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Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was born at the bottom of society, and his childhood fate was very tragic, and his parents and siblings almost died in the famine at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. For family affection, the early Zhu Yuanzhang was very lacking, and the only living relatives were only his nephew Zhu Wenzheng and nephew Li Wenzhong.
Zhu Wen was the son of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest brother Zhu Xinglong (formerly known as Zhu Zhongwu), and Li Wenzhong was the son of Zhu Yuanzhang's sister Princess Cao Guochang (posthumously), and this nephew was once Zhu Yuanzhang's emotional sustenance and was raised by Zhu Yuanzhang himself.
(Portrait of Li Wenzhong)
Once, Zhu Yuanzhang regarded Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong as his own, and Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong were both founding heroes who helped Zhu Yuanzhang lay the foundation for the world, but their endings were completely different - his nephew Zhu Wenzheng was depressed under house arrest, and his nephew Li Wenzhong was a high-ranking official houjue before his death, and he was entitled to the Taimiao Temple after his death.
So, why is Zhu Yuanzhang so generous to one over the other? What kind of ulterior secrets are hidden behind this? And listen to the author slowly.
Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong had both made great achievements in the creation of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Wen was defending Hongdu with a mere 40,000 people to resist Chen Youyi's 600,000 troops, while Li Wenzhong had made great contributions in the great battles of pacifying Jiangnan and conquering the Northern Yuan.
The turning point in the fate of the two was neither sooner nor later, precisely before Zhu Yuanzhang was about to become emperor.
(Zhu Wenzheng stills)
In the twenty-fifth year of Zhizheng (1365 AD), Zhu Wenzheng was placed under house arrest by Zhu Yuanzhang until his death, and in the twenty-sixth year of Zhizheng (1366 AD), Li Wenzhong was made Ronglu Dafu by Zhu Yuanzhang and Pingzhangshi of Zhejiang Province.
Of course, whether it is a reward or a penalty, a reasonable reason must be given. Zhu Yuanzhang sealed Li Wenzhong on the grounds that he had achieved outstanding results during the crusade against Zhang Shicheng, while Zhu Yuanzhang put Zhu Wenzheng under house arrest on the grounds that he was trying to defect to Zhang Shicheng.
It is true that this is indeed a fact to a certain extent, Zhu Wenzheng is indeed not as cautious and low-key as Li Wenzhong, and it is true that he is arrogant and arrogant in his military discipline, but his attempt to defect to Zhang Shicheng was not his intention, but he was forced by Zhu Yuanzhang to be helpless when he was cornered.
Zhu Yuanzhang painstakingly arranged all this, and the logic behind it is very worth exploring.
(Zhu Yuanzhang stills)
To guess Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions, first clarify a few time points. In 1328, Zhu Yuanzhang was born; in 1336, Zhu Wenzheng was born; in 1339, Li Wenzhong was born; in 1355, Zhu Biao was born; in 1364, Zhu Yuanzhang was called King wu; in 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang was proclaimed emperor.
That is to say, Zhu Yuanzhang did not have his first son until he was 28 years old, Zhu Wenzheng was 19 years older than Zhu Biao, and Li Wenzhong was 16 years older than Zhu Biao. When Zhu Yuanzhang became king, Zhu Wenzheng was 29 years old, Li Wenzhong was 26 years old, and Zhu Biao was only 10 years old.
(Note:
This article deals with age, according to the old custom, all use imaginary age)
Compared with the Tang Dynasty, the reason why Li Shimin was able to kill his brother and force his father and usurp the throne was not only because he was the son of the founding emperor Li Yuan, but also because he accumulated military achievements and prestige in the process of founding the Tang Dynasty. Although Zhu Yuanzhang had 26 sons, none of them had made military achievements because he was still young before the founding of the People's Republic of China. Therefore, Li Yuan was jealous of his son, while Zhu Yuanzhang was jealous of his adopted son.
According to the ancient Chinese etiquette system, heirs and heirs are often complementary, and heirs and children have the same status as parents and children for inheriting the throne. Even if Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong had not performed the succession ceremony, in the eyes of the world, they were Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted sons.
(Portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang)
On the one hand, there is the adopted son who is in his prime and has made great achievements in battle, and on the other side is the young and ignorant and foundationless son, Zhu Yuanzhang, even if he does not worry about his adopted son seizing power with himself, must also worry about the adopted son and his own son competing for the throne. This is the real reason why Zhu Yuanzhang killed his heart.
Zhu Yuanzhang eventually destroyed his nephew Zhu Wenzheng and left his nephew Li Wenzhong behind because Zhu Wenzheng was a greater threat than Li Wenzhong. Because, Zhu Wenzheng's surname is Zhu.
As mentioned above, Zhu Wen is the son of Zhu Zhongwu, the eldest brother of Zhu Yuanzhang, that is, the eldest grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang's father, Zhu Wusi, which is a natural identity advantage in the ancient times when there was a difference between concubines and children. This advantage is especially evident in the succession to reunification.
Li Wenzhong's situation is much safer. First of all, in ancient times, when men were inferior to women, nephews were originally one level farther away than nephews. More importantly, unlike Zhu Wenzheng's father, who died early, Li Wenzhong's father Li Zhen not only lived until the eleventh year of Hongwu, but also was an important founding hero of the Ming Dynasty. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zhenguan was promoted to Ronglu Dafu, founding auxiliary yun Tuicheng Xuanli Wuchen, Right Pillar State, and the Duke of Cao.
Li Zhenjian is the best protection for Li Wenzhong. First, when Zhu Yuanzhang was a child, his relatives were very poor, and only his brother-in-law Li Zhen's family could still eat enough and often helpEd Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang received the favor of Li Zhen in his early years, and he was grateful to his brother-in-law all his life, and he naturally had to take extra care of Li Wenzhong. Second, Li Zhen is still alive, which means that Li Wenzhong cannot really pass on to Zhu Yuanzhang, which also makes Li Wenzhong lose the opportunity to legitimately compete for the throne. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang needed to keep Li Wenzhong to continue to conquer the remnants of the Northern Yuan.
However, there is a historical fact that needs to be emphasized that when Zhu Yuanzhang raised his nephew in his early years, he changed his name to Zhu Wenzhong, but before Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he deliberately changed Zhu Wenzhong back to The surname of Li, and his intention is self-evident.
In the third year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang was awarded the title of meritorious servant, and Li Wenzhong was listed as one of the "Six Founding Dukes of the Ming Dynasty", becoming a founding hero with the same name as Xu Da and Li Shanchang. At this time, Zhu Wenzheng had been dead for many years.
In summary, the different endings of Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong are due to their personality and differences in merit and fault, but in the final analysis, it is Zhu Yuanzhang's intentional arrangement to seek advantages and avoid harms. In Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, no matter how close the nephew is, he is not as close as his son, and when the existence of the nephew may threaten the smooth succession of the son, he must die. This is Zhu Yuanzhang's logic.
Resources:
History of the Ming Dynasty