As one of the few emperors in Chinese history who came from a commoner background, Zhu Yuanzhang's ability does not need to be said. Among his sons, Zhu Di is most similar to him, although he has a black history of usurpation, but his influence on history cannot be ignored.
Especially after Zhu Di ascended the throne, many things he did had a far-reaching impact. Today, I will tell you what major things Zhu Di, a "chaotic thief," has done.
The Battle of Jingnan was the highlight of Zhu Di's life, and it was precisely by relying on this battle that he stood at the peak of the power of the Ming Dynasty and had a stage to exert his talents.
In 1399, Zhu Di marched south, almost invincible along the way, and no one could stop him. In just three years, Zhu Di ended the war within the imperial family, drove his nephew Emperor Jianwen out of the dragon chair, and sat on it himself.
Later, the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen were unknown, some people said that he died in the palace, and some people said that he escaped from the tunnel and hid in the Yungui area. Zhu Di, who had been given the throne, in order to justify his name, called his rebellious act "Jing Difficulty", and a power struggle was glorified by him as "the side of the Qing Emperor, the difficulty of Jingguo".
However, the Battle of Jingnan brought a lot of damage to the economy that had just been restored at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, and the areas affected by the war even formed a situation of "bowing to the north of Huai as thatch".
More importantly, Zhu Di thus became the first prince in history to successfully usurp the throne, and he really had no ancients before him and no one after him.
In order to maintain his imperial power and achieve the purpose of "the son of heaven guarding the gate of the country, and the king died in the community", the first major event after Zhu Di took the throne was to move the capital. He moved the capital from Nanjing to his stronghold, Beijing, which became the political and economic center of the country.
At that time, the establishment of the capital Beijing also had an advantage, the expedition to the Northern Yuan was more convenient, and the cost of grain and grass transportation was also lower.
Zhu Di's move has a far-reaching impact, making Beijing our political center to this day.
The Forbidden City, also known as today's Forbidden City, was built in Yongle for five years and lasted fourteen years, culminating in the construction of this grand palace complex.
Its construction consumed a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, taking the support pillar of the main hall in the Forbidden City as an example, because to transport it from the south, it would take several years to transport only one such wood, and the cost of silver was sky-high.
The rest of the various materials are also collected from rare raw materials from all over the country, and the cost is really huge.
However, today, the existence of the Forbidden City is already the pride of our people, almost every Chinese to Beijing to see, even many foreigners have heard of its name. The Forbidden City has become a resounding business card to show our Chinese culture.
In the third year of Yongle, Zhu Di sent Zheng He to the West, which can be said to be another feat of diplomacy in China's feudal history. However, unlike the friendly exchanges of modern diplomatic concepts, the main purpose of going to the West at that time was to promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty.
This is also the so-called tributary trade, as long as other countries are subject to the Ming Dynasty, and then send some rare treasures every year, they can be at peace, and they can also receive large gifts from the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di's feat has made more countries feel China's strength.
From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He led his fleet south to the Western Ocean seven times, which was arguably the largest fleet in the world at that time, and experienced many dangers and long in the waters of the North Atlantic And Indian Ocean. It has not only accumulated certain navigation experience for future generations, but also greatly promoted the exchange and integration of Chinese and Western civilizations.
After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, his desire for power exploded, and he was full of energy and wanted to monopolize power, so he abolished the beggar system that China had practiced for thousands of years.
After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he felt that the government affairs were too complicated, and he felt that if he continued to do so, he was likely to return to the west in advance, so he thought of a way to let Xie Jin, Hu Guang, Yang Rong and several others go to Wenyuan Pavilion to help him handle government affairs together, and the cabinet system was born.
During Zhu Di's reign, he had always firmly controlled the decision-making power, and these cabinet ministers only had the right to discuss, but not the decision-making power, and they themselves did not have administrative ranks, in today's words, the emperor's private secretaries.
To some extent, the cabinet is also equivalent to the beggar system, but it is only a matter of consultation between many people, rather than one person holding the power alone. Not only did it effectively prevent the concentration and abuse of power, but it also gave birth to a number of famous advisors such as Zhang Juzheng and Xia Yan, who made a meritorious contribution to the dynasty that future generations admired.
However, with the passage of time, the cabinet's status has become higher and higher, and it has gradually become the highest decision-making body, which is probably unexpected by Zhu Di.
In general, Zhu Di has done so many things, although the imperial throne is not right, but for the common people, he can be regarded as a good emperor with achievements.
If Zhu Yuanzhang laid the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and created an era that belonged to the Ming Dynasty, then Zhu Di was the one who painted the Jiangshan. If the emperors of previous dynasties came to a ranking, Zhu Di was definitely qualified to be among the best. Because these few major events he did in his life had a far-reaching impact on the Ming Dynasty.