According to historical records, Akihito Zhu Gaozi grew up in a quiet and tired state, was obese, and was said to have a foot disease, needed two internal servants to help him to walk, and always stumbled. For Zhu Di, the ming ancestor of martial arts all his life, Zhu Gaozi, who was weak and had a poor image, was not his satisfactory successor.
But the selection of the prince is not a beauty pageant, and the emphasis is on ability and virtue, not appearance. Zhu Gao was so fat that he couldn't walk fast, which did not mean that he was disqualified from inheriting the throne because of this, and the criterion of judging people by appearance made no sense. Kangxi was still full of numbness.
After Zhu Yuanzhang restored the Han family world, he tried his best to restore the Han family etiquette system, and this governing concept was inherited by Zhu Di. Of course, it also includes the primogeniture system in the imperial succession system. Zhu Gaozi was the eldest son of Zhu Di, and according to Zhu Yuanzhang's "Ancestral Training of the Emperor Ming", he should be the crown prince.
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Therefore, birth was a key factor in Zhu Gaozi's appointment as crown prince.
Of course, Zhu Di was a powerful figure, plus he himself was also in an improper position, not the eldest son, but became the emperor. Therefore, he himself violated the "Ancestral Precepts of the Emperor ming" and set a precedent. In this way, if he did not follow Zhu Yuanzhang's rules, he would not have much psychological pressure.
And Zhu Di was born as a military general and fought on the battlefield all year round, and it is estimated that he will not have much good feelings for Zhu Gaozi, a fat man who even struggles to walk. On the contrary, the second son, Zhu Gaoxu, was brave and martial, and had the style of Zhu Di when he was young. Especially after the uprising and the difficulties, Zhu Gaoxu and his father Zhu Di fought together on the battlefield, life and death, and the feelings formed in this context were even deeper.
From personal preference alone, Zhu Di prefers Zhu Gaoxu. But in the end, he still chose Zhu Gaozi, because he knew that Zhu Gaozi was his best son.
Although Zhu Gaozi's body is average, his brain is good.
This man is heavy and calm, wise and foolish, not only has strong administrative ability, but also has excellent moral character. Whether it was Zhu Dijing's difficult southern expedition or the northern expedition, Zhu Gaozi kept everything in order in the rear, and could not find any defects at all.
For example, when Zhu Di took Zhu Gaoxu to raise an army to calm down, Zhu Gaoxu stayed in Beijing. As a result, the city of Beijing was besieged by a 500,000-strong army of Li Jinglong, a general under Emperor Jianwen. At that time, Zhu Gaozi only had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, and if ordinary people had faced such a scene, it was estimated that they would have surrendered long ago.
It should be known that at that time, Emperor Jianwen sent a letter to Zhu Gaozi to let him kill his relatives in righteousness, and then promised not to pursue responsibility, and also to give him the title of king of the split land. However, Zhu Gaozi did not betray his father, and at the same time led the army to defend the city of Beijing and protect Zhu Di's old lair.
Otherwise, no matter how brave Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu are, they will inevitably be drawn from the bottom of the pot. Therefore, in the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Gaozi's contribution was indispensable. Its role is comparable to Liu Bang's Xiao He and Cao Cao's Xiahou Huan. This alone was enough to make him sit firmly in the position of prince.
In the middle of his subsequent princely career, Zhu Gaozi's performance was equally remarkable. During Zhu Di's expeditions, he was generally in charge of the country as a crown prince. It not only organized the internal politics, but also ensured the supply of grain for Zhu Di's southern conquests and northern wars for many years. Zhu Di's Yongle prosperity has half the credit of Zhu Gaozi.
Of course, in addition to his ability, Zhu Gaozi's virtue was also excellent, which could be seen from his temple number of Akihito. After he ascended the throne and became emperor, he changed Zhu Di's practice of daxing and war, but chose to rest and recuperate with the people. It was precisely these decisions of Zhu Gaozi that created the situation of "the rule of benevolence." This point seems to be very similar to the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, when the Implementation of the Huang Lao Doctrine of "Rule by Doing Nothing" enabled the people to recuperate and recuperate, and only then did the "rule of Wenjing" of the Western Han Dynasty be created.
And when he was the crown prince, in the face of the jealousy and exclusion of his younger brother Zhu Gaoxu, he showed his brother's demeanor and always repaid his grievances with virtue, which Zhu Di saw in his eyes. Zhu Di knew very well that this trait in Zhu Gaozi's body was destined to be a generation of Ming Jun in the future.
Of course, it may be a bit vague to say this, after all, no one knows what Zhu Di thinks. However, at least one thing is certain, Zhu Gaozi's virtue and prestige won the support of many important ministers in the DPRK at that time. Unlike the two younger brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaoxuan, who had been following his father's side for many years and were eager to kill, the crown prince Zhu Gaoxu was studious and progressive, and his masters were sanyang (Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Yang Pu) and Huang Huai, who later entered the cabinet of Ren, Xuan, and Huang Huai, and others.
For example, when he was first established as the crown prince, the university scholars Xie Jin and Huang Huai supported Zhu Gaozi. The university scholar Xie Jin even said in front of Zhu Di' face:
"The son of the world is loyal and respectful of benevolence and filial piety, the world is not heard, and the lord is also kept, and the growth is a chaotic way"
This means that everyone in the world knows that Zhu Gaozi, benevolent and filial piety, and the candidate for the lord of shoucheng, may not be detrimental to the imperial court if he does not stand up.
And these people are all important ministers under Zhu Di, and their opinions must be considered by Zhu Di. Since the abolition of Zhongshu Province and the Chancellor of the Ming Dynasty, the Cabinet has always been the highest organ connecting the Emperor and his subjects, and all the decisions of the Cabinet cannot be easily rejected by the Emperor, not to mention that the orderly and well-defined system of feudal society restricts him to a certain extent.
If not, he would have to change another set of administrative teams for Zhu Gaoxu, just as Zhu Yuanzhang killed the founding heroes after the death of the crown prince Zhu Biao, in fact, he cut off the threat for Zhu Yunxiu and updated the system for him. At first, Zhu Yuanzhang did not have a choice, but this time Zhu Di obviously had a better choice.
In fact, Zhu Di did not have much opinion on Zhu Gaozi as the crown prince. The only thing he was worried about was Zhu Gaozi's body, which was fat and sickly, and he was not sure when he would hang up. That's why he said to Zhu Gaoxu, "Work hard, the crown prince is not in good health and has many diseases." ”
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It can also be seen from this sentence that Zhu Di wants Zhu Gaoxu to be the backup tire of the prince, not to replace it.
However, this only concern was also solved by Xie Jin with the three words "good saint sun". Zhu Gaozi's son Zhu Zhanji was a powerful figure. This emperor's eldest grandson liked Zhu Di when he was young, and his appearance gave Zhu Di a reassuring pill. Because even if Zhu Gaozi is not in good health, his grandson can also make up for it, and he is the future of the Ming Dynasty. And if he did not make Zhu Gaozi the crown prince, then Zhu Zhanji would lose the qualification to inherit the throne, which was obviously not what Zhu Di wanted to see.
Because of Zhu Zhanji's existence, Zhu Di designated a successor for Zhu Gaozi in the next generation, which was actually equivalent to some restrictions and deprivation of Zhu Gaozi's future power as emperor. In the second year after Zhu Di himself became emperor, that is, in the second year of Yongle, he announced zhu Gaoji as crown prince, and in the eighth year of Yongle, he declared Zhu Zhanji the emperor's grandson, and often pointed at Zhu Zhanji in front of Zhu Gaoji and said, "This is the future Taiping Tianzi." ”
In November of the ninth year, he was made the emperor's grandson and crowned. Self-righteous, the patrol is obedient. Hu Guang, a scholar of the Imperial Household, and others, lectured on the history of scripture for taisun in the army. Ren Zong said: "This day he Taiping Tianzi also." ”
This means that it is very clear, even if Zhu Gaoxu died in front of Zhu Di, it would be Zhu Zhanji who would succeed to the throne, and it would not be Zhu Gaoxu.
Therefore, considering the above factors, Zhu Di finally chose the eldest son Zhu Gaoxu instead of the second son Zhu Gaoxu, whom he preferred.