Regarding the succession to the throne of the Ming Dynasty, The Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang established the system of primogeniture, that is, in terms of inheriting the throne, concubines have a natural advantage.
Emperor Akihito had a total of ten sons, three of whom were concubines, and in addition to the eldest son, Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Gaozi's third son, Zhu Zhanyong, and his fifth son, Zhu Zhanyuan, were also born to Empress Zhang.
Zhu Zhanyuan's life experience is very legendary, twice he was ordered to supervise the country, twice rubbed shoulders with the throne, li Yongle, Hong Xi, Xuande, Zhengtong, Jingtai, Tianshun, Chenghua seven dynasties, died at the age of seventy-two.
Zhu Zhanyuan was born in the fourth year of Yongle (1406 AD), seven years younger than Zhu Zhanji of the Ming Xuanzong.
In the twenty-second year of Yongle (1424 AD), Zhu Zhanyuan was crowned king of Xiang, and his sense of existence during the Yongle period was not high, far from being comparable to Zhu Zhanji.
1. The country of imminent danger
In April of the first year of Hong Xi's reign, due to successive earthquakes in Nanjing, and Zhu Gaozi planned to return the capital to Nanjing, he ordered him to go to Nanjing to live and pay homage to the Tomb of Filial Piety.
However, a month later, Zhu Gaozi died suddenly at the Qin'an Temple.
At that time, the Han king Zhu Gaoxu was in a hurry, and the situation was extremely critical, and Empress Zhang immediately made a decision, blocked the news of Zhu Gaozi's death, sent someone to welcome the crown prince Zhu Zhanji to return to Beijing immediately, and at the same time secretly ordered Zhu Zhanyuan to supervise the country, assisted by Xia Yuanji. This was the first time that the Ming Dynasty had let the king of the domain oversee the country.
At this time, Zhu Zhanyuan was nineteen years old and had not yet taken over the throne, and Empress Zhang asked him to supervise the country, perhaps because she was worried that Zhu Zhanji would be killed by Zhu Gaoxu on the way back to Beijing and cause turmoil in the court.
In August of the first year of Xuande, the King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, rebelled, and Zhu Zhanji accepted the suggestion of Xia Yuanji and others, and decided to march in person, so that Zhu Zhanxuan, the King of Zheng, and Zhu Zhanyuan to oversee the country together.
Zhu Zhanyuan was the second son of Zhu Gaozi, two years older than Zhu Zhanyuan.
Although the power possessed by Zhu Zhanyuan this time was far less than that of the crown prince, it showed that Zhu Zhanyuan was not only outstanding in ability, but also trusted by his eldest brother Zhu Zhanji.
Regarding Zhu Zhanyuan's personality, the "History of Ming" records it like this, "Zhuang Police has a reputation. ”
That is to say, Zhu Zhanyuan is solemn and alert, and has a good reputation.
In the fourth year of Xuande (1429 AD), Zhu Zhancheng took the throne of Changsha.
Second, pass by the throne
In the first month of the tenth year of Xuande (1435 AD), Zhu Zhanji died at the age of thirty-six.
At this time, the crown prince Zhu Qizhen was only eight years old and had no ability to handle the affairs of the dynasty, and some ministers tended to support Zhu Zhanyuan as emperor, and rumors spread in the palace, and some people even said that Empress Zhang also had this intention.
At this time, Empress Zhang's attitude was very critical, if she wanted to support her son Zhu Zhanyuan to ascend the throne, Zhu Qizhen really could lose the throne, but Empress Zhang's attitude was very clear, she summoned the Wenwu Hundred Officials to the Qianqing Palace and announced that zhu Qizhen, the eldest grandson of the eldest son, would inherit the throne.
Zhu Zhanyuan lost the throne for the first time.
In the first year of the Orthodox Era (1436 AD), Zhu Zhanyuan was renamed Xiangyang.
In August of the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, Zhu Qizhen was abducted by The Wallachians due to the civil change, and Zhu Zhanyuan once again attracted the attention of the courtiers.
Among the kings of the domain, Zhu Zhanyuan was a younger brother of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming, who had twice been appointed to oversee the country, and had a reputation of "virtuous virtue".
At this time, Zhu Zhanyuan's biological mother, Empress Zhang, had died, and Empress Sun, Zhu Qizhen's biological mother, intended to make Zhu Zhanyuan emperor, let people take the Golden Charm of XiangWang, and sent someone to summon Zhu Zhanyuan into the palace.
However, Zhu Zhanyuan was not ordered to enter the capital, but wrote to the imperial court, asking Zhu Jianshen, the eldest son of the emperor, to be made crown prince, to let Zhu Qiyu the prince oversee the country, and to recruit soldiers and horses to rescue Zhu Qizhen.
By the time Zhu Zhanyuan was sent to The Capital Division, Zhu Qiyu had already been proclaimed emperor by his subjects.
Zhu Zhanyuan passed by the throne for the second time.
3. Be treated with courtesy by Zhu Qizhen
In August of the first year of Jingtai (1450 AD), Zhu Qiyu sent someone to take Zhu Qizhen back to Beijing and put him under house arrest in the Nangong.
Zhu Zhanyuan wrote a letter and asked Zhu Qiyu to treat Zhu Qizhen with courtesy, "Yi Dan Xi Province, greeting An, leading the group of ministers to see and see, never forgetting to be obedient" (Ming History).
In the third year of Jingtai, Zhu Qiyu deposed the crown prince Zhu Jianshen as the Prince of Yi and replaced his only son Zhu Jianji as crown prince, but a year later, Zhu Jianji died prematurely.
Seven years later, there was a change in the door, Zhu Qizhen became emperor again, Shi Heng and others falsely accused Yu Qian and Wang Wen of intending to make Zhu Zhanyuan emperor, Zhu Qizhen began to suspect that Zhu Zhanyuan coveted the throne, but after seeing Zhu Zhanyuan's previous letter, Zhu Qizhen's doubts disappeared, and he ordered Zhu Zhanyuan to enter the capital and set up a banquet in the ben palace to entertain Zhu Zhanyuan.
Zhu Zhanyuan told Zhu Qizhen that when passing through Bieliang, the local people told him that Wang Huan had been framed and imprisoned according to the inspection.
After Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen immediately issued a detailed investigation, and Wang Huan was quickly released and promoted to the position of Secretary of Dali Temple.
When Zhu Zhanyuan left Beijing, Zhu Qizhen personally sent it outside the noon gate, and after Zhu Zhanyuan was treated with courtesy, he was more respectful to Zhu Qizhen, low-key and cautious in an attempt to protect himself, and died in the fourteenth year of Chenghua.