In ancient times, in order to ascend to the supreme throne, every change of imperial power was a history of bloody battles, and some brothers did not hesitate to kill each other for the throne, and fathers and sons turned against each other. For example, the "Xuanwumen Revolution" launched by Li Shimin, and the "Battle of Jingnan" launched by Zhu Di
It is undeniable that both of them are heroic and ambitious heroes, Li Shimin created the "Rule of Zhenguan" and Zhu Di created the "Yongle Prosperous Era". But why was it that li shimin was praised by posterity for the same usurpation of power and throne, but Zhu Di had so many people scolding him? The reasons are nothing more than the following:
The first point: the merits are not the same Li Shimin for the Tang was born into death, the southern conquest of the northern war, the destruction of Wang Shichong, the collection of Wagangzhai, the pacification of the eighteen-way anti-king, for the establishment of the Tang Dynasty has made an immortal contribution, it can be said that more than half of the Tang Dynasty's Jiangshan was laid down by Li Shimin, it is reasonable to say that even if he is crowned as the prince, it is not too much, the crown prince Li Jiancheng is just sitting on the advantage of the eldest son of the concubine, so later even if the throne is seized, everyone feels that it is a thing returned to the original owner, just to get back what belongs to themselves. And the Rivers and Mountains of the Ming Dynasty were all beaten down bit by bit by Zhu Yuanzhang and the crown prince Zhu Biao and his brothers, and Zhu Di was still just a toddler at that time.
The second point: the means are different, you must know that the person who planned the "Xuanwumen Change" at that time was the crown prince Li Jiancheng. He felt that Li Shimin's prestige and influence in the government and the opposition were too great, and he had already posed a serious threat to his position as crown prince, so he took the initiative to be strong, and conspired with Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, to lead his troops to ambush inside the Xuanwu Gate and prepare to attack and kill Li Shimin, and Li Shimin's connections were wide, and he had already received the news that he had bought the Xuanwu Gate garrison to make a plan, and led the troops to kill Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji in the Xuanwu Gate battle, which belonged to self-protection.
On the other hand, Zhu Di was not willing to be an idle prince, disregarded the country and the people, and openly disobeyed the will of The Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang to withdraw his domain for his own power, and rebelled under the banner of "Qing Jun's side" to rob his nephew of the throne, which was enough to make the people of the world criticize.
The third point: The impact of different "Xuanwumen changes" was only a small area, except for Li Shimin's two brothers, there were only a few hundred soldiers, and there was no impact on the country and the people.
Zhu Di fought for four years in the "Battle of Jingnan" launched for his own selfish purposes, and beat the north to thousands of miles and deserted people. Millions of civilians and soldiers were killed or wounded during this period. This caused the vitality of the newly established Ming Dynasty to be seriously injured. Zhu Di even burned the city of Nanjing and slaughtered the entire imperial palace and the descendants of the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao. He even tortured Fang Xiaoru, who refused to submit to him, and tortured the "Ten Tribes", which was also a major stain on Zhu Di's later life.