After more than three years of fighting, Zhu Di won the "Battle of Jingnan", captured Nanjing, and ascended to the emperor's throne. Although the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen are unknown, there were still many supporters in the court, who were loyal to Emperor Jianwen and even sacrificed their lives. So what kind of means did Zhu Di use to deal with those loyalists who supported Emperor Jianwen?
Although the Battle of Jingnan was a struggle within the Zhu Ming imperial family, in the eyes of the scholars, who were deeply influenced by Confucianism, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, was obviously "rebellious". Even though Zhu Di captured Nanjing, there were still a large number of people loyal to Emperor Jianwen, refusing to welcome Zhu Di and refusing to recognize his throne. Zhu Di was worthy of being Zhu Yuanzhang's son, and he used very bloody means to eliminate these people!
This kind of ending was the most loyal, and the most tragic, including the attendant Fang Xiaoru, the Hanlin scholar Huang Zicheng, the Bingbu Shangshu Qitai, Tie Xuan, the Imperial Historian Lian Zining, the deputy capital Yushi Mao Dafang, the Zuo Youdu Yushi Zhouxuan, Jing Qing, the Hubu Shilang Zhuojing, Guo Ren, Lu Yuan, the Rebbe Shangshu Chen Di, the Rebbe Shangshu Huang Kui, the Huang Guan, the Punishment Department Shangshu Tyrann zhao, and Hou Tai.
This article only lists some senior officials, and there are many middle- and lower-level officials. After Zhu Di entered Nanjing, before he ascended the throne, he issued a first wanted notice, and then arrested those ministers who did not greet him, because not greeting him meant not recognizing his status. All of these people were executed by Zhu Di and were subjected to a very cruel lingchi punishment.
Zhu Di was also puzzled and exterminated these people of the Nine Tribes, among whom the indomitable Fang Xiaoru was condemned to the Ten Tribes, and even his students were executed. Zhu Di was very cruel when executing these people, such as JingQing's teeth were shot down before he was killed, and then he was brutally skinned. When Fang Xiaoru was about to be executed, he was also "severed tongue and broken bones".
Although Tie Hyun is not as famous as Fang Xiaoru, his death is also tragic. After Tie Hyun was escorted to Zhu Di, he turned his back on Zhu Di and refused to look at him. Zhu Di was very angry, so he ordered someone to cut off Tie Xuan's ears and nose, and then stuffed it into Tie Xuan's mouth, and asked, "Willing or not?" Although Tie Hyun was a scholar, he was very tough and shouted, "Why are you not willing to be loyal to the filial piety meat!" After that, Zhu Di ordered the execution of Tie Hyun Ling Chi and threw the bones into the oil pot.
At the same time, members of the families of these people were implicated and killed. According to records, Because Fang Xiaoru "sat on the dead with 873 people, who were invincible to the dead." Before Fang Xiaoru's younger brother Fang Xiaoyou was killed, Fang Xiaoru looked at his brother and left tears, and Fang Xiaoyou wrote a poem, "Why should my brother weep, take the righteousness into benevolence here." Huabiao pillar head thousands of cranes, the soul of the traveler still to the home mountain. ”
Jing Qing's attempt to assassinate Zhu Di further angered the Yongle Emperor, who issued an edict, "Order the Chiqi clan and use their hometowns." That is to say, even the villagers of Jingqing were brutally killed, and finally there was a situation of "the village is a ruin". At the same time, Zhu Di also adopted "fishing law enforcement", and all the officials who collected the bodies of Fang Xiaoru and others were also arrested and then executed.
Although these people died tragically, they were at least liberated, and their wives and daughters died even worse. The wives and daughters of these ministers were all thrown into the priesthood (that is, the official brothel) and tortured. The official of the Sect Department once played to Zhu Di, "Qi Tai's sister and two nieces and daughters-in-law, and four women of Huang Zicheng's sister." Every day and night, twenty men guarded, the young ones were pregnant, Chinese New Year's Eve gave birth to a small turtle, and had a three-year-old daughter. ”
Zhu Di replied, "When the small one grows up, it is a cash cow." In addition, some women were rationed to elephant slaves, such as the three daughters of Guo Ren, the servant of the household department, who were rationed to elephant slaves. Elephant slaves had the lowest social status at that time, belonging to slavery, and many people had no names. Zhu Di did this in an obvious attempt to humiliate and torture the families of these Jianwen loyalists. The wife of The Rebbe Huang Guan, Weng Shi, and two daughters were also married to elephant slaves, and they were not spared from humiliation and chose to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the water.
References: 1. "History of Ming"; 2. "The End of the Chronicle of Ming History"; 3. "Fengtian Punishment Reward Record"