In the thirty-first year of hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang died, and the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunjiao succeeded to the throne as Emperor Jianwen.
Emperor Jianwen was a standard literati emperor, after the "heavy rule of the country" by Emperor Ming, such a literati emperor as Emperor Jianwen was undoubtedly popular, but after Emperor Jianwen succeeded to the throne, he did not yet apply benevolent government, because of the cruel slashing of the clan like the abolition of the clan and the killing of the clan, so that Zhu Di, the king of Yan, the head of the clans, rebelled in the name of the Qing emperor and launched the Battle of Jingnan, which lasted four years, and Zhu Di, the king of Yan, laughed to the end, becoming the only king of the clan who successfully rebelled in the great unification dynasty, for the Yongle Emperor, and the temple name was initially Taizong. More than a hundred years later, it was changed to the name of Chengzu Temple by the Jiajing Emperor.
Regarding the final outcome of the loser Emperor Jianwen, there are two records in the History of Ming:
I. "When the fire broke out in the palace, the emperor did not know the end." The King of Yan sent the empress dowager's body into the fire, and yue eight days to bury it."
2. "Or Emperor Yun's death by the tunnel."
That is to say, even people at that time were not sure whether Emperor Jianwen was dead or ran, so the "History of Ming" simply recorded two endings. It is said that Emperor Jianwen set himself on fire and died. It is said that Emperor Jianwen escaped in advance through the tunnel and has been missing since then.
Whether Emperor Jianwen died of self-immolation or fled without a trace can be said to be one of the biggest mysteries of the Ming Dynasty, and there is no answer until now, so this point is not expressed for the time being.
Although the mystery of Emperor Jianwen's life and death can not be determined, but there is a coincidence here can be said to be very intriguing, before Zhu Di entered the palace, Emperor Jianwen whether he self-immolated and died, or fled, in short, disappeared, for Zhu Di, the king of the clan who rebelled on the side of the Qing Emperor, it can be said that it is the best situation, to disappear, Zhu Di can not directly say that I am here to rebel, not the side of the Qing King, the throne to me, how embarrassing.
Some people believe that if Emperor Jianwen did not burn himself and die, or did not flee, and sat in the palace, Zhu Di would not dare to kill him, and there would be no way to end it.
Then if Emperor Jianwen really did this, he would really sit in the palace, and even see Zhu Di and say, "There is Uncle Lao, you get rid of the traitors around me, you Qingjun side is finished, just go back." Is it true that Zhu Di really can't end it, and really doesn't dare to kill him?
In fact, no matter what, Zhu Di must dare to kill Emperor Jianwen, and he will definitely be able to end it, even if he directly kills Emperor Jianwen, sits on the charge of killing the king and rebellion, because he has reached that step, how can he retreat, rebellion this kind of thing, even if there is a cover banner on the side of the Qing Emperor, but it is still a rebellion, since it has begun, it will not be afraid of greater crimes.
And you can also play some advanced routines, such as first disguised house arrest of Emperor Jianwen, so that he "suddenly died of illness", or simply let Emperor Jianwen "commit suicide", even if the clear-eyed people know that it was Zhu Di's hands and feet, but at least there is a thin layer of fig leaf, and then it is not too late to call himself emperor.
Of course, there are even more ruthless, after Zhu Di ascended the throne, he directly erased the record of Emperor Jianwen, and the four years of his reign were directly added to the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, the ming emperor, so that the era time of Hongwu changed from 31 years to 35 years, and directly did not recognize the existence of Emperor Jianwen, so later generations of Ming Dynasty people called Emperor Jianwen's four years of reign as the year of removal, and called Emperor Jianwen the year of removal. Moreover, Zhu Di is still in the history books, such as revising the "Records of Taizu Shilu" twice, adding words of praise to himself.
Referring to this, even if Emperor Jianwen was sitting in the palace, Zhu Di could have sent someone to kill him "unknowingly" by taking advantage of the chaos, such as sending a headless and brainless person like Cheng Ji to finish the matter and kill him to block the mouths of the people. Or simply change the history books, Emperor Jianwen is usurping the throne, he is taking the throne of Zhu Di, Zhu Di is not a rebellion, it is to regain his throne, it is a just battle, and it is normal for Emperor Jianwen to die in the rebellion.
It can be said that some of the methods are that Zhu Di must dare to kill Emperor Jianwen, but it is possible that in order to end better, the process may not be so bloody, it will be hidden, even if it is bloody, it will definitely find a substitute ghost to complete.
After saying this, let's reason in reverse, Zhu Di attacked Nanjing, before entering the palace, Emperor Jianwen disappeared, such a coincidental thing, and Zhu Di is obviously the biggest beneficiary, is all this really so simple?
In fact, it is very likely that this is what Zhu Di deliberately did, in fact, he had arranged for someone to kill Emperor Jianwen in advance, but in order not to bear the crime of killing the king, and at the same time to minimize his own insults, he deliberately created two endings for Emperor Jianwen, either self-immolation and death, or had fled in advance.
Then he sent the chancellor Hu Xi to look for Emperor Jianwen throughout the country, as well as Zheng He's going to the West to send foreign envoys, so why send eunuchs to go there, giving people the feeling that it is possible that one of Zheng He's missions is to find Emperor Jianwen overseas, so that he will leave a thought for the people of the world who sympathized with Emperor Jianwen at that time, so that the people of the world will think that Emperor Jianwen is born, so that Zhu Di will not bear a bigger crime, but also give future generations this feeling, is to throw a big smoke bomb, using a big blindfold method.
This possibility actually exists, because if Emperor Jianwen does not disappear, it will be of no harm to Zhu Di, keep him, Zen is located in himself, nephew gives way to uncle, too much to say. Don't stay, just kill, that is really the crime of rebellion and murder of the king.
Moreover, Zhu Di, a man of great talent and fierce heart, was he a passive recruiter, did he not think that Emperor Jianwen did not set himself on fire or run away, but waited for him in the palace, this point he must have considered, so it was also possible to take precautions in advance, arrange people to infiltrate the palace in advance to kill Emperor Jianwen, and then use the blindfold method to confuse the world.
This can also be found to confirm that after Zhu Di attacked Nanjing from JinchuanMen, he did not directly enter the imperial palace, but "the King of Japan ordered the generals to defend the city and the imperial city, and also stationed in Longjiang, and ordered to appease the army and the people." They have all entered Nanjing, why not enter the imperial city and retreat to Longjiang, in fact, there are only two possibilities. The first is to give Emperor Jianwen time to live by himself, to leave a face for each other, and to let Emperor Jianwen watch and do it himself, either by suicide or surrender, so as not to embarrass both sides. The second is that Song Anzhi speculated that he used this time to arrange for people to enter the palace, so that Emperor Jianwen would disappear, so as not to embarrass himself and make the initiative in his own hands.
Therefore, on the day that Zhu Di attacked the city of Nanjing, it is very likely that the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao had already arranged for Zhu Di to be killed in advance, and then used the blindfold method, so that Emperor Jianwen had two endings of self-immolation and death and early escape, in short, he could not get involved with the emperor, and then arranged for his confidant ministers and eunuchs to intentionally or unintentionally look for the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen, so that at that time, there were still future generations, who believed that Emperor Jianwen escaped and died well, and although he was accused of rebellion, he did not have the crime of killing the king, which is the best of both worlds.
Of course, the above is a speculation based on historical records, just a personal speculative point of view, just a family statement, not just right, not to think that this is real history, but only to provide readers with a new perspective, another perspective to look at this unchanging history.
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