As the initiator of the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Di's approach to his eldest brother's wife and children after he captured the capital and seized the throne was simply unacceptable to his eldest brother's wife and children.
According to historical records, Zhu Di's eldest brother Zhu Biao had six sons and four daughters, of whom the eldest son, the sixth son, and the third daughter all died prematurely. The Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao was Zhu Biao's second son, and after Zhu Di led his troops to attack Nanjing, Zhu Yunjiao disappeared, and Zhu Yunjiao's eldest son was also missing, and the second son was placed under house arrest in Fengyang by Zhu Di.
Later, for Zhu Biao's third and fourth sons, Zhu Di demoted them, and within a few months, he demoted the two to shuren, and closely monitored the two and their heirs, and even found the opportunity to execute Zhu Biao's third son, Zhu Yunxi, as Zhu Biao's fifth son, because of his young age at the time, Zhu Di could not punish him, so he let him go with his mother to the mausoleum of Prince Yiwen to live, and soon after Zhu Yunxi's residence suddenly caught fire, Zhu Yunxi and his mother died in the fire.
Zhu Di can not be said to be cruel to his eldest brother's wife and children, according to reason, the struggle for power should not involve innocent women, but Zhu Di is indifferent to this, for the daughter of the eldest brother Zhu Biao, Zhu Di has not let go at all, Zhu Di soon after ascending the throne, Zhu Biao's eldest daughter Princess Jiangdu's husband was impeached, and finally forced the Jiangdu princess family to commit suicide. Zhu Biao's second daughter, the Yilun monarch, was married shortly after Zhu Di ascended the throne. And Zhu Biao's youngest princess, the Monarch of Nanping, has very few records in the historical records, only knowing that she was not married, and finally died of depression.
It can be said that Zhu Di exhausted all means in order to stabilize his position, and he could be said to have lost his conscience for his eldest brother's wife and children. Zhu Biao, as Zhu Di's eldest brother, is very friendly and loves people, and can be said to have paid a sincere heart to his brothers. Whenever his brother made a mistake, Zhu Biao would intercede for him and protect him. Zhu Di had also received a lot of care from his eldest brother Zhu Biao, but after Zhu Di became emperor, it was really infuriating that he could treat his eldest brother's wife and children so cruelly.
In order to realize his ambition to become emperor, Zhu Di rebelled under the slogan of "Qing Jun's side, Jingguo is difficult". During the pacification of Zhu Di, Zhu Yunjiao repeatedly ordered not to kill his uncle. However, Zhu Di was not so merciful, and after he captured Nanjing, he went on a killing spree and slaughtered all the old Jianwen ministers who were loyal to Zhu Yunjiao. However, Zhu Di, who was seeking power and usurping the throne, was not at ease, and in order to consolidate his rule, he chose to kill all the wives and children of his eldest brother and nephew to avoid any trouble. From the day Zhu Di succeeded to the throne, the end of Zhu Biao's wife and children also came, and after taking the throne, Zhu Di took various ways to eliminate Zhu Biao's wives and children one by one, and did whatever it took to stabilize his political power.
Zhu Di's approach is infuriating, but from the perspective of the general environment of China's ancient autocratic system, there is nothing to do. Zhu Di's approach is indeed controversial, but for his time, why is such a thing more than a minority? Zhu Di is by no means the only one who chooses unscrupulous means for the sake of rights and interests, but only because of his status, Zhu Di's behavior will attract attention, making people feel that he is inevitably too cruel and difficult to accept.