"Where is the emperor in the cabinet now, the Yangtze River outside the sill is empty and self-flowing", looking at the river of history, feeling the vicissitudes of history, and walking in with the interesting history editor to understand the story of Zhu Di.
Before talking about Zhu Di, briefly mention Zhu Biao. This Zhu Biao was the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang, who was kind and compassionate to the people, and was made crown prince. Unfortunately, this Zhu Biao did not have the emperor's order, and just as the crown prince was doing it, he died of illness. Zhu Yuanzhang wept bitterly, and Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunjiao was made the emperor's grandson, who later became Emperor Jianwen.
In fact, Zhu Biao's personality is completely opposite to Zhu Yuanzhang's, and he is too polite and not brave enough, but Zhu Di, the King of Yan, is more in line with his temper. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was a far-sighted person, Zhu Biao was the eldest son of a concubine, in order to maintain the stability of the dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang insisted on establishing Zhu Biao as the heir to the imperial throne, and wanted to use this as an example to put an end to the struggle for the throne.
But Zhu Yuanzhang was a bit taken for granted, the temptation of the throne was really too great! Zhu Di, the ambitious and brave King of Yan, would be willing to be his nephew's courtier? And the seemingly gentle and elegant Jianwen Emperor is by no means a fuel-saving lamp. Since he succeeded to the throne, Emperor Jianwen had been very wary of several uncles and had conspired with his advisers to cut the domain.
Zhu Di was naturally a king of the clan, and Emperor Jianwen thought of his great power, so he first extended his sword to several other uncles. The effect was remarkable, the kings of Zhou, Dai, Min, Xiang, and Qi were cut down one by one, the King of Xiang was even forced to set himself on fire, and several other old uncles became Shu people. Next is the most difficult uncle Zhu Di, the King of Yan, and Emperor Jianwen is highly motivated.
Emperor Jianwen first tightened his control over king Yan, and then tried to obtain evidence of king Yan's "rebellion" and began to arrest him. Zhu Di, on the other hand, took advantage of zu Xun's loopholes and swore to go out on a campaign under the pretext of killing traitors and martyrdom for the sake of national peace. Many of the generals in the north were zhu di's old subordinates, and there were many descendants, and Zhu Di took many cities.
This bloody military standoff lasted three years. It is said that Zhu Di did not have the advantage of military strength, and could not fight the central government economically, but Zhu Di's leadership ability and military ability were not comparable to emperor Jianwen. Moreover, most of Emperor Jianwen's advisers were Confucians, and most of them were on paper, not opponents of Zhu Di, the King of Yan. Emperor Jianwen gradually became invincible.
In June of the fourth year of Jianwen, the Yan army marched directly to Nanjing, and King Gu opened the Jinchuan Gate to surrender, and the Yan army successfully entered Beijing. In the chaos, a fire broke out in the inner courtyard of the palace, and there were several remains in the ashes, and Emperor Jianwen disappeared. Are there any Jianwen Emperors among these wreckage? I don't know, and I don't need to know. If Emperor Jianwen had not died in it, how would Zhu Di have succeeded to the throne?
Zhu Di successfully succeeded to the throne, but not from Emperor Jianwen, but from Zhu Yuanzhang, the ming emperor. After Zhu Di abolished Emperor Jianwen's era name and the system of reform, he began the Bloody Purge. He sentenced his former vassals loyal to Emperor Jianwen to death (skinning, oiling pots, etc.), and subjected their female dependents to official prostitutes and humiliate them.
Zhu Di is fierce and cruel in his work. When Zhu Di ascended the throne, he ordered Emperor Jianwen's adviser Fang Xiaoru (方孝孺) to write an edict for his ascension to the throne. Fang Xiaoru did not obey, and was actually exterminated by Zhu Di and more than 800 people of the Ten Tribes. Where did the Tenth Come From? It turned out that his relatives and friends were also executed. So, why is Zhu Di called Ming Jun? Why not a tyrant?
Although Zhu Di was cruel, he still had a set of rules in governing the country. He reformed the bureaucracy and established the prototype of the cabinet system; He moved the capital to Beijing; He dredged the Huitong River; He encouraged reclamation and implemented policies to benefit the people; He made five northern expeditions to Mongolia; He marched south to Annam; He compiled the Yongle Canon. These are all things that Emperor Jianwen could not do.
Therefore, there are many positive evaluations of Zhu Di in history. Zhu Di was an all-rounder of literature and martial arts, generous and strict, and he could also engage in military affairs, economy, and politics. Under the rule of Zhu Di, the Ming Dynasty's national strength grew stronger, the country was stable, and the people were rich. Zheng He went to the West seven times, all the nations came to the dynasty, and promoted the prestige of our country, which was indeed a prosperous world.