Twenty years after Yongle, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di returned from a northern expedition due to running out of food, but he fell ill on the way. After Zhu Di's death, the crown prince Zhu Gaozi ran to the big prison and cried and told a prisoner about it, and the prisoner immediately lost his voice and cried bitterly. Immediately afterward, the prince released the man and pardoned him for his crimes.
Speaking of this, it seems strange, as the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, why should Zhu Gaozi respect a prisoner? Moreover, this person is now in prison, indicating that it was with Zhu Di's permission that he was imprisoned, and Zhu Gaozi released him in this way, is it not against his father's will? So who is this person? Why is there such a big face?
(Ming Chengzu Zhu Di)
It turned out that this person's name was Xia Yuanji, and the character Wei Zhe. Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang once took a fancy to him and let him serve in the household department. After Emperor Jianwen succeeded to the throne, Xia Yuanji was promoted to the position of Right Attendant of Hubu, and Emperor Jianwen admired him very much. In this way, Xia Yuanji can also be regarded as the old department of Emperor Jianwen, so it is not surprising that Zhu Di sent him to prison.
However, this was not the case, Zhu Di imprisoned Xia Yuanji, not because of Emperor Jianwen, on the contrary, Zhu Di attached great importance to Xia Yuanji. This is even more strange, after Zhu Di took the throne, he liquidated the old department of Emperor Jianwen, why did he let Xia Yuanji go? The author believes that there are several major reasons.
(Natsuhara Kichi)
First, Natsuhara Yoshi is capable
Natsuhara Yoshi has been working in the Household Department since he entered the shi, and with his own ability, he has a pivotal position in the Household Department. What does Hubu do? During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the household department was mainly in charge of the country's territory, fields, household registration, taxes, salaries and all financial matters. To put it bluntly, it is the ministry of finance of the country.
To keep a country running, there can be no financial error. We know that Zhu Di was also an emperor who liked to fight, and every time he sent troops, he spent a huge amount of money, including Zheng He's voyage to the West, behind which it was inevitable to have the support of the household department. And Xia Yuanji has been working diligently in the household department for many years, keeping the household department in good order, as a talent, Zhu Di naturally will not let him be buried.
(Stills of Natsuhara Yoshi)
2. Natsuhara Yoshitomo is loyal to the country
Although Xia Yuanji was an old subordinate of Emperor Jianwen, he was initially promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang as an official. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he did not recognize Emperor Jianwen as emperor, nor did he recognize that he inherited the throne of his nephew, but said that he inherited Ming Taizu. Since there is no Emperor Jianwen anymore, where is his old ministry?
Secondly, Xia Yuanji was appreciated by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Emperor Jianwen only continued to appoint him, and Zhu Di naturally continued to appoint him. Finally, for Xia Yuanji, he was not loyal to a certain emperor, but to the entire Ming Dynasty.
When he served in the household department, he only wanted to do his own internal affairs and manage the finances for the country, and as for whether the emperor cut the domain or not, it was none of his business. Zhu Di is not a person who is inseparable from right and wrong, and he naturally has no hatred for Xia Yuanji.
(Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao)
Third, Natsuhara Yoshi abides by his duty
After Zhu Di ascended the throne, some people wanted him to propose: "Yuan Ji Jianwen used things when he was not credible. But Zhu Di did not obey, but instead spared Natsuhara Ji and promoted him to Hubu Shangshu.
After Xia Yuanji was promoted, he made many useful suggestions for Zhu Di. Every time before Zhu Di ascended to the court, he would invite him to discuss the matter, and sometimes he forgot the time when he talked. When the discussion was over, Xia Yuanji always silently withdrew and never mentioned a word to others, which also made Zhu Di deeply satisfied.
For these reasons, Zhu Di would not dispose of Natsuhara Yoshi, but would reuse him. So why did Zhu Di use him so much, why did he have to go to jail?
That's because Zhu Di's consecutive years of northern expeditions have stretched the national treasury. In the nineteenth year of Yongle, Zhu Di once again decided to expedition to the desert, this time again against the unanimous opposition of the six Shangshu. Bingbu Shangshu Fangbin believes that at present, military expenditure is seriously insufficient, and it is really not appropriate to send troops. Xia Yuanji said: "The bi nian division has been ineffective, the army and horses have saved ten losses, the disasters have been repeated, and both inside and outside are tired." ”
Unexpectedly, this sentence offended Zhu Di, in fact, Zhu Di was not really angry, but Xia Yuanji, as the Tobe Shangshu, even he said this, indicating that the national treasury was really nervous. But Zhu Di's idea of sending troops had already been decided, and now the situation did not allow it, which made him feel angry.
At this time, Shangshu of the Ministry of Works, Shangshu of the Rebbe, and others all agreed, and Zhu Di immediately pointed his anger at Xia Yuanji, because it was he who said that sentence that everyone else agreed. Therefore, Zhu Di ordered that Xia Yuanji be imprisoned in the internal official prison and raided his home. However, when I raided the house, I found that "in addition to the money I gave myself, I only clothed and tiled." ”
(Ming Chengzu Zhu Di stills)
The next thing is also mentioned at the beginning of the article. Twenty years after Yongle, Zhu Di still led the army to march in person, but unfortunately he died of illness on the road. In this way, Natsuhara Ji was still in prison, so why did the prince dare to release him? After all, Zhu Di had been so atmospheric before, and he had also copied Xia Yuanji's home.
In fact, all this is exactly what Zhu Di meant. On his deathbed, Zhu Di remembered Xia Yuanji and thought that the raiders had not found any valuables, indicating that he was really a good official. Thinking about his contributions over the years, Zhu Di couldn't help but feel a little sorry in his heart, and couldn't help but say, "Natsuhara Ji loves me." ”?
(Zhu Gaozi stills)
Three days after Zhu Di's death, the news reached the capital, and as the emperor's last words on his deathbed, the crown prince must have known about it. Zhu Gaozi knew his father's intentions, and also understood that Natsuhara Yoshishi was actually a loyal subject, so he would run to prison to tell Natsuhara Yoshi about it as soon as possible.
After that, Zhu Gaozi released him and discussed Zhu Di's funeral together, and Xia Yuanji also made many suggestions, and Zhu Gaozi agreed one by one. Since then, Xia Yuan ji has been used by several generations of emperors until the fifth year of Xuande, Xia Yuan Ji died at the age of sixty-five. Emperor Xuande posthumously honored him as a Taishi (太師), courtesy name "Zhongjing", and permanently exempted his family from taxation and servitude.
(References :Ming Shi Xia Yuan Ji Biography,Guo Dynasty Lieqing Chronicle))