The "Blue Jade Case" is a major case of the Ming Dynasty following the "Hu Weiyong Case" and the slaughter of heroes again. This is an unjust case, which is already the consensus of the academic community. When people discuss the reasons for the occurrence of this case, they basically emphasize the arrogance of the heroes, the contradictions between the monarchs and the courtiers, and Zhu Yuanzhang's plans for "posthumous affairs".
The causes of the "Blue Jade Case" are disputed
In the author's opinion, the "Blue Jade Case" is not unrelated to Zhu Di, the King of Yan. We all know that Blue Jade is the uncle of Zhu Biao's wife. This intimate relationship, coupled with the fact that Blue Jade was valued by Zhu Yuanzhang for his outstanding military achievements, was bound to pose a threat to Zhu Di, the King of Yan. King Yan disguised himself as a loyal and honest person, but in fact he had already coveted the throne in his heart.
Zhu Yuanzhang stills
When the crown prince was alive, Zhu Yuanzhang formed a super-first-class auxiliary team for his son at that time, and at that time, the King of Yan did not dare to act rashly, but after the death of the prince, Zhu Di said in front of Zhu Yuanzhang that Blue Jade had bad intentions and instigated Zhu Yuanzhang to create the "Blue Jade Case".
Not only that, the "Blue Jade Case" was also the inevitable result of Zhu Yuanzhang's consolidation of his supreme authority. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was very fond of the prince, he still considered the concentration of power, so he restricted the prince everywhere. The prince struggled and eventually died of grief. However, the emperor was still young and could not control the hundred officials, so Zhu Yuanzhang created the "Blue Jade Case" in order to stabilize the imperial power.
The causes of this case are disputed. If we jump out of the fog and compare the "Blue Jade Case" and the "Hu Weiyong Case," we will find that although there are some slight differences between the two cases, such as the "Hu Weiyong Case" is dominated by civilian officials and the "Blue Jade Case" is dominated by military generals, in fact, the nature of these two cases is the same, and both are major measures taken by Zhu Yuanzhang to eliminate the founding heroes.
Zhu Yuanzhang's personality is a factor that cannot be ignored
In the feudal system of absolutism, the monarch's personality tended to play a considerable role. When the crown prince was still alive, Lan Yu was arrogant because of his great achievements, and the literature recorded that "many animals and slaves were fake sons, taking advantage of the situation and tyranny", and said that he was "the private lord and concubine". In the face of such an arrogant hero, in terms of Zhu Yuanzhang's character, he will naturally "smell unhappy" and "cut the blame for jade".
The crown prince and Zhu Yuanzhang also had the right to distribute the stakes. Zhu Yuanzhang not only had to educate and train the prince, but also restricted the rights of the prince. From Zhu Yuanzhang's frequently hung up on the lips of "the affairs of the Han Dynasty Jiang Chong can be a clear reference", it can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang and the crown prince often have a gap between them because of differences in political views.
Even so, the early death of the crown prince was always unexpected by Zhu Yuanzhang, which was a big blow to him. Zhu Yuanzhang had to appoint the sixteen-year-old Imperial Grandson as his heir, and Zhu Yuanzhang was already sixty-five years old at this time, which should be the most sensitive period of time for Zhu Yuanzhang.
In addition, with the death of the prince, Zhu Yuanzhang's attempt to control the blue jade by controlling the prince also vanished, so this was also the period when Zhu Yuanzhang was most vigilant.
Because of this, although Blue Jade did not have any rebellious behavior, nor did he have any heinous sins, in the end Blue Jade was still killed.
After the outbreak of the "Blue Jade Case", the heroes who died were not victorious
More than 15,000 people died as a result of the "Blue Jade Case". Earlier, when Zhu Yuanzhang decided on the "Hu Weiyong Case," he compiled the words of the criminals into the "Record of Showing the Traitorous Party" and published them to the world. This time, the "Blue Jade Case" was determined, and the "Record of The Contrarians" was published. In addition, there are many historical books that record the "Blue Jade Case", such as "Ming Shilu", "Ming History", "Record of Sin" and so on.
According to the records in the literature, the "Blue Jade Case" was revealed on February 8, 2016, and from May 1, a total of 80 days. In such a short period of time, the occurrence of the crime, the arrest of people, the interrogation, the finalization of the case, the killing, the liquidation, the compilation, and the publication of the book were all in one go, and the "clean and neat" made people doubt the authenticity of this "Record of The Contrarians", which compiled the confessions of nearly a thousand people.
The heroes who died in the "Blue Jade Case" are not numerous. One of them, it is worth saying, he is Zhu Tong. The "History of Ming" evaluates Zhu Tong as "Zi Min", who became the prince's teacher at a young age and had a good relationship with Lan Yu.
Since Lan Yu was dead, Zhu Tong was not spared. The crime of rebellion is generally carried out by crushing lingchi, and the blue jade is eventually "skinned and grassed", and its miserable state is unimaginable. Zhu Tong, on the other hand, was "given to himself by hanging." Why do two people return together, but they have a "different path"?
This is thanks to Zhu Tong's father, Zhu Sheng. Zhu Sheng was the one who proposed for Zhu Yuanzhang to "build a wall high, accumulate grain in a wide area, and slowly claim the title of king." In terms of civil rule, he improved the political system for Zhu Yuanzhang, which can be described as a great contribution.
After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, Zhu Sheng told the old man to return to his hometown. Before leaving, he tearfully interceded with Zhu Yuanzhang: "I have a son named Zhu Tong, if he commits a crime in the future, please leave him a whole corpse." Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised to see the situation, so he specially customized a "death coupon" for Zhu Tong.
Facing Zhu Tong, who was kneeling in front of him, Zhu Yuanzhang said unashamedly: "When your father returned to his hometown, I promised him to keep your whole body, and see if he did it on his face." It seems that Zhu Yuanzhang is determined to make a cruel hand, and the "death coupon" cannot save Zhu Tong.