The "History of Ming" records that late one night in the thirty-first year of Hongwu, Zhu Di, who was still the King of Yan, was in trouble. He had a very strange dream, in which Zhu Yuanzhang, who had died, was silent for a long time, and then handed him a piece of jade gui and instructed him to "pass on the descendants of the descendants, forever and forever."
Yu Gui, one of the six jades, is one of the symbols of imperial power, and this dream seems to be a metaphor for something.
Zhu Di couldn't help but wake up from his dream, and suddenly heard the bustle outside the door, when a subordinate hurriedly came to report: "Congratulations to the King of Yan for having a happy eldest grandson!" ”
Hearing this, Zhu Di was suddenly shocked, reality was so compatible with the dream, he immediately got up and went to the Shizi Mansion to see this child with extraordinary destiny, that is, Zhu Zhanji, the Ming Xuanzong who later founded the rule of Ren Xuan.
Zhu Zhanji's birth and the fate of the Ming Dynasty
For feudal monarchs, the prophecy of the Mandate of Heaven was extremely lethal. Zhu Zhanji's birth strengthened one of Zhu Di's determinations to launch the Battle of Jingnan.
When crown prince Zhu Biao was alive, Wen De was kind and generous, and he was the son of Empress Ma, and all kinds of advantages made Zhu Di have no chance to speak of, but this short-lived man died before he took the throne. Finally gave Zhu Di a chance.
Heartbroken, Zhu Yuanzhang had to calm down to face the problem of Li Chu, and it was rumored that he had also deliberately chosen Zhu Di and issued an exclamation of "Xiao I, King of Yan", but when he saw Zhu Yunjiao running day and night for his seriously ill father, his heart was soft, and he wanted to pass the throne to Zhu Yunjiao.
The matter of Li Chu hesitated, and the former King Wuling of Zhao was torn between the eldest son and the beloved son, which not only destroyed the name of the first emperor, but also led to the two sons competing with each other in the civil strife of Zhao, weakening the strength of the country.
Zhu Yuanzhang made the same mistake. Although Zhu Yunjiao's position as crown prince was quickly determined, the seeds of hatred were planted in Zhu Di's heart.
No matter what era the rebellion was a major event that gambled on the life of the whole family, Zhu Di did not dare to act rashly, and has been lying dormant and recuperating. And Zhu Zhanji's birth gave him great courage. He firmly believes that the victory of this struggle will belong to him.
He was crowned as the emperor's eldest grandson
Judging from the historical results, Zhu Di succeeded, which undoubtedly made him more convinced of what he said in his dream. Bringing him Fury's Zhu Zhan gene has been valued and favored by him. From an early age, he stayed around and raised his education.
Zhu Zhanji did not disappoint Zhu Di, and he was extremely intelligent since he was a child, quite a dragon and phoenix posture. History books record that he was "intellectually outstanding." Not only that, he was also a good seedling practicing martial arts, and he was already good at riding and shooting at a young age.
Such an excellent grandson made Zhu Di very satisfied, but he did not make him the eldest grandson of the emperor for a long time.
Life is always repeating the same mistakes, Zhu Di is also faced with the difficult choice of Li Chu, his eldest son Zhu Gaoxu, although he is respectful and kind, is not his favorite child, and the younger son Zhu Gaoxu is his favorite candidate.
Zhu Gaoxu is also a rare talent, very brave and martial, quite Zhu Yuanzhang's style. However, Zhu Gaozi had a fat head and big ears, and his appearance was not proud, and Zhu Di even felt that he was not his own son.
During the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Gaoxu was extremely valued, charging forward and sacrificing his life to save his father, while Zhu Gaoxu was only assigned to stay in the rear. Zhu Di was able to plot a successful rebellion, and Zhu Gaoxu could be said to have contributed an indispensable contribution.
Zhu Di's beloved grandson Zhu Zhanji was born to Zhu Gaozi, and in this case, it was difficult for him to decide who was the heir to the throne, so he did not determine the candidate for the crown prince for a long time.
In this way, in the early years of Yongle, a huge dispute over the establishment of the reserves was launched in the court of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaoxu each had a faction of power in the court, and they were evenly matched, and they could not stand each other, and Zhu Di was also extremely troubled.
The history books record that in order to select the final heir, Zhu Di once secretly consulted with the chancellor Xie Jin, who did not answer Zhu Di's question head-on, but suddenly mentioned "Good Saint Sun." ”
This seemingly simple sentence woke up Zhu Di.
The "good saint sun" is referring to Zhu Zhanji. Zhu Di thought of Zhu Zhanji, whom he had painstakingly cultivated, and his thesis and martial arts were above Zhu Gaoxu, and his personality was also rigid and soft, which was undoubtedly the talent of the emperor.
In the second year of Yongle, Zhu Di issued an edict and took Zhu Gaozi to the capital Nanjing and made him crown prince. And Zhu Zhanji has since become a veritable imperial grandson.
From then on, Zhu Di directly took Zhu Zhanji to his side, inseparable from him, and taught him the way of the king.
Zhu Di's love for Zhu Zhanji had already surpassed that of the crown prince Zhu Gaozi. During Yongle's conquest of the Mongols in the eighth year, Zhu Gaozi was left behind to handle government affairs, while Zhu Zhanji was taken north by Zhu Di all the way to Beiping.
Beiping was Zhu Di's home and an important barrier to the northern battlefield, and after Zhu Di usurped the throne, it became the foundation of his power, and Zhu Zhanji was placed here for self-evident purpose, and later officially honored here as the emperor's grandson.
Hasty ascension to the throne to fight the rebel party
Like Zhu Yunjiao at that time, Zhu Zhanji also grew up with peace of mind under the protection of such a brave grandfather, but what awaited him was also an uncle who was eager for imperial power.
The failure of the position of prince has always been Zhu Gaoxu's heart disease, and he does not want to regain the position that should belong to him all the time, but Zhu Di is still alive, and he has to restrain his strength and prepare for the momentum.
He had been patient for many years, and once, he found an opportunity to frame his eldest brother Zhu Gaozi, but this little trick was quickly recognized by the cunning old fox Zhu Di, and Zhu Gaoxu was almost turned into a common man, but fortunately, Zhu Gaoxu interceded for him and was able to keep the throne.
However, Zhu Gaozi's benevolence not only did not exchange the gratitude of his brothers, but on the contrary, he intensified his revenge.
In the twenty-second year of Yongle, Zhu Di died of an unexpected illness during the Northern Expedition, and Zhu Gaozi took the throne, but he was only emperor for ten months before he died.
At that time, the Ming Dynasty had already moved its capital to Beijing, and Zhu Gaozi's death was very hasty, and Zhu Zhanji was still guarding the town of Nanjing, so he could only hurry north with his horse and whip.
And his uncle Zhu Gaoxu was setting up an ambush on his way, waiting for him to take the bait.
Zhu Zhanji was not the Zhu Yunjiao of that year, he already had a premonition in his heart that when the throne was handed over, someone would definitely obstruct it, so he did not dare to delay a step on the way back to Beijing, was cautious, and quietly sneaked back to the capital.
Zhu Gaoxu waited all the way, but he and Zhu Zhanji's team missed it.
After Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, the first problem he faced was his own uncle.
Although he knew in his heart that Zhu Gaoxu had ill intentions, Zhu Zhanji still respected him and was satisfied with whatever reward he wanted.
Zhu Zhanji is not a fool, Lao Ziyun "will take what he wants, he will give it first." "I know this.
Finally, Zhu Gaoxu, under the extreme expansion, chose to rebel. The Battle of Jingnan was once again staged again on Zhu Di's descendants.
However, Zhu Zhanji was above Zhu Yunjiao, comparable to Tang Taizong at that time. All his previous connivance with Zhu Gaoxu was to accumulate fame, so that Zhu Gaoxu's rebellion would become unknown.
As soon as Zhu Gaoxu made a move, Zhu Zhanji was not soft,And the courtiers of the DPRK also fell to his side, and Zhu Gaoxu, at the suggestion of the strategist Yang Rong, chose to march in person, following the example of Qin Shi Huang in quelling the rebellion of Yan Yi, first not to move the soldiers, but to persuade the rebels to defect.
When he saw that the emperor himself came to the battlefield and announced a heavy reward for the capture of Zhu Gaoxu, the rebels immediately turned into a pot of porridge and finally broke through without attacking.
Zhu Gaoxu was the most rebellious among the kings of the clan, and after Zhu Zhanji finished cleaning him up, the other clan kings all shrank their heads, and many of them handed over their military powers, and Zhu Zhanji completed Zhu Yunji's unfinished task of cutting the clan shortly after he ascended the throne.
Wenzhi martial arts were ruined by their art
After this, the imperial power was firmly in the hands of Zhu Zhanji, who did not live up to the expectations of his grandfather Zhu Di, continued to conquer the north and establish national prestige, the Mongol tribes surrendered under his intimidation, and the jumping Annam region was also suppressed by him many times.
While making these brilliant achievements, Zhu Zhanji began to discover the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty since the beginning of Yongle.
Zhu Yuanzhang was born in poverty, deeply familiar with the suffering of the people, very sympathetic to the people, but Zhu Di did not have such an experience, his life was very smooth, arrogant and arrogant, although during his reign was very great, let the Ming Dynasty dominate Southeast Asia, but also let the people who had just settled down from the war miserable.
Zhu Zhanji decided to abandon Zhu Di's hegemony, focusing on the people's livelihood, canceling the tradition of going to the West, and also gave up the conquest of the Annam region, following the example of Tang Taizong from wuzhi to wenzhi, and began to rest with the people.
Zhu Zhanji's practices are mixed today, some people say that he did the right thing and created the rule of Renxuan, and some people say that he nestled his pockets, which made the Ming Dynasty's hard-won status as a suzerainty shake.
However, the status of the suzerainty is not achieved by sacrificing the weak and the poor, and does not know how to love its own people, and soon the country will not be a country.
Zhu Zhanji's reign was a respite for the Ming Dynasty, but the good times were short-lived, and in addition to the style of Tang Taizong, Zhu Zhanji also had a Song Huizong living in his heart.
Zhu Zhanji has been influenced by art since he was a child, and he prefers poetry and song to poetry and songs, and to sing flowers and make the moon. When the domestic political situation was basically stable, his nerves began to relax and he threw himself into the pursuit of art.
In order to escape the complicated government affairs, he also invented a system, "vote proposal" and "approval red".
Cabinet ministers rely on "votes" to advise the emperor, and then the emperor makes a ruling, that is, "approval of red". This would have been a good way to centralize imperial power, but Zhu Zhanji gave this power to the eunuchs around him.
The eunuch became the supreme judge of state affairs, which was a big joke. It is even better to delegate power to the cabinet.
Another major problem in the Ming Dynasty since Yongle, the eunuch chaos, was not only not contained in Zhu Zhanji, but further deepened. It plagued the Ming Dynasty for nearly 300 years.
This emperor of wenzhi martial arts, virtue and art, eventually destroyed the wisdom.