In 1402, Zhu Di ousted his nephew Zhu Yunjiao from the throne and ascended the throne as emperor.
It is said that when Zhu Di was young, his father Zhu Yuanzhang once made an evaluation: "Di'er is like me." "Zhu Di, this child, like me!" And the various qualities that Zhu Di showed when he grew up—from the bravery and martial arts when he guarded the Yan land in Zhen, to the adventurous advance when he sent troops to Jing, to the brutality of ascending the throne as empress," there was indeed a bit of Zhu Yuanzhang's shadow. And Zhu Di's ruling career, like his father Zhu Yuanzhang, was also full of various praises and controversies. Even from the moment Zhu Di ascended to the throne, he was in the vortex of controversy. What kind of dilemma did he encounter?
Embarrassment of the usurper
In the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), Zhu Di successfully overthrew the rule of Emperor Jianwen after four years of the "Battle of Jingnan", ascended the throne as emperor, and became the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, for Ming Chengzu.
But at this time, the embarrassing thing is that although Zhu Di won the war, he could not win the hearts and minds of the people. Although Zhu Di said that the emperor tried his best to block speech and tamper with the history books, so that it was difficult for future generations to peek into the real situation, through the essay notes and folklore of the people at that time, we can still get a glimpse of his situation at that time.
According to the Ming Dynasty's Gu Qiyuan account, until the chongzhen period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was still a rumor in his hometown: "And the Yan master came to the day, the crying was tremendous, and the ministers either died or fled, and there were several empty court offices." According to the "Relics of Emperor Jianwen", after the city was destroyed at that time, the number of civil and military officials who surrendered was only 100, but 463 people fled.
The numbers may not be precise, but it is certain that most of the ministers of culture and military affairs at that time expressed strong resistance to the new emperor.
This resistance may have come from a moral rejection of the usurper on the one hand, and from a nostalgia for his predecessors, the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao, who, although not long in power, implemented a series of popular new policies during his tenure. For example, the reduction of the national land rent by half, the abolition of the heavy tax in Jiangnan, the layoff of redundant government personnel, and so on have greatly reduced the burden on the people. At the same time, he also leniented the criminal law, changing the "heavy rule of law" in the Hongwu period, when people remembered: "(After the New Deal) sin to the dead, most of them live." Therefore, the Punishment Department and the Metropolitan Inspection Bureau discussed the prisoners, and regarded the past years as reduced by three-thirds. ”
Although Zhu Di's "Battle of Jingnan" was under the guise of "Qing Jun's side", it was essentially a rebellion and usurpation. In the eyes of many subjects, Zhu Di drove away the "predecessor" who was quite virtuous in their minds in an improper way. Under such circumstances, how would the usurper Zhu Di build up his prestige and gain affection?
kill! Brutally dispose of the opposition
After Zhu Di came to power, he published a list of "traitors to the party" with the names of twenty-nine fierce rebels. Jianwen's former ministers Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai were among them. They were all executed by Ling Chi and the Nine Tribes were destroyed. Although only twenty-nine people were listed in the "traitorous party," the actual number of people persecuted was far more than that. At that time, almost all the public protesters could not escape Zhu Di's butcher's knife.
The most sensational was the death of Fang Xiaoru, the old minister of Jianwen. Fang Xiaoru was the teacher and chief adviser of Emperor Jianwen, and a model for the world's readers. After Zhu Di ascended to the throne, he wanted to use his prestige to draft an edict of incumbency for himself in order to gain the approval of the literati community. However, Fang Xiaoru resolutely refused to comply, and angrily rebuked Zhu Di in the main hall, and was eventually accused of the "Ten Tribes"—the relatives of the Nine Tribes plus the eight hundred and seventy-three students were all executed.
When The imperial master Jingqing attempted to assassinate Zhu Di, Zhu Di ordered people to brush off Jingqing's flesh with an iron brush, breaking the bones, and "from his hometown, he turned to climb and dye, called melon vine copying, and the village was a ruin." This kind of "melon copying" is more extensive than the "Ten Tribes", and the slightest connection will lead to sin.
Also with a tragic fate was The Bingbu Shangshu Tie-hyun. During the Battle of Jingnan, he had been in Jinan for three months, forcing Zhu Di to change his route. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he was escorted to Nanjing. Above the main hall, Tie Xuan always faced south and refused to turn around. According to the "Ming Chronicle", Zhu Di was furious and ordered his ears and nose to be cut off, but he still refused to turn around. Zhu Di asked him to cook the severed ears and nose for him to eat, and asked him how it tasted. Tie Hyun replied sharply, "Why are you not willing to be loyal to the filial piety meat!" Zhu Di was extremely angry, first executing him lingchi, and then throwing him into the oil pot, which can be said to be extremely cruel. Tie Hyun's parents were assigned to Hainan, the eldest son was enlisted, the second son was enslaved, and his wife and daughter were also assigned to the Jiaofang Division.
In this way, Zhu Di used cruel and ruthless means to silence the opponents.
reward! Treat supporters warmly
In the eyes of some people, Zhu Di is the "devil". But in the eyes of another part of the people, Zhu Di is an "angel".
After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he made a large-scale reward for the meritorious heroes of the Jing Dynasty.
In the first year of Yongle (1403), Zhu Di rewarded him for his meritorious deeds, and three people, including Yuan Rong, the duke of Madu, were made Hou, and six people, including Chen Mao, were made uncles. The heroes of jingnan, such as Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng, were all made hereditary princes, and even the eunuchs in Nanjing were rewarded. It was precisely by relying on the information provided by these eunuchs that they avoided the frontal encirclement and suppression of the imperial army, sneaked into Nanjing, and seized the throne. Therefore, he relied heavily on these eunuchs, and later set up a special agency to play their role, that is, the secret service organization managed by the eunuchs- Dongchang.
In addition, all the kings who were deposed and imprisoned during the Jianwen period were restored to the throne. They went to the Capital Division to meet the new Tianzi, and Zhu Di gave a large number of rewards at every turn. Zhu Di also issued a special decree to praise those ordinary people who had contributed to the war. The women who assisted the Yan army in defending the city in Beiping and Baoding played a great role in the process of defending the city, and Zhu Di gave rewards at different levels. For example, "The women who transport bricks and stones in Baoding are rewarded with one hundred yuan per penny, one hundred horses of silk, and three pounds of cotton." ”
Of course, there are also people who are not interested in the reward. Yao Guangxiao, the first meritorious servant of the Battle of Jingnan, refused the reward and was willing to retire after his achievement.
defend! Be wary of potential opponents
Whether it is the "devil" side or the "angel" side, everything Zhu Di did was to further consolidate the throne. And if he wants to live for a long time, there is another group that he cannot ignore, that is, his own brothers.
Zhu Di seized the throne as the king of the clan, so he knew the power of the king of the clan after he grew. In order not to let history repeat itself, Zhu Di pointed the spearhead at the kings of the clan who had started a rebellion with him.
The first to be "resettled" was Zhu Quan, the King of Ning. When the Battle of Jingnan was first launched, in order to gain his full support, Zhu Di once wrote him a blank check - "When things are done, the world is divided." However, after the successful usurpation of the throne, Zhu Di never mentioned the matter again. Zhu Quan was a man of understanding, and he did not have any delusions, but only asked for another fief. His previous fiefdom was in the north, and now he wants to change to the south. He proposed to Zhu Di that he wanted to go to Suzhou, but Zhu Di would not allow it. He also proposed to go to Qiantang, but Zhu Di did not allow it. Finally, in February of the first year of Yongle (1403), Zhu Quan was renamed Nanchang. Shortly after Nanchang, Zhu Quan was reported for using witchcraft to harm people. Zhu Di ordered people to conduct a secret visit, because no evidence was found, so it was not done. But since then, Zhu Quan has been more cautious in his words and deeds, building a study hall and playing the piano and reading all day.
Compared with other clan kings, Zhu Quan was undoubtedly lucky. At least Zhu Di also left him a fief, and some of the other clan kings were directly promoted to shuren.
In May of the fourth year of Yongle (1406), he stripped him of his title and official titles, and in August, he deposed him as a Shuren.
In the sixth year of Yongle (1408), he stripped the officials and guards of the Min King.
In the tenth year of Yongle (1412), he cut off the officials and guards of the Liao king.
In the nineteenth year of Yongle (1421), he cut off the guard of the King of Zhou.
Under Zhu Di's strong slashing of the domain, the clan group gradually lost its original military and political strength, and from then on it went downhill.
As a usurper with a weak mass base, Zhu Di used various means to cover up his inner uneasiness. However, compared to his cruelty and fierceness, no matter how thick his reward is, how many people can treat Zhu Di, who is holding a butcher's knife, as an "angel"?!