In the eighteenth year of Yongle, the Forbidden City in Beijing was completed. Zhu Di ordered the relocation of the capital, changing Jinling Yingtianfu to Nanjing, and Beiping Shuntianfu to Beijing, and for more than 600 years, Beijing also became a center of power and an economic center. Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang established the capital of Nanjing when he founded the country, as the capital of a country, Nanjing has long been the economic center of gravity of the country; at the same time, Nanjing's own geographical conditions are also very superior, the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and not easy to attack, and the Yangtze River is a natural barrier to protect Nanjing. In addition, Nanjing also has convenient transportation, the Yangtze River plus the Qinhuai River and Taihu Lake water system, making Nanjing accessible in all directions.
Looking at Beijing, it was called Beiping at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. When the Yuan Dynasty was attacked, some of the residents of the city were moved to Kaifeng, the Yuan Dynasty palace was destroyed, and the canal was silted, and the originally prosperous Yuan Dadu became an ordinary northern city, until the Yan King Zhu Di took the domain of Beiping, all this changed, but it was still a cold and barren land. Logically, a country has not encountered an emergency, it will definitely not move the capital, not to mention that Nanjing's geography, economy and other factors are far beyond the Beiping at that time. So under such conditions, why did Zhu Di have to eliminate all difficulties in moving the capital to Beiping, and what was he afraid of?
One is afraid of public opinion. In the face of the slashing of the domain, Zhu Di led his troops into the city of Nanjing under the banner of "Qing Jun's side". Although Zhu Yunjiao did not die at his own hands, the fact of usurping the throne was destined to be recorded in the history books. The emperor disappeared, the Yan king Zhu Di sat on the throne of Tianzi, how could the common people not discuss, the history books can be modified, but public opinion cannot be controlled, unless the whole city is killed. If Zhu Di wanted to seek peace of mind, it seemed that going far north was a solution.
The second is that there will be another war in the north of the desert. Although the Ming Dynasty had taken over the country, the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty retreated to the north of the desert and often attacked the Border of Daming. During Zhu Di's reign, five imperial conquests went deep into the desert north, which was enough to see that the Mongol forces still posed a certain threat to the rule of the Ming Dynasty. After the capital was moved, it was equivalent to placing the center of power of daming on the front line, making the imperial court more determined to resist in the face of crisis, and the defense of Beijing during the Ming Yingzong period was the best example. The monarch had no way to retreat, and he was determined to go all out, and "the son of heaven guarding the gate of the country" referred to the matter of Zhu Di's relocation of the capital.
Third, I am afraid that the economic gap between the north and the south will widen. Since the economic center of the Southern and Northern Dynasties moved south, the economy of the South has slowly surpassed the North and formed an irreversible situation, and the Ming Dynasty has set the capital nanjing, which is bound to make the development of Nanjing City and its surrounding cities better and better, after all, at the foot of Tianzi, it is a prosperous faction. After Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, the huge demand for materials led to the development along the canal and also promoted the economic recovery of northern cities.
Four fears of Nanjing's "capital of the fall of the country." Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, many lords of the country have established capital in Nanjing, but they have hardly waited to unify the whole country, and the country has fallen in just a few years. This is not destiny, but it is really impossible to keep. As a natural danger, the Yangtze River is an insurmountable barrier, but insurmountable does not mean that it cannot be overcome, and the growth of the Yangtze River is also the Yangtze River, once it breaks through the natural danger of the Yangtze River, Nanjing will have no danger to defend, which is the fatal weakness. As early as zhu Yuanzhang's reign, he moved his mind to move the capital, and at that time, Xi'an or Luoyang were chosen. Zhu Yuanzhang's "Ancestral Stove Text" mentioned the matter of moving the capital, "I originally wanted to move the capital, but now I am old, my energy is tired, and the world is initially determined, and I don't want to work for the people..." In fact, it is because his favorite son Zhu Biao is dead, and he is unable to extricate himself in grief, and he has no heart to think about moving the capital again.
From the beginning of the relocation of the capital in the first year of Yongle, to the eighteenth year of Yongle, the Forbidden City was completed and the capital was officially moved. During this period, Zhu Dili ignored the public opinion, and did not know how many people who opposed the relocation of the capital were dealt with; opening canals and building a new capital was even more laborious and hurtful to the people. Fortunately, this move was a success, and Daming stayed here for 223 years, with Beijing as a base, the north can attack the outside of the pass, and the south can prevent civil unrest, which is conducive to controlling the political situation of the whole country. Nanjing, as a rich land in Jiangnan and the hometown of fish and rice, Zhu Di gave up comfort for the sake of Jiangshan, and his great talent can be seen.