In addition to the Battle of Jingnan, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di overthrew Emperor Jianwen and became emperor, his origins became a mystery, and various rumors flew everywhere. Zhu Di claimed to be the son of Empress Zhu Yuanzhang, but the world did not believe it, and there were rumors that Emperor Yuanshun was Zhu Di's biological mother. So, was Emperor Yuanshun really the biological father of Zhu Di, the ancestor of Ming Cheng, and why was there such a rumor? Today, let's explore the secrets together.
After the Battle of Jingnan, in order to show the legitimacy of his throne, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di claimed to be the son of Empress Zhu Yuanzhangma, and tampered with relevant records, genealogical jade and other archives. Later scholars have found a great deal of evidence that Zhu Di was not born to Empress Ma, but have not found sufficient evidence to prove who Zhu Di's biological mother was. It was Ming Chengzu Zhu Di's act of tampering with his own life that created the mystery of his own life. In addition, there are many rumors in the folk, and even rumors that Emperor YuanShun was the biological father of Zhu Di, the ancestor of Ming Cheng.
According to rumors, the Ming army entered the city of Beijing, and Emperor Yuanshun, seeing that things were not good, fled back to the Mongolian steppe. Zhu Yuanzhang captured the city of Beijing and captured Emperor Yuanshun's harem concubines, including Zhu Di's birth mother. At this time, Zhu Di's birth mother was already pregnant with the son of Emperor Yuanshun, but was accepted by Zhu Yuanzhang and became a receiver. Because Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Zhu Di was not his own son, he never allowed him to succeed to the throne, and chose the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Yunjiao.
At first glance, it feels like this rumor is really that thing, and it seems to have some truth. In fact, when we dig deeper and compare reliable historical data, we find that this rumor is simply untenable. According to historical records, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was born in 1360, and Zhu Yuanzhang attacked and captured the Yuan capital in 1368. Even at this time, Zhu Yuanzhang really took the harem concubine of the Yuan Shun Emperor as his own, but Zhu Di could not still be in the belly of that concubine. At that time, Zhu Di was already 8 years old. Therefore, the rumor that Emperor Yuanshun was the biological father of Zhu Di, the ancestor of Ming Cheng, is not believed.
In fact, in the early days, Zhu Yuanzhang was not concerned about his sons. Until Zhu Di was 7 years old, he had no name. When Zhu Di's 7 brothers were born, Zhu Yuanzhang was fighting with Chen Youyu, and the military situation was urgent, and he didn't even have time to look at this son, so he went to the front line to command the war. It was not until 1367 that Zhu Yuanzhang was ready to officially ascend the throne as emperor in the turn of the year, and saw that he already had 7 sons. Only then did he remember to name his 7 sons, and at this time, Zhu Di, who was 7 years old, finally had his own name.
Later, after the death of the crown prince Zhu Biao, the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang refused to pass the throne to Zhu Di, who had outstanding ability, was not that he did not like Zhu Di, but that he insisted on the inheritance system of the eldest son. As for the rumor that Emperor Yuanshun was the biological father of Zhu Di of Ming Chengzu, it is pure nonsense, Zhu Di is definitely Zhu Yuanzhang's species, and as for who his birth mother really is, it needs to be further explored!