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In the thirty-first year of Ming Hongwu (1398), the 71-year-old Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was about to come to the end of his life.
After thirty years of hard work, the Ming Dynasty he single-handedly created has begun to show its peak, the court has no power to arbitrarily use power, the frontier is taken care of by the king of the domain, and the Zhu family's world has been as stable as a rock, which makes him very pleased.
But he regretted that the carefully cultivated crown prince Zhu Biao had gone before him six years ago, and in the past two years, the second son Zhu Zhu the Prince of Qin and Zhu Tang the King of Jin had passed away one after another, and the only concubines born to the empress were Zhu Di the Prince of Yan and Zhu Qi, the King of Zhou. Although the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunjiao was not the most ideal heir to the throne, but he was full of poetry and books, generous and benevolent, as long as he chose loyal and generous ministers to assist him, the kings of various clans worked hard to defend and be a shoucheng king, there was no big problem.
Despite this, Zhu Yuanzhang still had deep concerns about whether Zhu Yunjiao could successfully ascend the throne and sit firmly on the throne, after all, he was too young and too soft, and he did not have any strength to rely on in the dynasty. In order to clear the way for the eldest grandson, he did not hesitate to kill him, and in the extreme way of "peeling the skin and grass", he executed the founding hero Of Liangguo, Lan Yu, who had a heavy army, so that tens of thousands of people were implicated in the case, and the forces that might pose a threat to Zhu Yunjiao were purged, leaving him with a subordinate political team.
The threat among the courtiers was cleared, but what about the kings of the feudal lords? In particular, the "Sai Kings" stationed in "dangerous places", in addition to the palace guards, they can also restrain the "horses along the border", and some even "carry 80,000 armor and 6,000 military vehicles", which is extremely powerful. These princes, with the exception of the new heirs of the Qin And Jin dynasties, were all Zhu Yunjiao's uncles, and it was not difficult for Zhu Yunjiao, who lacked political experience and struggle power, to restrain them.
The king who worried him the most was Zhu Di, the King of Yan, who was the eldest of his surviving concubines, and the most powerful and powerful one. It is reasonable to say that after the death of crown prince Zhu Biao, he was the most suitable candidate to inherit the throne of Daming, and it was also in line with the legal system of brother-to-brother succession, but Zhu Yuanzhang, because of various considerations, did not succeed the crown prince from his son, but directly established Zhu Yunjiao as the emperor's grandson. This more or less made the sons represented by the Yan King feel uncomfortable in their hearts, but because they were still there, they did not dare to make a mistake.
Also in March of that year, Zhu Yuanzhang's third son, Zhu Zhuo, the Prince of Jin, died of illness, and he simultaneously issued a secret message to Zhu Jixi (Zhu Zhuo's eldest son) as the second generation of Jin kings, telling a story: "At the beginning of the fifth dynasty, Liang sent Kang Huaizhen to invade Jin and besiege Luzhou. and Li Ke, the king of Jin, conspired with the generals: "Shangdang, the domain of Hedong." The Supreme Party is no River East also. And those whom Zhu Wen feared, the first king's ear. I thought that the boy who was not idle in the army would have a heart of arrogance. If The Jian Elite Soldier is doubly interesting, it will be broken unexpectedly. Take the Power of Dingba, in this move, can not be lost. ’... King Liang was shocked when he heard that the village was not guarded. And sighed: 'When a son is born, it should be like Li Yazi, and it should be used for immortality.' To rue my child, guinea pig ears. (Records of Emperor Taizu's Qinlu)." His intention in telling this story was to make Zhu Jixi keep an eye on Zhu Di, the King of Yan, and once he showed signs of usurping the throne, he would decisively send troops to solve it by force.
Of course, he did not want such a thing to really happen, and he also issued a holy edict to Zhu Di, the King of Yan: "The sons of The Emperor are only Ru and wise, Qin and Jin have been xue, the ru is the chief, the outside is inside, and the non-Ru is who ... Erqi commanded the kings, measured the situation, guarded against the border people, answered the heavenly heart, and used the vice intention ("Ming Chronicle Ben Ben, Volume 10"). The meaning is to let him lead his brothers to garrison the fortress, guard the Daming Mountains, and not live up to his ardent hopes."
Zhu Yuanzhang said these words, that is, entrusting Zhu Yunjiao and Daming Jiangshan to Zhu Di, which can be described as deep affection and seriousness. Before his death, he also made a testament: "The kings are in the kingdom, do not go to the capital division", that is, he is afraid that these princes will have trouble at their own funerals and affect the smooth ascension of the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunjiao to the throne.
However, often the more you worry about things, the more likely they are to happen. Less than a year after his death, Zhu Yunjiao, who had not yet secured the throne, could not wait to start cutting the domain, and zhu Di, the king of Yan, who was forced to be helpless, rose up in anger and finally seized the throne from his nephew, opening a new era of the Ming Dynasty.
1. The Young Yan King
Zhu Di was the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, born in April of the twentieth year of the Yuan Shun Emperor (1360), when Zhu Yuanzhang was fighting everywhere and could not take care of his wife and children. It was not until the twenty-seventh year of Zhizheng (1367 AD), when Zhu Yuanzhang had already destroyed Chen Youyu and Zhang Shicheng one after another, and was preparing to ascend the throne the following year, that he took seven sons to worship the Taimiao Temple, and officially reported the names of several children: "Yang Chengxiande, since the raising of the army, crossing the river has given birth to seven children." The eldest son is now named Yue Biao, the second Yue Zhu, Yue Tang, Yue Di, Yue Qi, Yue Zhen, Yue Yu (Records of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Vol. XXVIII). ”
Regarding Zhu Di's life as a child, there is basically no record in the history books. But what is certain is that he and his brothers and brothers have received a more rigorous education and experience.
According to historical records such as the History of Ming and the Records of Ming Taizu, Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the education of his sons and required the all-round development of morality, intellect, body, beauty, and labor, and was a typical strict father.
Before he became emperor, it was stipulated that children should study at the White Tiger Hall for six hours a day. After ascending the throne, he established a large main hall in Zhongzhong for the study of the crown prince and other princes. The people who taught the history of the classics were all great Confucians like Song Lian (who was also Fang Xiaoru's teacher), which means that Zhu Di received a good Confucian education in his childhood.
When he grew up a little, Zhu Yuanzhang began to temper the princes from the physique, and Shi Zai said: "As the sons grow older, they should learn to be industrious, so that they are not arrogant, and they are ordered to make hemp and do the work, and if they go out of the city a little farther, they will make the horses go second and step towards one." That is to say, after Zhu Di and his brothers and brothers grew up a little, they had to wear hemp shoes when they went out to run errands, and they could not ride horses all the way, and at least one-third of the distance had to walk like a soldier.
In the summer and April of the third year of Hongwu (1370), Zhu Yuanzhang "made Crown Prince Zhu the King of Qin, the King of Jin, the King of Diyan, the King of Wu, the King of Zhenchu, the King of Qi, the King of Zitan, the King of Qizhao, the King of Tanlu, and the King of Jingjiang from Sun Shouqian." According to the Ming system, Zhu Di would go to Beiping (now Beijing) to "take the domain" when he grew up, guard the northern frontier for the imperial court, and become one of the powerful "Sai Kings".
Of course, before that, he still needs to further accept the experience. In the ninth year of Hongwu (1376), Zhu Yuanzhang sent Zhu Di, along with his second brother Zhu Zhu and third brother Zhu Tang, to return to his hometown of Fengyang to receive re-education for poor and lower-middle peasants. Here, they have to go to the countryside every day to work, personally experience the hardships and sufferings of the people's labor, and let them have the most direct and profound understanding of the sufferings of the people. All of this will become one of the most precious treasures of their future governance.
It was also in this year that the sixteen-year-old Zhu Di married the eldest daughter of the founding general Xu Da (Xu Miaoyun in the TV series "Mountains and Rivers Moon Ming"), which was later Empress Renxiao. With the careful guidance and teachings of this first general in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, would be greatly enhanced in military talent.
Getting married means growing up. In the near future, Zhu Di will take his family and small together to the distant Beiping "Just Domain" and officially undertake the mission of soothing the frontier and defending the Daming River and Mountains.
2. Stationed in Beiping
In the thirteenth year of Hongwu (1380), the 20-year-old King of Yan, Zhu Di, left Nanjing with his wife and children and went to Beiping thousands of miles away to "take the domain", officially starting the real meaning of the career of the king of the domain. If nothing else, he and his descendants will spread out in Beiping, and it will be difficult to return to the capital city of Nanjing.
Although Beiping was once the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, it was far less prosperous than Nanjing, and it was a proper cold and remote place at that time. Zhu Di did not come here to enjoy life, but shouldered the important mission of resisting the counterattack of the Northern Yuan forces and defending the Ming Dynasty. Of course, as the "King of Sai" who guards the "dangerous place", in addition to directly subordinate to his own royal palace escort troops, he can also restrain the "horses along the border" according to the needs of the task, but the administrative power is limited to the internal affairs of the royal palace and the officials and subordinates, and cannot interfere with the exercise of power by local officials.
Among the nine "Sai Kings" that Zhu Yuanzhang divided into seals, Zhu Di's ability was undoubtedly the most outstanding, he was not only "wise and courageous and strategic", but also "able to push sincerity and appoint people", and fully possessed the ability and pattern of the world. Of course, these may also be the praise of later historians, but he can "calm down" success on his own, and his ability is certainly not said, but as for the pattern, it is also a matter of opinion.
In the second year after the domain, Zhu Di followed his father-in-law Xu Da on an expedition to the Northern Yuan and began the battlefield experience of real swords and guns, and Xu Da also carefully mentioned and taught this son-in-law. Since then, Xu Da has gone to Beiping many times to train troops, and each time Zhu Di has accompanied him around and studied seriously, and Xu Da has almost passed on his lifelong combat experience and experience to Zhu Di, helping him gradually grow into an excellent military commander.
By the twenty-third year of Hongwu (1390), after ten years of growth and experience, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, had become an excellent commander who thought that he was both wise and courageous and could be worthy of great responsibilities. In the same year, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Fu Youde to lead an army in the Northern Expedition, and the army was jointly controlled by Zhu Zhuo, the King of Jin, and Zhu Di, the King of Yan. That is to say, Zhu Yuanzhang began to release these sons stationed in the frontier, hoping that they could truly become the four beams and eight pillars of the Gongwei Daming River.
In this war, Zhu Di bravely marched forward and won a great victory, captured the Northern Yuan Lieutenant Nai'er Buhua, fully demonstrated his strong fighting style and excellent command ability, won the recognition and praise of Zhu Yuanzhang, and also laid his position and prestige among the kings. According to the "History of Ming", "The King of Jin was too timid to enter, and (Yan) Wang Beidao went to the Dushan Mountain, and returned it all, and Taizu Daxi, who was the general of the Later Commandery, went out on a campaign, and ordered the king to restrain the horses along the border, and the king was greatly encouraged." After that, he led his army on many expeditions, repeatedly made battle achievements, and became the main reliance on the Northern Yuan in the early Ming Dynasty, as long as the Ming army marched from Yanshan, all the generals were controlled by him.
In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu (1391), Zhu Di again led an army with Fu Youde on a northern expedition and captured the Northern Yuan general Auri and others. In the twenty-ninth year (1396), he made an independent northern expedition, captured more than a dozen Northern Yuan generals such as Tamerlane, and pursued them to the city of Wuliang Ha bald (near present-day Ulanhot, Inner Mongolia), where he defeated the defender Ha Lawu and severely damaged the Mongolian Wuliang Habu. After receiving the report, Zhu Yuanzhang said with great joy: "Purge the desert, the King of Yan also!" ”
If we say that in the twenty years of Nanjing, under the strict education of Ming Taizu, Zhu Di obtained a good experience in scripture and history and social life, laying a solid foundation for the future all-round development. Then, in the twenty years of Peiping's "garrison in the domain", it was during the careful guidance of his father-in-law Xu Da and the battlefield experience of the expedition to the Northern Yuan that the political experience and military command ability were greatly improved, and the transformation from a young prince to a powerful clan king who was enough to win the world was completed.
With the deliberate tempering of his father Zhu Yuanzhang and the pouring of his father-in-law Xu Da, it is difficult for Zhu Di, the King of Yan, to be excellent, and it is also natural to become the leader among many brothers. Even the "usurpation" of the throne did not prevent him from becoming one of the greatest monarchs of all time.
Because of this, Zhu Yuanzhang placed high hopes on him, hoping that he would become a model king of the Gongwei Daming Dynasty, while Emperor Jianwen regarded him as the biggest threat, eager to get rid of it quickly, and eventually led to his uncle and nephew becoming enemies and fighting each other, setting off the largest imperial battle in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
III. Raising Troops and "Calming Difficulties"
In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu (1392), the 38-year-old crown prince Zhu Biao fell ill and died, and Zhu Yuanzhang was very sad and grief-stricken, and the heir he had carefully cultivated for many years suddenly went away.
Next, who will Daming Jiangshan hand over? This became a major problem that he had to solve as soon as possible. At that time, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, was in the capital, and Zhu Zhu, the King of Qin, and Zhu Tang, the King of Jin, also came at a rapid pace, and the political crisis caused by the issue of Li Chu could break out at any time. Therefore, he must establish a crown prince as soon as possible to prevent the country from wavering.
Regarding Li Chu, Zhu Yuanzhang had two choices.
The first was to choose one of the four surviving concubines of the Qin King Zhu Zhu, the Jin King Zhu Di, and the Zhou King Zhu Di as the crown prince according to the rules of the succession of the elder brother and the last brother. The second is that according to the system of succession by the eldest son, Zhu Biao's eldest son Zhu Yunjiao (because his birth mother Lü became a stepfather, his identity also became a concubine) as the emperor's grandson, and he succeeded to the throne a hundred years later.
But how to choose is a difficult problem.
Among the four surviving concubines, Zhu Zhu,the King of Qin and Zhu Tang the Prince of Jin, although they were in the long position, all had bad deeds and were not suitable for succeeding them as crown princes. Although Zhu Di, the King of Yan, was talented, because he had two older brothers in front of him, if he succeeded him as crown prince, it would not only be inconsistent with the etiquette, but also might cause disputes between the kings. However, Zhu Yunjiao was too indecisive, did not experience the all-round experience of his fathers, and did not have the support of powerful courtiers in the DPRK, and it was really difficult to predict whether he would be able to control the situation after succeeding to the throne in the future.
According to the "Ming Chronicle, Volume 16", "In the summer of the twenty-fifth year, in April, the crown prince was born. The Emperor's grandson was born with a slightly biased forehead, a bright sex, good at reading, and a gentle and less broken. Every time Taizu ordered a poem, he did not like it. One day, the genus of the order was right, and the great disproportionate purpose was restored to the king of Yan, and the language was good. Taizu often intended to change the reserve, and Liu Sanwu said: 'If so, where are the kings of Qin and Jin?' 'Taizu Naizhi'. This means that Zhu Yuanzhang originally intended to make Zhu Di the crown prince, but because he could not confess to the qin and jin kings, he retreated to the second place and made Zhu Yunjiao the emperor's grandson.
How true this record is is really difficult to verify. But it is highly likely that Zhu Di justified the "usurpation" of the throne. But the end result was that Zhu Yuanzhang chose Zhu Yunjiao instead of Zhu Di.
In order to pave the way for Zhu Yunjiao's smooth ascension to the throne in the future, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate to kill him. In the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu (1393), under the pretext that The Duke of Liangguo, Lan Yu, wanted to plot rebellion, he wantonly killed more than 15,000 famous generals and other officials at all levels, including Fu Youde, Feng Sheng, Wang Bi and other founding princes, and completely eliminated the forces that might threaten Zhu Yunjiao.
In the thirty-first year of Hongwu (1398 AD), Zhu Yuanzhang died, and Zhu Yunjiao ascended the throne as Emperor Jianwen. Just before Zhu Yuanzhang's death, he was still worried about Zhu Yunjiao's smooth ascension to the throne, and the last will he left behind was: "The kings are in the kingdom, and they do not have to go to Beijing." The civil and military officials of the kingdom listened to the court's moderation. This means that the sons are not allowed to come to mourn, and all the officials and subordinates of the king of the clan must obey the control of the imperial court. The purpose was to prevent the clan kings from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble and ensure that Zhu Yunjiao sat firmly on the throne.
When Zhu Yunjiao ascended the throne, it was the period when the power of the kings of the clan was strong, Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, "brought 80,000 armor and 6,000 leather cars", zhu Di, the king of Yan, "controlled the horses along the border", and other "sai kings" also had relatively powerful forces. All this makes Zhu Yunjiao full of a sense of crisis, although he is known for his benevolence, he is still very sensitive to the reality that "the kings are not inferior to their uncles" and "they have heavy soldiers, many lawless". Coupled with the instigation and encouragement of corrupt Confucians such as Qi Tai and Tai Changqing Huang Zicheng of the Bingbu Shangshu, Zhu Yunjiao, who had been on the throne for less than two months, decided to cut down the domain.
Zhu Yunzhang's slashing of the domain first began with Emperor Jianwen first from Zhu Di's half-brother Zhu Xu the Prince of Zhou, who sent Li Jinglong to Kaifeng in the name of Beibian, arrested the entire Zhou family and sent them back to Nanjing, where they were deposed as Shuren. Subsequently, he deposed the princes Zhu Gui, Zhu Bai, the King of Xiang, Zhu Yu, the King of Qi, and Zhu Yu the Prince of Min, on various charges, and Zhu Bai the Prince of Xiang was humiliated and set himself on fire. Within a year, the five clan kings were easily resolved, which greatly increased the confidence of Emperor Jianwen and his henchmen, and set the next step of cutting the clan as Zhu Di, the King of Yan, who was the greatest threat to him.
As an emperor, it was absolutely right to cut the domain in order to consolidate his position and power, but Zhu Yunjiao's action of cutting the domain was too urgent, the steps were too large, and the means were too fierce, which was completely a rhythm that did not give his uncles a way to live. In order to protect themselves, powerful and capable clan kings like Zhu Di, the King of Yan, could only survive if they fought to the death.
However, rebellion was a big thing, and in history, the king of the clan had never succeeded in raising an army, and Zhu Di hesitated about it. However, his confidant Yao Guangxiao (Daoyan monk) immediately persuaded the army. According to the Biography of Ming Shi Yao Guangxiao, "Cheng Zu said: 'The people's hearts are toward the other, so why not?'" "Dao Yan said: 'Subjects know the Heavenly Dao, what is the people's will'" So Zhu Di finally made up his mind to rebel.
By this time, Zhu Yunjiao and Zhu Di were tacitly aware of each other, and each was making preparations intensively, sending spy agents to spy on each other to spy on each other's movements. Zhu Di, the King of Yan, has been hiding in the palace pretending to be sick and stupid, the gate is not out, the second door is not moving, but in private, he continues to move, and he wants to kill the other party in one fell swoop, but he is only temporarily in the death tranquility before the great war, waiting for who will shoot first to light the fuse.
Still Zhu Yunjiao's concentration was not enough, and he first attacked Zhu Di. In the thirty-first year of Hongwu (1398 AD), he sent Zhang Xin, the capital of Beiping, to capture Zhu Di and once again copy the drama of arresting Zhu Xu, the king of Zhou. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xin secretly rebelled against the water, and joined forces with Zhu Di to attack and kill Zhang Fu, the envoy of Beiping, and commanded xie Gui to control The City of Beiping. Taking out Taizu's "Emperor Ming Ancestral Training", under the pretext that "there is no righteous subject in the dynasty, there is treachery within, and he will raise troops to rebuke him, and use the Side of the Qing Emperor" as an excuse to formally raise an army on the "Side of the Qing Emperor" and kick off the prelude to the "Battle of Jing".
Neither side fought this war easily.
No matter how perfect the excuse Zhu Di found, he could never escape the word "usurpation", and from the perspective of legal system, he was definitely "famous for his teachers.". Therefore, except for King Ning, who was lured in by him, no prince supported him, and when he raised his army, he only had 800 guards around him, even if it eventually grew to 100,000 people, but compared with the total of 630,000 sent by the imperial court, the gap was too big.
However, Zhu Yunjiao was too anxious to cut the clan, so he fell into an unprecedented isolation, and no clan king really supported him. In addition, in order to ensure his smooth ascension to the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang almost slaughtered the founding heroes, and Emperor Jianwen did not have any ministers and generals who were worthy of great responsibilities. Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng were both nerds without political strategy, but Li Jinglong, who had commanded the army in the early stages, became the first person to open the city gate and welcome Zhu Di into Nanjing, which was a great irony.
Therefore, this four-year"Battle of Jingnan" was actually a one-man struggle between Zhu Di and Zhu Yunjiao's uncles and nephews, and the other princes with heavy troops were watching. Zhu Di's luck in the final victory accounted for a large part. According to the "History of Ming", in the three battles of the Baigou River, Jiahe River, and Hutuo River, all of them were about to lose when the Yan army was about to lose, and suddenly "demon winds" rose up, reversing the situation, and helping the Yan army to turn defeat into victory. Although this "demon wind" is too strange, it can show that Zhu Di's victory in the "Battle of Jingnan" was not easy at all, and he was facing the result of defeat and death at any time.
Although difficult, Zhu Di won the final victory, breaking the curse of inevitable defeat in the history of the king of the clan, and became the first king of the clan to seize the throne through rebellion.
Winner king, loser Kou. At this time, there is no point in discussing whether Zhu Di is a deliberate usurper or a desperate rebel. The truth is that he will ascend to the throne of Daming as a victor, reshaping one of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history.
Fourth, all nations come to the dynasty
On June 23, the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), Zhu Di entered the city of Nanjing, and the four-year Battle of Jingnan was declared over. Zhu Di ascended the throne after paying homage to Taizu Xiaoling and began his career as emperor.
As a successful emperor who "usurped" the throne, the first thing Zhu Di had to do after he ascended the throne was to completely negate the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao.
The first was to revoke Zhu Yunjiao's Jianwen era name and continue to follow Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu era name to deny the legitimacy of Emperor Jianwen and forcibly prove the legitimacy of his ascension to the throne.
The second is to abolish all laws promulgated during the reign of Emperor Jianwen, completely restore the "ancestral system" of the Hongwu years, and completely erase all traces of Emperor Jianwen in law.
Third, all officials who were demoted or dismissed during the reign of Emperor Jianwen were reinstated and the political team of the Hongwu Dynasty was completely restored.
Fourth, the ministers who were loyal to Emperor Jianwen were severely punished, creating the only case of Fang Xiaoru who "exterminated the Ten Tribes" in ancient times and the present, and completely eliminating Emperor Jianwen's forces.
As a "wise and courageous person who can push sincerity and resignation", Of course, He knows that this extreme approach is not right, but he must do it, because he absolutely allows anyone to question him. Therefore, he must quickly, cleanly, and completely negate Emperor Jianwen and forcibly prove his legitimacy.
In addition, he also revoked the honorific title of "Emperor Xiaokang" from his eldest brother Zhu Biao, denying Zhu Biao's ability and character. According to the Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming, he once said: "Prince Yiwen restrained Wenyi with weakness, and did not call Taizu Yi. In addition, the "Fengtian Jing Difficult Record", compiled at his behest, also wrote: "Prince Yiwen has done a lot of wrongdoing, and Taizu has tasted the supervision, and has complained, and often performs curses in the palace." Of course, these statements do not have authenticity, but Zhu Di fabricated them because of his lack of heart, and the purpose is to forcibly prove the legitimacy of his succession.
Throughout his life, and even for many years after his death, Zhu Di did not get rid of the label of usurper, but this did not prevent him from becoming a great monarch. Just like Tang Taizong Li Shimin, although he bore the notoriety of killing his brother and forcing his father, he still became an imperial model who worked hard to govern and was diligent and loved the people.
After Zhu Di's success in "JingNan", while consolidating his own position and power, he also quickly repaired the damage caused by the war to the country and the people. After he ascended the throne, he first issued an edict exempting Beiping, Shandong, Henan, and other prefectures and counties that had been affected by the war during the "Battle of Jingnan" from taxes, and subsidized cattle and agricultural tools for the people who returned to their hometowns for production, and quickly restored agricultural production in these areas. In addition, he also demanded that local officials who went to Beijing for a visit must report to him the local people's feelings, stipulating that "those who do not speak are guilty, and those who say inappropriate things should not be asked." Officials were also dispatched to various localities to understand the sufferings of the people, and in the event of floods and droughts, they were all given relief and tax relief.
Therefore, although he was not in the right position, he was still a male lord who was deeply supported by the people, and who was brilliant and accomplished. He reigned for 22 years, a lifetime of fighting horses, exerting great efforts, regardless of wenzhi martial arts, in the past emperors are outstanding, the reason why the Ming Dynasty can become another peak of China's feudal social development since the Han and Tang Dynasties, should be attributed to Zhu Di, the greatest king of the Ming Dynasty.
In general, his Wenzhi martial arts mainly have the following aspects:
The first is to move the capital to Beijing
Zhu Yuanzhang built the capital Nanjing after establishing the Ming Dynasty, but he was not very satisfied with Nanjing, and sent people to inspect luoyang, Kaifeng, Xi'an and other ancient capitals, but due to the sudden death of Zhu Biao, he was unable to move the capital in the end. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, the Beiping became Beijing, and actively built a palace, and officially moved the capital to Beijing in the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420).
Beijing
The biggest significance of moving the capital to Beijing is that the pattern of "tianzi guarding the border" has effectively consolidated the northern territory of the Ming Dynasty. Based on this, Zhu Di made five expeditions to Mongolia, expelled the remnants of the Northern Yuan, and forced the Tatar and Valar departments to accept the Ming Dynasty titles. Firmly controlling Liaodong, setting up the Nuer Gandu Command and Envoy Division, extending Daming's territory to the Heilongjiang River Valley, and basically laying the foundation for the territory of later generations in Northeast Asia. In addition, Annam (a part of present-day Vietnam) was also incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the garrison of Hami was stationed to strengthen the control of the western region, so that the territory of the Ming Dynasty expanded to an unprecedented extent.
The second is the establishment of a cabinet
After the Hu Weiyong case, Zhu Yuanzhang directly abolished the chancellor system and let the emperor directly command the six ministries. Although this practice greatly consolidated the imperial power, there were also obvious drawbacks, that is, the emperor's workload increased unprecedentedly, and it was not conducive to the scientific operation of government affairs.
After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he reformed the political system of Zhu Yuanzhang's period, selected a number of university scholars to form his own advisory body, put forward opinions on the handling of the government affairs of the imperial court ("vote draft"), and after his approval ("Zhu Batch"), handed over to the six ministries for implementation, this is the rudimentary form of the cabinet system, through the development and improvement of the "Renxuan" two dynasties, the cabinet system was finally formed, which is the biggest feature of the political pattern of the Ming Dynasty that is different from previous dynasties. Later, the Daming cabinet system was absorbed and borrowed by Western countries, forming a modern civilian system, which had an extremely important impact on the development of political systems in various countries in the world.
The third is the parallel of factory guards
When it comes to the Ming Dynasty, most people probably think of the East and West Factories and the Jinyi Guards, who not only have supreme power, but are everywhere, from the high-ranking officials of the imperial court to the people of Li, almost all of them are under their close surveillance. Jinyiwei was originally established by Zhu Yuanzhang, but was later abolished for various reasons, and after Zhu Di took the throne, in order to strengthen the surveillance of courtiers who opposed him, he not only immediately restored Jinyiwei, but also set up the East Factory, collectively known as the Factory Guard Agency. Both Dongchang and Jinyiwei were responsible for monitoring the subjects of the world, while at the same time monitoring and restraining each other, so that neither side would threaten the supreme imperial power, which played an indispensable role in stabilizing the power of the Ming Dynasty. In the more than 200 years of the Ming Dynasty, although there were many strange emperors, they never formed a challenge to the imperial power by foreign relatives, eunuchs, and courtiers, and the factory guard system and the cabinet system had made immeasurable contributions.
The fourth is to cut the domain step by step
After becoming emperor, Zhu Di also began to cut the domain, but his way was much more clever than Zhu Yunjiao.'s. He first started with Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, "with 80,000 armor and 6,000 military vehicles" as king of Ning. Although in the "Battle of Jingnan", King Ning gave him the greatest support, he may have "divided the world" with King Ning, but this was not the case after the victory, he moved King Ning from the long-running Daning Province to Nanchang, Jiangxi, and relieved him of military power in disguise. Later, to the daiwang, "Wen Brother indulged in killing for wealth, the people of the country were very bitter, the number of informants was counted, and the king did not remember the time of Jianwen." For the sake of "ge qi three guards and official subordinates". Zhu Zhi, the King of Liao, changed his title to Jingzhou, and Zhu Yu, the King of Qi, was demoted to a Shuren.
Zhu Quan
However, Zhu Di had a principle that as long as the kings of the clan obediently obeyed, surrendered their military power, and did not pose a threat to their throne, he would reward them all and ensure that their children and grandchildren enjoyed a good life. The negative effect was to inflict a huge financial burden on the imperial court, as Jiajing forty-one years (1562), Yu shi Linrun said, "The affairs of the world, the most harmful and great to worry about, are no more than Zong Linglu." The world supplied four million stones of grain to the capital, while the provinces of LuMifan had eight hundred and fifty-three million stones. ”
The fifth is the Yongle Canon.
In the first year of Yongle, Zhu Di ordered Xie Jin and others to collect all the books in the ancient and modern worlds, and spent five years classifying and editing them into books, which were named "Yongle Canon". The whole book is 22,877 volumes and 11,095 volumes, about 370 million words, covering all kinds of things, including scriptures, histories, sub-collections, collections, medicine, bu, monks, Tao, astronomy, geography, etc., covering almost thousands of years of knowledge in previous lives. It is a monument in the cultural history of ancient China, and the British Encyclopedia Britannica calls it "the largest encyclopedia ever recorded in the world", which is a precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.
The sixth is the coming of all nations to the dynasty
Beginning in the third year of Yongle (1405), Zheng He led the world's largest fleet to go to the sea six times, passing through Southeast Asia, passing through the Strait of Malacca, the coast of India, and reaching the east coast of Africa and Arabia. Show the world the wealth and strength of the Ming Dynasty, spread Chinese culture to all parts of the world, establish friendly relations with more than 30 countries overseas, establish a tributary system centered on the Ming Dynasty, and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty during the Yongle years. To this day, the Maritime Silk Road basically extends around the world along Zheng He's former route.
V. Historical Evaluation
Zhu Di reigned for 22 years, strengthening the centralization of monarchy, political stability, economic prosperity, the gradual enrichment of the people, the expansion of the territory repeatedly, the comprehensive national strength of the Ming Dynasty ranked first in the world, and the world's influence even exceeded that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. The "History of Ming" believes: "Emperor Wen's young commander Xi Bing, according to the land of the Youyan shape, took advantage of the weak Jianwen, drove introverted, and had four seas. After taking the throne, he practiced frugality, and the water and drought were revived day and night, and there was no shelter. Zhiren Shan Ren, The Table Dongda, XiongWu Zhi Strategy, Tong Fu Gaozu. The Sixth Division has been out repeatedly, and the desert north is clear. By the end of the season, Wei De was appointed, the four parties were obeyed, and the tributes were clearly ordered to perish in the Thirty Kingdoms. The vastness of the meteorites, far away from The Han and Tang Dynasties. Success is fierce, outstanding. However, at the time of the removal, the perverse action can be done perversely, and the virtue can also be hidden. ”
Liang Qichao even ranked alongside Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang, arguing: "Ming Chengzu was brilliant and strategic, and after inheriting Emperor Gao, the world was initially determined, the national strength was greatly charged, and it was Si Yang Weide outside the territory, which was similar to the era of Han Xiaowu and Tang Taizong." ”
The author believes that the History of Ming, written in the Qing Dynasty, and later Liang Qichao, both make an analogy between the Ming Dynasty under Zhu Di's extreme rule and the Han and Tang dynasties under emperor Wu of Han and Tang Taizong. In China's thousands of years of feudal society, since the Tang Dynasty, long or short, large or small, has always been under the strong pressure of the northern nomadic regime, only in the Chengzu Yongle years, it once again reached the peak, its historical merits compared with Emperor Wu of Han, Tang Taizong, not bad at all, and even in some respects there is surpassed, worthy of being one of the greatest monarchs in history.
However, Zhu Di is also full of contradictions and complexities of human nature. On the one hand, his bloody and cruel suppression of political opponents and the tragic case of Fang Xiaoru's "extermination of the Ten Tribes" are still creepy to this day. On the other hand, it may have a deep experience of folk suffering from childhood, so it is full of sympathy and kindness to the people at the bottom, and the brilliance of humanity flashes from time to time.
As the king of the clan, he raised an army to "Jing Difficulty", perhaps he had his own ambitions for the highest power, but more of a helplessness in self-preservation, if it were not for Zhu Yuanzhang's borrowing from shang zhou's sub-seal, without Li Chu to hand over the Daming River to the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunjiao, without Zhu Yunjiao's eager pursuit and fierce attack of the clan, none of this might have happened. Therefore, the main responsibility for the "Jing Difficulty" uprising may lie with Zhu Yuanzhang, not Zhu Di.
As an emperor, although he did not have so honorable and upright access to the throne, his ability to govern the country was extremely outstanding, and his will to conquer disobedience, open up territory, pursue the country's strength and prosperity, and expand the influence of the world was very strong, and the achievements he established were enough to stand in the annals of history.
Whoops, there is no male lord after becoming an ancestor, and there is no prosperity after Yongle, this statement is really infallible!