In feudal dynasties, there are countless examples of brothers turning against each other because of the struggle for the throne. In the face of supreme imperial power, few people care about brotherhood. Therefore, once on the path of competing for imperial power, the victor will mercilessly kill the loser. However, there are exceptions to everything, such as Zhu Gaoxu, the second son of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, who is a surprising "god man".
After The Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, he once called his own princes and grandchildren to the capital to study. Zhu Yuanzhang was born in the grass and went through countless hardships to calm the world. Although he had little culture, he attached great importance to education. In addition, he has great respect for learned people and hopes that his children and grandchildren will be able to learn and succeed.
Therefore, under his encouragement, most of the descendants of the Zhu clan who came to the capital were bent on learning and wanted to leave a good impression in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. In the sound of reading, Zhu Gaoxu, the second son of Zhu Di, the King of Yan, sat like a needle felt. The more he read, the more irritable he felt, so he simply closed the book and laughed with the people around him. Zhu Yuanzhang saw that this grandson was so stubborn, and he couldn't help but frown.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, among the sons born to the fourth son Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu was the most unruly. Zhu Gaoxu's elder brother Zhu Gaoxu was generous in temperament, diligent in learning, and much better than Zhu Gaoxu. In addition, Zhu Gaoxu is a person who goes his own way, he does not mind the attitude of his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang at all, and he still has no interest in learning.
In the thirty-first year of Hongwu (1398), Zhu Yuanzhang died, and the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Yunjiao ascended the throne as emperor, that is, Emperor Jianwen. According to the imperial court regulations, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu, the Yan kings, were required to enter the capital to meet the new emperor. After Zhu Gaoxu came to the capital, he also went to sit with his father at the home of his uncle Xu Huizu. Between the words, Zhu Gaoxu behaved in a debauched manner, and he did not say a single serious thing when he opened his mouth and closed his mouth.
Although Xu Huizu became more and more angry the more he listened, it was not good to accuse his nephew in front of Zhu Di. Later, when there was no one around, he painstakingly persuaded Zhu Gaoxu to let his nephew know something.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaoxu not only did not take his uncle's affection, but stole a good horse from his uncle's family. After that, Xu Huizu cried and laughed, and had to admit that he was unlucky. After stealing his uncle's horse, Zhu Gaoxu decided to ride it back. Along the way, he flaunted his might, holding on to his royal status and not taking anyone seriously. When the common people stopped him, he stepped directly on them; when the officials wanted to examine him, he directly beat people.
When he arrived at Zhuozhou (涿州, in modern Zhuozhou, Hebei Province), he even publicly killed an official at a post. After that, the people in the yamen tried to arrest him, but Zhu Gaoxu revealed his identity without concern. Therefore, the local officials had no choice but to report the matter to the imperial court first. Although Zhu Gaoxu's notoriety spread more and more widely, under zhu Di's protection, he still lived a life of leisure.
In the first year of Jianwen (1399), Zhu Di was very dissatisfied with Emperor Jianwen's policy of cutting down the domain, so he resolutely rebelled. At that time, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was in Nanjing, and Zhu Di's fief was in Beijing. After Zhu Di led the army out on the expedition, he was worried that the city of Beijing would be attacked by a sneak attack, so he wanted a son to stay behind. And the steady Zhu Gaozi is naturally the most suitable candidate.
In this way, Zhu Gaoxu followed his father to the battlefield, and Zhu Gaoxu defended Beijing.
Although Zhu Di took Zhu Gaoxu to fight together, he did not think of letting him help at all.
In the second year of Jianwen (1400), Zhu Di suffered an unprecedented defeat at Dongchang (present-day Liaocheng, Shandong). Emperor Jianwen's army surrounded him and allowed him to rush to the death, but he was never able to break through. Just when Zhu Di was at a loss, the reinforcements led by Zhu Gaoxu arrived in time. Although the war situation this time still ended in Zhu Di's defeat, Zhu Di was finally not in danger of life.
Since then, Zhu Di has looked at Zhu Gaoxu differently.
In the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), Zhu Di once again fought fiercely against the army of Emperor Jianwen. Because the battle lasted for too long, Zhu Di felt very tired. At this time, Zhu Gaoxu led reinforcements to arrive again, which made Zhu Di overjoyed. Looking at his son with a heroic face, Zhu Di said confidently: "For the father, he has no strength, son, you must kill the enemy army!" ”
After saying that, Zhu Di touched his son's strong spine with pity. Probably never been so close to his father, Zhu Gaoxu felt very uncomfortable. He was trying to say a few words to comfort his father, but before he could speak, Zhu Di said softly again, "Your brother Zhu Gaozi is not in good health, you need to cheer up." ”
After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu's mind went blank.
In Zhu Gaoxu's view, his grandfather and father liked the eldest brother very much, although the eldest brother was not in good health and was obese, but if his father became emperor, the position of prince would definitely be that of the eldest brother. Although he also wanted to be emperor, his hopes were too slim.
However, now that my father has hinted at this, he must perform well.
In this battle, Zhu Gaoxu took the lead and fought with all his strength against Emperor Jianwen's army. After a few hours, Zhu Di's army still did not have the advantage, and Zhu Gaoxu gradually felt tired. However, as soon as he remembered his father's words, he gritted his teeth and persevered. In the end, the enemy army was frightened by Zhu Gaoxu's fierceness and fled to Gaozi Port in a hurry. Looking at the enemy troops that had hastily withdrawn, Zhu Di nodded with satisfaction.
After Zhu Di ascended the throne as empress, he repeatedly discussed with his ministers the candidate for the crown prince. Many ministers saw Zhu Di's preference for Zhu Gaoxu, so they wrote to zhu Gaoxu and asked for Zhu Gaoxu to be made crown prince. Although Zhu Di was very happy in his heart, when he thought about it carefully, the eldest son, Zhu Gaozi, was not at fault, and he still couldn't make up his mind. Later, some ministers wrote to him, saying that Zhu Gaozi was very generous in his life, and Emperor Taizu liked him very much when he was alive. Zhu Gaoxu, on the other hand, was brave and brave, lacked composure, and often made mistakes.
Zhu Di weighed it up repeatedly, and finally, in the second year of Yongle (1404), he issued the holy decree to make Zhu Gaozi crown prince.
Zhu Gaoxu had been looking at the position of prince with his eyes, but unexpectedly, after the will came down, he was only crowned as the King of Han, and the fief was still in remote Yunnan. The more he thought about it, the more angry he became, and he said indignantly, "What crime have I committed that I have been banished to such a desolate place?" In order to express his inner dissatisfaction, Zhu Gaoxu refused to go to the fiefdom for a long time.
When he saw his father, Zhu Di, he rightly asked to return to Nanjing. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di laughed bitterly a few times and agreed to his request. Cheng Zu's accommodation to Zhu Gaoxu was originally intended to calm his mind. However, Zhu Gaoxu not only did not restrain himself, but thought that his father really favored him. After that, he often called himself Tang Taizong and constantly said bad things about his brother Zhu Gaozi in front of Chengzu.
Cheng Zu knew that his second son was still unhappy, so in the thirteenth year of Yongle (1415), he changed Zhu Gaoxu's title to Qingzhou (present-day central Shandong Province). In this way, zhu Gaoxu can not only avoid taking the throne, but also often go to see him, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone. But unfortunately, Zhu Gaoxu, who was obsessed with the throne, did not understand his father's good intentions at all.
After receiving the order from Qingzhou to take over the domain, he repeated the same trick and delayed it again and again, and still refused to go to Qingzhou. When Cheng Zu saw that he was so dishonest, he once again issued a holy decree urging him. Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaoxu did not realize the seriousness of the matter at all, and still forgot his father's words. Cheng Zu was a little angry, so he sent someone to inquire about Zhu Gaoxu's situation there.
Soon after, Cheng Zu learned that Zhu Gaoxu not only used items that the emperor could only use without authorization, but also trained soldiers privately.
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di started out by private arms, and he would not fail to see Zhu Gaoxu's purpose. After his subordinates finished reporting, Zhu Di immediately summoned Zhu Gaoxu and scolded him in public with a dog blood sprinkler. In order to punish this rebellious son, Zhu Di first ripped off Zhu Gaoxu's clothes, and then imprisoned him, preparing to abolish his throne and make him a commoner, completely cutting off his desire to seize the throne.
At this time, the loyal Zhu Gaozi took the initiative to intercede for his brother and wanted to save his brother's throne. Deep in love, Zhu Gaozi even cried out. Zhu Di sighed a few times before retracting his fame and sending Zhu Gaoxu to Le'an Prefecture (le'an Prefecture) (present-day Huimin County, Shandong Province). This time, Zhu Gaoxu did not dare to delay any longer. He honestly rushed to Le'an Prefecture and gave birth to Ann for several months.
Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu's behavior had changed, Zhu Di was much relieved. But he still underestimated Zhu Gaoxu's ambitions, and after Zhu Gaoxu settled down in Le'an Prefecture, he began to recruit troops in secret. However, due to the poor secrecy, Zhu Gaozi learned of this news before he could form an army. Therefore, in order to make his brother's prodigal son turn back, Zhu Gaozi wrote many letters of advice and wanted his brother to return to the right path.
But Zhu Gaoxu only agreed on the surface, and in his heart he still did not give up his dream of being an emperor.
In the twenty-second year of Yongle (1424), Chengzu Zhu Di died, and Zhu Gaozi ascended the throne as emperor, that is, Akihito.
After Emperor Renzong ascended the throne, he was very concerned about his younger brother Zhu Gaoxu. He not only crowned Zhu Gaoxu's sons as kings, but also rewarded Zhu Gaoxu with a lot of gold and silver treasures. In Emperor Renzong's view, Zhu Gaoxu was upside down and had no ability to rebel at all. Since this is the case, he is not as generous as he is, after all, he is his own brother.
However, Zhu Gaoxu did not change his heart and wanted to seize the throne by killing the crown prince Zhu Zhanji. In the first year of Hong Xi (1425), Emperor Renzong, who had reigned for only one year, died suddenly. After hearing the news of his brother's death, Zhu Gaoxu was overjoyed and hurriedly arranged for his subordinates to assassinate the crown prince Zhu Zhanji. However, because Zhu Gaoxu's deployment ability was really too poor, Zhu Zhanji was not affected in the slightest. After handling his father's funeral, Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne as emperor, that is, Emperor Xuanzong of Ming.
Emperor Xuanzong was well aware of his uncle Zhu Gaoxu's ambitions, and he followed his father's example and gave Zhu Gaoxu a high reward, hoping to appease this funny uncle.
In the first year of Xuande (1526), Zhu Gaoxu suddenly announced a rebellion and sent people to win over the British gong Zhang Fu, hoping to make Zhang Fu charge for himself. Zhang Fu was a staunch supporter of Xuanzong, and when he heard that Zhu Gaoxu wanted to pull himself along to rebel, he thought at first that he had heard it wrong. After repeatedly ordering people to confirm the news, he did not hesitate to report the matter to Ming Xuanzong.
However, before Emperor Xuanzong could choose a good general, Zhang Fu confidently asked for orders: "Your Majesty, to deal with someone of Zhu Gaoxu's level, it is enough to give 20,000 people to his subjects." Xuanzong did not agree after listening, in his opinion, Zhang Fuyi sent troops, uncle Zhu Gaoxu will definitely be beaten and urine stream, said that if it is not good, he will die on the battlefield.
Therefore, in order to save his uncle's life, Xuanzong decided to personally march and give his uncle a chance. In fact, Zhu Gaoxu's rebellion was only a whim, and it was not well deployed at all. After hearing the news of Emperor Xuanzong's personal conquest, the rebels were in disarray. Therefore, before Emperor Xuanzong came to the front, many of Zhu Gaoxu's subordinates secretly contacted Xuanzong and said that they could arrest Zhu Gaoxu and present it to the imperial court.
Xuanzong suppressed his laughter and did not give the order to attack, but wrote a letter to Zhu Gaoxu, wanting to give his uncle a step down. The gist of the letter was that the reason why Zhu Gaoxu plotted rebellion was entirely due to the instigation of his subordinates, and this was not the intention. As long as Zhu Gaoxu could hand over the instigator, he could forgive him and let him continue to enjoy the treatment of the prince.
But what is speechless is that to this day, Zhu Gaoxu still feels that he can win this battle. He tossed aside Emperor Renzong's letter and sent someone to write a letter of war to Emperor Xuanzong, intending to start a war the next morning. The funny thing is that before tomorrow, Zhu Gaoxu's men wanted to tie him up and offer him to Xuanzong. Zhu Gaoxu was dumbfounded, and while he sent people to surrender to Xuanzong, he planned to escape. However, Zhu Gaoxu's subordinates had already sealed his retreat route. The next day, Zhu Gaoxu came to Xuanzong with his head down and expressed his willingness to surrender.
After Emperor Xuanzong returned victoriously, the ministers wrote letters one after another, suggesting that Zhu Gaoxu be dealt with as a crime of conspiracy. However, Emperor Xuanzong only reduced his uncle Zhu Gaoxu to a commoner and imprisoned him in the capital, and did not take his uncle's life. One day, Xuanzong suddenly remembered this uncle, felt something in his heart, and wanted to visit his uncle. In addition, in order to make his uncle's life better, Xuanzong also brought a lot of gifts. However, the stubborn Zhu Gaoxu's thief heart was not dead, and he took advantage of Xuanzong's lack of preparation to secretly stretch out a leg and trip over Xuanzong.
Xuanzong had good intentions, but unexpectedly, he was tripped by his uncle and fell to the ground. After being lifted up, Xuanzong was very angry. He never imagined that his uncle would be so stubborn. In order to punish Zhu Gaoxu, Emperor Xuanzong had his subordinates prepare a three-hundred-pound vat, and then covered Zhu Gaoxu as a punishment.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaoxu, who was full of brute force, did not succumb to weakness. He pushed the big cylinder up hard, trying to get out of it. Emperor Xuanzong was even more angry when he saw this, and he had charcoal burned under the copper cylinder, hoping to calm down the uncle who was immortal.
In this way, Zhu Gaoxu was roasted alive.
In fact, zhu Gaoxu, who was dumbfounded, although he had brute force in the air, he achieved nothing. Although he had competed with two generations of emperors for the throne, he was unexpectedly forgiven each time. If he hadn't gone too far in the end, he would have been able to spend the rest of his life in peace. But the sad thing is that this prince who has dreamed of being an emperor all his life not only did not become emperor for a day, but also died a very miserable death.
Resources:
[Ming Shi, Benji Fifth, Ming Chengzu I, Ming Shi, Vol. 118, Liechuan No. 6, And kings III, Records of the Imperial Dynasty, Vol. 2, Zongmu II, Biography of Han Shuren]