Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were the two most prominent monarchs of the Ming Dynasty, but what these two had in common was that they ruled the country fiercely, especially those who opposed them, and may be sentenced to death to achieve the purpose of warning. In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang wantonly killed the heroes, the main reason was that he was worried that the young lord would not be able to control these meritorious people, so he went on a killing spree.
Chengzu Zhu Di killed the most of Jianwen's former subjects, but Zhu Di killed more rationally, as long as he obeyed his rule, he would naturally add officials to the knighthood, and those who opposed him would definitely die. "Jingnan" was only the banner of Zhu Di's southward movement, in essence, "rebellion", and at the end of the war, Emperor Jianwen's former courtiers did not care about any reputation, after all, life was more important than anything else, so most people turned to Zhu Di.
Xie Jin, also spelled Dasheng and Ji Shuiren, was one of the three great talents of the Ming Dynasty and held a very high status in history, because he was the general head of the Yongle Canon. During the Hongwu period, Xie Jin served as a Hanlin scholar, and after Zhu Di seized power, Xie Jin defected to Zhu Di and soon became the first cabinet chief assistant during the Yongle period. At that time, Xie Jin was the number one person in the imperial court and was deeply trusted by the emperor, so why did Xie Jin, who was proud of the spring wind, finally die tragically in the snow?
Xie Jin touched the restrictive layer of imperial power
The bloody struggles of the ancient royals have been all about one thing, and that is supreme power. Zhu Yuanzhang spent countless hardships to stand up from the pile of dead people, and the Ming Empire was founded, and the hard-won power also made Zhu Yuanzhang especially "cherish". Anyone who has such a lost covetousness for imperial power will be killed, including his former confidants.
Zhu Yuanzhang handled things with the principle of "preferring me to bear the burden of others, rather than others to bear me", while Zhu Di was more intelligent, and in the Jingnan War, Zhu Di won the support of all the generals because of his kindness to his subordinates. Zhu Di understood the importance of winning people's hearts and minds, but for those who disobeyed, he would hand over to the Jinyi Guards for severe punishment.
In the twenty-first year of Hongwu, Xie Jin passed the jinshi examination and was highly valued by Zhu Yuanzhang. From the three ministers left by Zhu Yuanzhang (Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and Fang Xiaoru), it can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang likes to read people, preferably the kind of literati. And Xie Jin is exactly this kind of person, learning to be rich in five cars to be high eight buckets, because Xie Jin does not understand the rules of the official field, and often offends people.
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Xie Jin to go back to further study, and it was not too late to reuse it when the fire arrived. The original text is "the great instrument is late, if the son returns, the benefit is to enter the study, and in the next ten years, the great use is not too late." Although Xie Jin often made mistakes in the imperial court, Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely tolerant of him. During the Yongle years, Xie Jin was even more valued by Zhu Di for his talents.
When the emperor is old, the ministers will naturally choose a new camp and plan for the future, if they bet on the right treasure, it may be a lifetime of glory and wealth, but if they stand in the wrong line or say the wrong words, they may be ruined. Once, Zhu Di asked who Prince Xie Jin should appoint? Xie Jin replied, "The emperor's eldest son, Ren Xiaoxiao, the world returns to his heart." ”
Zhu Di agreed with Jin's suggestion and made Zhu Gaoxu crown prince, but from then on Xie Jin became Zhu Gaoxu's enemy, and Xie Jin was also caught in the vortex of power struggle. The Zhu Ming Dynasty belonged to the Zhu family, and it had little to do with Xie Jin, no matter how big an official you were. On the issue of the heir to the royal family, it has been extremely dangerous in all dynasties and dynasties, and if it is implicated in it, it will also peel off the skin, and it will take a trip through this muddy water and let itself fall into the bottomless abyss.
Xie Jin is not good at power struggle
The cabinet system was formed during the Yongle years, but the power was not large, and its personnel were mostly some weak readers, and after Xuanzong ascended to the throne, the cabinet slowly became stronger and began to participate in the formulation of state policies. At that time, xie jindang's cabinet chief assistant did not have any real power, at most to help the emperor refer to some political affairs.
In dealing with the issue of the crown prince's appointment, Xie Jin did not participate in it at all after careful consideration, and became the target of everyone. A generation of famous ministers Yang Shiqi is different from Xie Jin, and Yang Shiqi may not be as good as Xie Jin in terms of knowledge, but on the means of power and strategy, Xie Jin is too far away. Yang Shiqi has always shaved himself clean in the issue of the crown prince, and even Zhu Di did not see that Yang Shiqi was a loyal princeling.
This is the strength of Yang Shiqi, he is well aware of the cruelty and bloodiness of the imperial power whirlpool, and he can participate in it with ease, in a critical moment, Yang Shiqi stepped forward to ensure the status of the prince, and he could also retreat with his whole body, which sounded very easy, but in fact it was more difficult. Xie Jin was a book reader, and he should go to places like "research institutes" to study learning, not politics.
The so-called "hearing the Tao has a priority, and the art has a specialty", the "Yongle Canon" Xie Jin was very successfully compiled, so Zhu Di became the prince of the prosperous world and was admired by future generations, all of which relied on Xie Jin's merits. However, Xie Jin showed too much enthusiasm on the issue of the crown prince's appointment, which made Zhu Di begin to resent him, and in this dangerous situation, Xie Jin himself was still unclear, and eventually framed to death.
The Emperor wanted to kill Xie Jin
During Zhu Di's personal conquest, most of the time it was Zhu Gaozi who supervised the country, and Zhu Gaozi was generous and benevolent, and during the period of supervision, he did his duty and did not act excessively. And Zhu Gaoxu, for the throne, often sent people to the bad words of the prince, and the crowd was full of gold, originally Zhu Di did not believe these rumors, but after listening to them more, he was a little suspicious.
At this time, Zhu Di was somewhat shaken by the crown prince, and he had been hesitating between Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaoxu, whose military achievements were higher than Zhu Gaoxu's, and his prestige in the army was very high, and many generals supported Zhu Gaoxu. Historical records:
Jin also said, "It is a dispute, but it must not be." "The emperor's wrath is said to be separated from flesh and bones, and the grace is impregnated."
When he should not speak, Xie Jin said the last thing he should have said, he said bad things about Zhu Gaoxu, which was believed by Zhu Di to be the feeling of his father and son. Since then, Xie Jin's courtesy has not been there, Zhu Di is not a good-tempered person, he is not as good as Song Renzong, he is not as good at talking, under the secret operation of Zhu Gaoxu, Xie Jin was imprisoned.
All this is also because Xie Jin actually received the crown prince alone when Zhu Di was personally marching, and this news made Zhu Gaoxu aware of it, and he exposed the understanding of Jin. Zhu Di was very angry, and Xie Jin died tragically in the snow, all caused by Zhu Di's murderous heart. Of course, for killing a Xie Jin, it didn't matter to Zhu Di.
Jin Yiwei commanded Ji Gangyin to be fierce and cunning
During the Yongle period, the commander of the Jinyi Guard was Ji Gang, and this benevolent brother had a very poor reputation, and his important deed was to kill Ji Jin, which was remembered by posterity. Once, Zhu Di looked through the roster of people who were imprisoned, and when he saw Xie Jin's name, he asked, "Is Jin still in Yay?" "Does it mean that Xie Jin is still there?"
Ji Gang was in His Highness, he didn't answer anything, and Zhu Di didn't say anything more, but this conversation decided to understand Jin's fate. Zhao Prison is a special prison for Jinyi Guards, and there is no one who can survive from it, which is synonymous with darkness and fear, and officials are even more talking about it. Xie Jin was tortured after being imprisoned, but was not killed.
After Ji Gang returned, he began to ponder the Holy Will, and eventually he decided that the emperor meant to let him kill Xie Jin. So Ji Gang first asked Xie Jin to drink, and after getting drunk, Ji Gang ordered someone to drag Xie Jin into the snow, and so the generation of talents fell. In order to be foolproof, Ji Gang chose to freeze to death in the snow, which was no artificial harm, and the autopsy could not detect his head, but Zhu Di did not mention the matter afterwards. The sinister Ji Gang, who deserves to be mentioned, also did not have a good end, and finally punished lingchi for the crime of rebellion.
Xie Jin was a great talent, but he chose the wrong direction, but he still left me with the huge work of "Yongle Canon". Xie Jin's integrity, calmness, and not fear of treachery and evil are an example for future generations. During the Chenghua years, Emperor Xianzong rehabilitated Xie Jin, restored his official position and reputation, and if Xie Jinquan knew about it, he was also able to rest in peace.
References: "Ming Shi Xie Jin Biography", "Ming Chengzu Records"