All the history books, what is it about?
Yu Qian replied, "All-encompassing." ”
When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he immediately laughed, quite sarcastically, and said: "Up to now, the history books of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors are vast, and there are only four words to say: Strive to become emperor."
In the history of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu's ambition is just as he himself said, he has been fighting all his life on the road of becoming an emperor, fast horse and whip, and the road ahead is always muddy and full of thorns, but he does not understand the speed of the horse, and he is even more unwilling to stop the flag.
He ridiculed the literati for acidic crepe characters, looking at the abstract and implicit but cowardly and avoiding things, not even daring to pick out the words, and the feudal rules were carved into the bones of acid rot. He raised his whip, flogged the feudal primrose system, and tore open the history books to read for himself.
What he saw was full of his own ambition.
The Emperor, this temptation was too great for him, too great for him to be delayed, and ambition drove his every action, and he was destined to write a profound and tragic stroke in history.
And this kind of Zhu Gaoxu, not born ambitious, under the shackles of the feudal etiquette system, is witnessing again and again, witnessing what kind of history, and finally becoming the Han king Zhu Gaoxu in today's history books?
Seen in the early years
Zhu Gaoxu was the second son of Zhu Di, the ancestor of Ming Cheng, and had an older brother, Zhu Gaoxu. However, Zhu Gaoxu was obese, had limited mobility, loved to read and was cowardly and kind, not as brave and martial as Zhu Di, but Zhu Gaoxu was more like Zhu Di and deeply liked.
However, Zhu Gaoxu was not liked by everyone, and his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang inexplicably hated him, and was strictly and mercifully relieved of the mistakes of other emperors and grandsons, while Zhu Gaoxu was always unsmiling and severely excessive.
This planted the seeds of jealousy in the heart of little Zhu Gaoxu, but at the same time, he also knew that only his own ability was the truth, and only if he was strong enough and good enough could those who hated him also look at him differently.
In 1398, when Zhu Di was not yet emperor, we also called him Zhu Di, the King of Yan. At that time, shortly after the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunjiao succeeded to the throne, his policy of cutting down the domain caused the power of the Yan king to shrink sharply, so the Yan king made a decision.
A decision that unknowingly had a major impact on Zhu Gaoxu, a new idea of a new world formed in Zhu Gaoxu's mind and expanded rapidly.
This is a historic rebellion. In 1399, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, raised an army to jing, Zhu Gaoxu stayed in Beiping, and Zhu Gaoxu went out with the army to fight as a forward.
From the Battle of Jingnan to Zhu Di's ascension to the throne, Zhu Gaoxu could not be said to have made great achievements. His outstanding military ability, leadership and command ability to give full play to, and even saved Zhu Di from crisis several times.
In 1402, when Zhu Di fought fiercely with the Southern Army at Puzikou and feared that the enemy would be defeated, Zhu Gaoxu led his troops to come and take the lead in finally repelling the Southern Army.
It was this time that Zhu Di patted him on the shoulder, smiled and said, "Mian Zhi! The world is sick. ”
What does that mean? Shizi, that is, Zhu Gaozi, he has a disease in his body, you have to cheer up! Isn't that a sign of ming shaking!
Zhu Gaoxu was overjoyed, went to his primogeniture system, and now I have won the approval of my father with my efforts, and in the future, if my father becomes the emperor, then I will be the prince, and in the long run, I will be the emperor!
Perhaps from this time on, he did not regard the rebellion as a matter of chaos, but the only way to gain the world and become an emperor.
But at this time, he did not know that what he was going to take was not to succeed to the throne naturally, but to take the same path as his father, and in the opposite direction.
Two rebellions
Zhu Di, who became Ming Chengzu, was ultimately untrustworthy. He did prefer Zhu Gaoxu, who was as brave as he was, but he also knew that Zhu Gaoxu's character was not suitable for becoming an emperor.
At this moment, a key figure appeared - Xie Jin, the first talent of the Ming Dynasty. He used only three words to make Zhu Di decide to make Zhu Gaozi the crown prince.
"Good Saint Sun."
Who is this talking about? Zhu Gaozi's son Zhu Zhanji.
Although Zhu Gaozi was weak and not liked by Zhu Di, he really loved Zhu Zhanji, so when Xie Jin mentioned Zhu Zhanji, a good saint, he immediately compromised.
But for Zhu Gaoxu, this is really a fraud. He fought on the battlefield and bravely killed the enemy, which can be described as a first-class hero, and Zhu Di's approach was not to unload and kill donkeys, cross the river and demolish bridges?
Zhu Di also knew that he could not stand up to Zhu Gaoxu, but he was also worried that he was as rebellious as himself, and he himself knew best that the rebellion of the king of the clan posed a threat to the central government.
In 1404, Zhu Gaoxu was made crown prince, and Zhu Di made Zhu Gaoxu the King of Han, the domain of Yunnan.
Yunnan, isn't this getting farther and farther away from the political center, Zhu Gaoxu did not go, in 1415, changed to Qingzhou, Zhu Gaoxu said: "What crime do I have, put me barren soil." Reluctance to go.
Zhu Di's desire to let him out of Beijing was really obvious, and the resentment was accumulating in Zhu Gaozi's heart. Zhu Gaoxu, who is in Le'an Prefecture, has been waiting for an opportunity.
In 1424, Ming Chengzu died of illness during the Northern Expedition, Zhu Gaoxu succeeded to the throne, still unstable, Zhu Gaoxu's first hasty plot of the rebellion failed, remembering the old feelings, let Zhu Gaoxu go.
But Zhu Gaoxu's ambitions could not be contained.
Less than a year later, Emperor Akihito's Zhu Gaozhi died of illness, and the crown prince Zhu Zhanji went to Beijing for funerals, but Zhu Gaoxu set up an ambush halfway through, but still did not succeed.
In 1426, there was a rebellion, and Emperor Xuanzong of Ming, Zhu Zhanji, personally marched, and Zhu Gaoxu was defeated and imprisoned in Xi'an Gate.
Soldiers were defeated and killed
Both rebellions ended in failure, and Zhu Gaoxu could not fulfill his dream of emperor after all. Finally, he prostrated his head and said to Zhu Gaozi, "Your Majesty deserves to die for his sins, but he is at the mercy of His Majesty."
Even though he was extremely unwilling in his heart, he gritted his teeth and helplessly played the role of this literati he once hated, imitating the foolish appearance of loyal subjects in his tongue.
However, he did not really confess his guilt, he had already believed under the influence of Zhu Di that rebellion was a proof of ability, as a necessary way for a clan king to gain power.
Zhu Zhanji naturally disliked him in his heart, but as his uncle, his indecisive father also told him to treat Zhu Gaoxu kindly, and he maintained a smile on his face to visit Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Gaoxu deliberately tripped him.
At this moment, both of them showed their minds. Zhu Gaoxu was no longer the king of the clan who bowed down to his life, and Zhu Zhanji no longer controlled his disgust, so he asked someone to hold Zhu Gaoxu upside down in a copper cylinder.
Zhu Gaoxu wanted to rise up, but finally exhausted, Zhu Zhanji placed a charcoal fire next to him, lit it, and roasted him to death.
Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, and the king of the clan who had been in rebellion all his life was over.
brief summary
Zhu Gaoxu's extreme yearning for power and pursuit of power are absolutely inseparable from his father Zhu Di's Battle of Jingnan. At that time, Zhu Gaoxu realized that the emperor did not necessarily have to succeed to the throne, and if he had the ability, rebellion was also a great way.
His father became emperor as a rebel king, which was a ray of light for Zhu Gaoxu, the second son of the concubine, who was deeply troubled by the inheritance system of the eldest son, dazzling enough and blinding enough.
There are also Zhu Di's constant hints that the incompetence of his brother Zhu Gaoxu was brewed before the storm, and Zhu Gaoxu did not realize his ambitions throughout his life, but interpreted the four words of "striving to be emperor".
In the end, all this is recorded in history and judged by man.