We know that the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, built the capital of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing at that time. However, the generation of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital of Daming to Beijing and went far north. You must know that in the feudal dynasty, no matter which dynasty it is, the matter of moving the capital is extremely important, and it will not be done without a complete reason. So why did the Ming Dynasty stay in Nanjing so far north? The reason why Daming did this was mainly from what aspects of consideration before he made up his mind to move the capital? Today, I will briefly analyze with you the reasons why the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing.
And if we want to know the reasons for the Ming Dynasty to move the capital, first of all, we must know that the reason why the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di was able to ascend to the throne was actually not particularly logical, mainly through the Battle of Jingnan to seize the throne. To put it more bluntly, the throne of the Yongle Emperor is actually not so bright and upright. And this is also a core reason for the late relocation of the capital! Based on such a background, zhu Di's major decision to move the capital at that time should be mainly considered from the following two aspects.
First: Earlier we have said that the original capital of the Ming Dynasty was in Nanjing, and it should be said that there was a very good foundation in Nanjing, but the problem is that Zhu Di seized the throne from his nephew. Under such circumstances, the power left by Emperor Jianwen in Nanjing was too strong for Zhu Di, and if he wanted to be emperor in Nanjing in the future, the resistance and potential threats he faced could not be underestimated. Zhu Di even feared that this force would eventually overthrow him and drive himself off the dragon chair. Therefore, for Zhu Di himself, Nanjing is not suitable for staying for a long time, and he must choose a second place that can be the capital city, and in this case, he will set his sights on Beijing in the north. This is mainly because Zhu Di himself was the King of Yan in Beijing, where he had more power of his own, and sitting on the dragon chair within his own sphere of influence, Zhu Di's heart should be more solid.
Second: The first is a personal reason belonging to the Yongle Emperor, and in addition to this personal reason, there is a more important problem for the entire Ming Dynasty to move its capital north, that is, the defense of the entire Ming Dynasty's north. At that time, for the Ming Dynasty, the contrast between the south and the north was very obvious, the south was relatively rich and stable, but the north was frequently invaded and harassed by foreign tribes, and it was very urgent to strengthen and stabilize the defense of the north. The emperor set the capital city directly in Beijing, so that the entire imperial power center moved north, so that the defense of the entire northern region could be strengthened, and Zhu Di had a very famous saying at that time that the Son of Heaven guarded the gate of the country! This sentence now sounds very domineering, and at that time, this practice of moving the capital did play a great role in stabilizing the defense of the north for the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, if we combine the above two points to look at Zhu Di's decision to move the capital at that time, we feel that this decision is very wise. Especially for the influence of later generations, this significance is extremely far-reaching, and if it is for this place in Nanjing, if it is viewed from the overall strategic geographical location, it is indeed inferior to Beijing. Since the Ming Dynasty, only one country has established its own capital city in Nanjing, but the existence of this country is not too long, I believe everyone knows which country it is.