports, he gradually grew into a big fat man, and Zhu Di, who advocated force, was even more disgusted. Zhu Gaoxu was different, and Zhu Di had also thought of making Zhu Gaoxu the crown prince. Fortunately, the ministers were picky. Everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty needs a monarch who can stabilize the country. Therefore, under the unanimous recommendation of the ministers, Zhu Di saw Zhu Zhangji, The Son of Zhu Gaozi. Zhu Gaozi was thus made crown prince. Then Zhu Gaoxu held a grudge in his heart and provoked Zhu Gaoxu's problems in various ways.
Later, when Zhu Gaoxu provoked Zhu Di and was about to be demoted to a commoner, Zhu Gaoxu stood up and interceded for his brother. After Zhu Gaozi ascended the throne, he was still able to forget his old grudges and make his brothers kings. Not only that, after Zhu Gaozi came to power, he legitimized the identity of Emperor Jianwen and recognized the existence of the Jianwen Dynasty.
Because Zhu Gaozi did not like sports, he was very large. Although his weight is not accurately recorded, historical sources indicate that he needed two people to support him while traveling. You can see how fat he is. In this case, Zhu Gaozi is from the perspective of health care. Almost certainly, there are some cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Finally, less than a year after ascending the throne, there was no time to show off. Emperor Akihito died tragically. Throughout the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaozi can be said to be a very competent emperor. During his short reign, he laid many foundations for governing the country. Although time was limited, he didn't have time to finish everything.
But his son Zhu Zhanji inherited all this, and during the reign of Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Gaozi, they were collectively known as renxuan zhiguo. Later generations called it the "Golden Age" of the Ming Dynasty.