There is a figure in the Ming Dynasty, he has not been an emperor, but he has been a prince for twenty-four years, and it is worth mentioning that during his tenure as a prince, none of the other 25 emperors dared to compete with him for the position of prince. Why?
Because they couldn't grab it at all, whether it was Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, or Zhu Di, the more ambitious king of Yan, they all kept to themselves in Zhu Biao's long career as the twenty-four princes, and none of them staged a drama of competing for imperial power.
You must know how many ugly things have happened since ancient times, in the face of the temptation of imperial power, Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty killed the crown prince Li Jiancheng in order to seize the throne, and after the Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the "Nine Kings Seized the Concubine" was mysterious and mysterious...
In the face of a throne, human nature can be described as twisted to the extreme, and how many people will not hesitate to fight for this. Therefore, during Zhu Biao's twenty-four years as a prince, it was a miracle that the princes could be so quiet.
First, Zhu Yuanzhang was overbearing and protective
The most fundamental reason why Zhu Biao was able to hold the position of prince for twenty-four years was the result of Zhu Yuanzhang's domineering protection. Zhu Biao was the eldest son born to Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife Empress Ma. When Zhu Yuanzhang was a small soldier, Empress Ma did not hesitate to marry him and advise him on his future career. Zhu Biao was their first child, and he was also the crown prince who followed Zhu Yuanzhang on his southern expedition to the north for the longest time. Therefore, in his heart, Zhu Biao was the best candidate to inherit the throne.
For this point, Zhu Yuanzhang never wavered, but instead deliberately cleared the way for Zhu Biao's path. In order to train Zhu Biao to become a qualified successor, Zhu Yuanzhang also equipped Zhu Biao with the strongest lineup of teachers, such as: Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Shanchang, Tang He, Deng Yu, Liu Ji and so on. Since Zhu Biao was six years old, Song Lian, the most famous Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty and the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, personally taught and assisted him all the way.
These teachers inherited from Zhu Biao, and Zhu Biao also respected them, and when he grew up, the super strong teacher lineup became the super staff group behind Zhu Biao. Whoever wants to take the throne can weigh his own weight.
In addition to assigning teachers to the prince, Zhu Yuanzhang also personally followed the teachings and often spoke in a serious and long-term manner about the principles of governing the country. In addition, zhu Yuanzhang did not let go of any unfavorable remarks and behaviors against Zhu Biao in the court.
Zhu Yuanzhang used practical actions to overbearingly protect Zhu Biao, so that everyone could see his determination to identify Zhu Biao as the only heir, and the ministers did not dare to have doubts. The other princes also had some scruples in their hearts after seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's practice of killing chickens and monkeys to support Zhu Biao. If it weren't for the brain convulsions, who wouldn't want to let the prince live in fine clothes and go to fight against his father who was determined to kill and commit betrayal?
Second, the Zhu Biao that should not be underestimated
Zhu Yuanzhang passed on his administrative experience to Zhu Biao one by one, and he was full of ardent expectations for him. Zhu Biao, too, never let him down.
In terms of temperament, compared with Zhu Yuanzhang's brutality, Zhu Biao is gentle, kind, and very benevolent. This is also one of the reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang likes him, he is fierce enough, but he does not want his son to be like himself, Zhu Biao attaches great importance to feelings, understands etiquette, and has a kind heart, which has formed a distinct complement with him.
Compared to the brothers killing each other, Zhu Biao is a person who values brotherhood. He was very friendly to the other brothers, and in the hearts of the princes, he was also convinced of his ability and conduct.
His imperial brothers such as Zhu Zhu and Zhu Zhuo had made many mistakes, and once provoked Zhu Yuanzhang to be angry and wanted to severely punish and abolish their throne, but it was Zhu Biao who stepped forward to mediate and absolve these brothers of their guilt.
People's hearts are long flesh, Zhu Biao has won a good reputation with his benevolence, has such a good big brother, plus the strength behind it, what reason do other brothers have to compete for the throne.
This is also where Zhu Biao is smart, his father Zhu Yuanzhang has already fallen into a brutal image in everyone's mind, if he is like him, he will not wait for the day of succession to the throne and will be spurned by hundreds of officials, and the brothers cannot be so harmonious.
During Zhu Biao's tenure as crown prince, each emperor had his own domain, and in normal times, the kings of the various clans could not return to the capital without Zhu Yuanzhang's will. The clan kings have their own military powers, but they can only use them when there is a foreign invasion, and they do not have much power at other times.
Zhu Biao, as a qualified shoucheng prince, repeatedly saved his brother under Zhu Yuanzhang's butcher's knife, so his prestige among his brothers was also very high. Also, the group of staff behind Zhu Biao was the princeling party left to him by Zhu Yuanzhang. Each weight is not light, such as Blue Jade, Chang Kai and others, are all Great Ming ministers, Zhu Biao can drive slaves to them, and the ability to prove is not weak.
Historically, few emperors have been able to let the crown prince participate in government affairs during the current dynasty, because it would pose a threat to the power of the emperor. However, Zhu Yuanzhang, a workaholic founding prince, was able to let Zhu Biao handle government affairs, and it has to be said that the trust and dependence on him is unparalleled.
Zhu Biao presided over the imperial government for fifteen years, and almost did not let Zhu Yuanzhang have public dissatisfaction with him, let alone the intention of replacing the crown prince. It can be seen from this that Zhu Biao's handling of people and other aspects has made him very satisfied.
3. The lucky star born to Empress Ma
Before Zhu Yuanzhang made his fortune, Bigfoot Ma Xiuying did not dislike him for being poor or caring that he was just a small soldier at the time, but instead shared his hardships and hardships with him and created an imperial cause. Shortly after the marriage, in 1355 AD, zhu Biao, was born, and in that year, Zhu Yuanzhang was already 27 years old.
At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang attacked Nanjing twice, and the battle was fiercely fought and ended in failure. In October of that year, when the news of the birth of the eldest son Zhu Biao came, Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy, and immediately carved a stone on a nearby mountain: "Those who come to this mountain will not suffer from heirs." ”
Not long after, he led his troops to attack Nanjing for the third time, and it was really successful. After the attack, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians surrendered to him at once, and this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's strength increased greatly, laying a very crucial foundation for him to establish the Ming Dynasty in the future. From a certain point of view, in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, Zhu Biao is his lucky star.
When Zhu Biao was twelve years old, Zhu Yuanzhang was called the King of Wu, and soon after, Zhu Biao was made the son of the world. When Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and ascended the throne, he followed the system of succession between the western years and made his eldest son Zhu Biao the crown prince. The succession system clarifies that the heir to the throne must be the eldest son of the concubine, and only after the death of the eldest son, other princes have the opportunity to inherit.
As soon as the inheritance system of "having a concubine and not having a concubine" was promulgated, Zhu Yuanzhang demanded that future generations follow it. It can be said that whether Zhu Yuanzhang established this system or not, Zhu Biao was a firm successor in his mind. After the establishment of the primogeniture system, it only further guaranteed Zhu Biao's status.
4. Summary
It can be said that Zhu Biao's road to the crown prince can be described as smooth sailing, his father is overbearing and protective, the brothers get along harmoniously, he has hardly encountered any setbacks, has not experienced a single wave, and the only regret is that he has not yet waited for the day when he inherits the great cause of Daming but left the world early.
After Zhu Biao's death, his son Zhu Yunjiao became Zhu Yuanzhang's new hope. However, Zhu Yuanzhang still underestimated the ambitions of his sons, and after his death, Zhu Yunjiao took the throne, Zhu Di's ambitions were no longer hidden, and he jumped out as soon as he seized the opportunity, and the result was already well known. These are all afterwords.