【Chairman Mao's Comments on Zhu Di of The Emperors】
Although Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was a usurper and had a bad reputation in history, he was still very accomplished.
In a conversation in May 1964, Chairman Mao said: "I am the most angry when I read the History of Ming. Except for the two illiterate emperors of the Ming Dynasty (Zhu Yuanzhang) and Ming Chengzu (Zhu Di), who were illiterate, who did better, and Ming Wuzong and Ming Yingzong, who were slightly better, the rest were not good, and they did all bad things. ”
It can be seen that Chairman Mao still admired Ming Chengzu Zhu Di very much, saying that he "did a relatively good job."
Indeed, in the history of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di has done many great things, such as moving the capital to Beijing, Zheng He going to the West, compiling the Yongle Canon, etc., all of which are worth remembering in history, and it can even be said that Zhu Di is the most accomplished emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty thinker Li Yan commented: "For more than two hundred years in our country, we have rested and recuperated, so that as for now, the soldiers are at ease with their warmth, and people have forgotten their wars, all of which are the strength of Emperor Ming Chengzuwen and Yao Shaoshi." ”
Liang Qichao also commented: "Ming Chengzu was brilliant and strategic, and after inheriting Emperor Gao, the world was initially determined, the national strength was great, and it was Si Yang Weide outside the territory, which was similar to the era of Han Xiaowu and Tang Taizong." ”
If There is any deficiency in Zhu Di, or where he is discussed by posterity, it is his ascension to the throne.
As we all know, Zhu Di's throne was taken from his nephew Zhu Yunjiao, and after 4 years of war between his uncle and nephew, Zhu Di won the victory, and Zhu Yunjiao disappeared, becoming a mystery in history.
This history of Zhu Di is indeed somewhat disgraceful, but it is also forced by the situation, according to the situation at that time, if he does not oppose, Zhu Yunjiao will clean him up in the name of cutting the domain, so in fact, Zhu Di's approach is also beyond reproach.
The Battle of Jingnan lasted for 4 years, at the beginning, Zhu Di's forces were completely at a disadvantage, while Zhu Yunjiao was fully dominant, and when he first started fighting, Zhu Di was also hanged by Zhu Yunjiao, but Zhu Di was a veteran of the battlefield after all, and finally turned defeat into victory and won victory.
When Chairman Mao read the "Chronicle of the Ming Dynasty", he repeatedly read the war between Zhu Di and Zhu Yunjiao, understood it very comprehensively, and said: "Zhu Di was born and died in battle, and many beautiful battles are still worth writing. ”
Here, Chairman Mao highlighted the Battle of Baigou River in the second year of Jianwen, stressing that in this battle, Zhu Di, who was in a disadvantage, had less than 200,000 soldiers and horses, and Zhu Yunjiao sent Li Jinglong to lead a million soldiers and horses to conquest, and in the end, the millions of Qin Wang's divisions were defeated by Zhu Di, and from then on, Zhu Yunjiao no longer had much strength to organize large-scale conquests.
However, after the victory, Zhu Di was somewhat drifting, and soon after, Zhu Di organized the Battle of Dongchang, as a result, he was proud of the enemy, defeated by Sheng Yong and others, and was captured by more than 10,000 people, Zhu Di himself was also heavily surrounded, and finally under the desperate protection of everyone, he achieved a breakthrough and recovered a life.
After comparing the two battles, Chairman Mao commented: "After the great victory at the Baigou River, it is advisable to have such a defeat. ”
Later, when Chatting with the staff, Chairman Mao once again mentioned the Battle of Dongchang, emphatically saying: "Zhu Di was carried away by the victory and was doomed to slip up. ”
Chairman Mao also warned military generals many times not to make the "mistake of pride after a great victory," which was actually inspired by the battles of Baihegou and Dongchang.
According to the "History of Ming", in the later period of the Battle of Jingnan, the balance of victory gradually tilted toward Zhu Di, who once sent people to seek peace and put forward a request for peace talks, clearly making it conditional on the cession of land. However, Zhu Di would not be so stupid, winning this war was in front of him, and he would not let go. Therefore, Zhu Di did not pay any attention to Zhu Yunjiao's demands for peace talks, and when he first rebelled, he said that he would "eliminate the traitors and the side of the Qing Emperor", and now he has clearly raised this banner and further intensified the offensive.
When Chairman Mao saw this passage, he commented in his book: "Always use the term "War criminals, so that Nanjing cannot agree." This means that now everyone can see clearly, which is obviously that Zhu Di did not want to negotiate peace at all, and deliberately made it difficult for Zhu Yunjiao, that is, he wanted to become emperor.
At the end of 1948, the Pingjin Campaign began, and hundreds of thousands of troops besieged The Peiping Regiment and strove to liberate Peiping peacefully.
On this day, Wang Jiaxiang, then director of the Northeast Bureau's Urban Work Department, came to visit Chairman Mao specifically, and the two had a deep discussion; Chairman Mao asked him for his opinion on the establishment of the capital; Wang Jiaxiang made an objective analysis of the cities of Nanjing, Xi'an, Luoyang, and Beiping, and finally suggested that Chairman Mao should make the capital Beiping.
This proposal was exactly in line with Chairman Mao's intentions, and he said to Wang Jiaxiang: "During this time, I have been thinking about this issue, and I have thought of the issue of moving the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was bound to be in Nanjing, and when it reached Zhu Di, he moved the capital to Beiping. This change in political center has had a positive impact on the political and economic situation of the whole country, and I also think that Peiping is the best. ”
Obviously, Chairman Mao's final decision to make the capital Beiping was actually thinking of the story of Zhu Di's move to Beijing.
In fact, Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, and at that time he was still under great pressure, and was also called "the son of heaven guarding the gate of the country" in the history books.
According to the saying at that time, the threat of the Ming Dynasty came from the southern invasion of the Mongols in the north, and Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, which could not only control the overall situation, but also resist the Mongols at close range, reflecting a very strong attitude.
In May 1958, Chairman Mao attended the ceremony of the construction of the Ming Tombs Reservoir, and before the ceremony, he first visited the Ming Chang Mausoleum and sighed: "The Ming Tombs are a good place, and this Zhu Di really has some eyesight." ”
According to records, when Zhu Di chose a cemetery before his death, he did not choose it in Nanjing, but in Beijing. During the visit, Chairman Mao said to the tomb keepers and the staff around him: "This Chengzu Yongle Emperor Zhu Di dared to build a capital city in Beijing, dared to put his own mausoleum here, was not afraid of the iron horses of the Mongols, and was a bold man. ”
When Chairman Mao walked to Zhu Di's mausoleum, he also held a large bamboo pole and said humorously: "We have come to ask Ming Chengzu for food." ”
Moreover, he also called Cheng Qian's daughter Cheng Xi, who was accompanying him, and everyone usually called her "Xiao Kangxi", and Chairman Mao smiled and said to her: "Xiao Kangxi, you go and bow to Ming Chengzu, on behalf of me!" ”
In Chairman Mao's eyes, Zhu Di was a man of great talent and great ability, and his ability was not inferior to that of Zhu Yuanzhang, believing that among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, only the two of them "did a better job."
【Chairman Mao's Comments on The Emperors of Past Dynasties Series】Published Articles ——
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Chairman Zhu Yuanzhang commented: It was a mistake not to train his descendants to unite the troops in combat