In 1399, a civil war broke out that shocked China. Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, led the "Jingnan Division" from Beiping to the south and pointed to the capital Nanjing. How tragic was this war caused by the imperial strife? According to historical records, the Ming army suffered more than 500,000 casualties, and the Yan army also lost more than 60,000 casualties. The war is raging, the lives are devastated, and the corpses are strewn all over the field. In the end, Zhu Di invaded Nanjing, the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen were unknown, and Zhu Di succeeded to the throne as emperor and changed the name of the country to Yongle. It can be seen how much trauma this civil war brought to the Ming Dynasty, and how did Yongle Shengshi build on this bloody war?
The reason why Zhu Di raised his army
Zhu Yuanzhang rose through the ranks throughout his life, and finally established the Ming Dynasty after the Jingkang disaster. In order to ensure that the Zhu family will last forever, Zhu Yuanzhang took a series of measures to "cut the feudal domain" in his later years, wantonly killing heroes, weakening the strength of the foreign surname Wang, and at the same time widely sealing the prince with the same surname, and dividing the princes to take charge of important feudal towns. At the time, these practices were undoubtedly expedient measures to maintain imperial power, but in the long run, they laid the foundation for the future Jingjing Rebellion.
Zhu Di was born in 1360, ranked fourth, and was favored by Zhu Yuanzhang since he was a child. Zhu Yuanzhang often said to people, "This son is most like me", and has high hopes for Zhu Di. Zhu Di has been brave and martial since he was a child, and he is very handsome. and for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang handed over Beiping, an important frontier town, to Zhu Di to guard. Zhu Di has extraordinary ambitions, holds heavy troops, and Zhu Yuanzhang's cultivation gradually covets the throne.
In 1398, Zhu Yuanzhang died, the crown prince Zhu Biao died early, and Zhu Yuanzhang designated the imperial grandson Zhu Yunwen to succeed him as Emperor Jianwen. Soon after Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he began to reduce the power of the kings. As the most powerful party, Zhu Di naturally felt the biggest threat. At the instigation of his henchman Yao Guangxiao, Zhu Di decided to strike preemptively, move south, and seize the throne.
In the first month of 1399, Zhu Di officially supported the army in Beiping and called for "Jingnan". Jing refers to the pacification of the world, and difficulty, refers to the difficulty of Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen in government. Zhu Di prides himself on the "Qingjun side", which is intended to "sweep away the villain on the Qingjun side" and "Qingjun side" for Emperor Jianwen. In fact, Zhu Di's Jingnan army was a rebel army with the aim of overthrowing the rule of Emperor Jianwen and seizing the throne.
The news of the army soon spread throughout the Jingshi, and Emperor Jianwen was shocked. He immediately issued an edict and ordered the kings to jointly exterminate Zhu Di's "army of martyrdom". However, there were also obvious conflicts of interest and contradictions between the kings, coupled with Zhu Di's strong army and rapid progress, he soon captured Shandong, Henan and other places. Emperor Jianwen saw that the general trend had gone, so he had to personally supervise the expedition and fight Zhu Di to the death.
In this way, a tragic civil war caused by royal strife began. The armies of both sides have been fighting across the country, fighting each other and devastation. The Ming army was defeated and finally forced to abandon the Central Plains and retreat to Nanjing. Zhu Di's army of martyrdom was like a crazy horse, stepping on all the obstacles that stood in front of him and approaching the city of Nanjing.
The war spread across the country
As soon as Zhu Di's Jingjing division was attacked, it galloped wildly like a wild horse. Although Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen issued an edict to recruit all the kings to suppress it, there were many contradictions between the kings, coupled with Zhu Di's strong army and rapid progress, he soon captured Shandong, Henan and other places.
The Jingnan army first captured Zhending City. At that time, Tie Xuan, the defender of Zhending City, was ordered to hold on, and encountered a fierce battle with Zhu Di's army. The two sides come and go, and it is difficult to distinguish between victory and defeat. At this moment, Tie Xuan suddenly released a rumor of "fraudulent surrender", saying that he was willing to "lure the wolf into the house". Zhu Di was deceived and only led a few of his cronies into the city, but was ambushed by Tie Xuan and almost died.
finally escaped from Zhending, and Zhu Di encountered another test of life and death. It was under the city of Jinan, and Zhu Di's army was surrounded by the Ming army led by Wang Zhen, the defender of Jinan. Dozens of artillery pieces were erected on the head of Jinan City, aimed at Zhu Di's camp. Just when Zhu Di was anxious, a gust of wind suddenly blew, and the range of the artillery was blown away by the strong wind, but it hit the Ming army's own position. Zhu Di took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, crushed Wang Zhen's army, and captured the city of Jinan.
Although the process of the Jingnan Army was tortuous and difficult, on the whole it was victorious one after another. Zhu Di's army was like a bamboo, and advanced to the Lingbao area of Henan. The main force of the Ming army was stationed here, which was personally led by the governor Qi Jiguang. The two sides encountered a decisive battle in the Lingbao area, and the Ming army was eventually routed and Qi Jiguang was captured. Since then, the vanguard of the Jingnan army has approached Jiangnan, and the foundation of Emperor Jianwen has been in jeopardy.
At this critical juncture, Zhu Di encountered a major crisis. It was in the area of the Hutuo River, and the Jingnan army and the Ming army encountered a fierce battle. Zhu Di personally supervised the formation and rode on a war horse to command the battle. Suddenly, a Ming army arrow rained down, Zhu Di's war horse fell to the ground one after another, and his relatives were also killed. At this critical moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew, and the firearms of the Jingnan army were finally able to exert their might and repel the attack of the Ming army. Zhu Di ran before and after the battle, and barely saved his life.
Although the Jingnan army has been repeatedly threatened, it has been triumphant all the way after all, and the momentum is like a bamboo. The last battle was at Zhengcunba on the Yangtze River, where Zhu Di personally led a large army to cross the Yangtze River and storm the imperial capital Nanjing. At that time, the Ming army was already in a state of collapse and was powerless to stop it. Zhu Di's army was like no one, and fought all the way to the city of Nanjing. Just as the Jingnan army rushed in, a raging fire suddenly broke out in the city of Nanjing, and the splendid imperial palace was also reduced to ashes in this fire. The whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen are still a mystery.
Tragic battles
The Battle of Jingyan brought unprecedented trauma and catastrophe to the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, the civil war lasted for four years, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Ming army suffered more than 500,000 casualties, and the Jingnan army also lost more than 60,000 casualties. Lives were devastated, corpses were everywhere, and rivers of blood flowed on the land of China.
The most tragic battle took place under the city of Jinan. At that time, Wang Zhen, the governor of the Ming army, led a heavy army to defend the city of Jinan, and encountered a decisive battle with Zhu Di's Jingnan army. Firearms from both sides fired at each other at the head of the city, and artillery fire continued to fill the sky, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air. For a time, the corpses under the city were all over the place, and the blood flowed into the canal. According to historical records, in this battle alone, more than 30,000 Ming troops were killed.
Another tragic battle took place along the Hutuo River. At that time, Zhu Di personally supervised the formation and confronted the main force of Qi Jiguang, the chief soldier of the Ming army. The armies of both sides launched a life-and-death battle on both sides of the Hutuo River, with arrows flying, swords and swords, and countless soldiers martyred. In the end, the Ming army was defeated, Qi Jiguang was captured alive, and Zhu Di barely saved his life. In this battle, the Ming army lost more than 20,000 people.
Although the Jingnan army won many battles, the price paid was also heavy. In the battle of the Hutuo River alone, hundreds of Zhu Di's personal entourage were killed. Later, when the Yangtze River was forcibly crossed at Zhengcunba, more than half of the casualties of the Jingnan army were killed. At that time, although the Ming army had collapsed, the Yangtze River was still in danger, and Zhu Di had to cross the river in person. The vanguard of the Jingnan Army encountered sniper fire from the Ming army in the river, and countless soldiers were shot alive on the river, floating corpses and drifting waves, which was shocking.
The final battle took place under the city of Nanjing. At that time, Zhu Di's Jingnan army had already entered the city, and the Ming army was defeated and retreated. At this critical juncture, a raging fire suddenly broke out in the city of Nanjing, and the splendid imperial palace was also reduced to ashes in this fire. The whereabouts of Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen are still a mystery, and there are theories that he died in the fire. In any case, this tragic civil war brought unprecedented trauma to the Ming Dynasty, and the government and the opposition were all sad.
The most distressing thing is that this civil war not only affected the generals and ministers of the government and the opposition, but also caused the death and injury of hundreds of people. According to incomplete statistics, at least millions of civilians have died in the four years of war. In the entire Central Plains, families are ruined and people are dying, and there are broken walls and bloody misery everywhere. In some places, there was even a tragic phenomenon of piles of people. It can be said that the trauma brought to the Ming Dynasty by the Battle of Jingyan is unprecedented.
The price of Yongle prosperity
The Battle of Jingjing brought unprecedented trauma to the Ming Dynasty, but at the same time, it also laid the foundation for Zhu Di's Yongle prosperity. After the end of the Battle of Jingyan, Zhu Di quickly consolidated his rule and adopted a series of iron-fisted measures to ensure that the Zhu family would last forever.
First of all, Zhu Di ordered to severely punish the "anti-thieves" in the Battle of Jingjing. All the soldiers who had followed Emperor Jianwen were spared and were sentenced to death. According to historical records, in Nanjing alone, tens of thousands of the old members of Emperor Jianwen were executed by Ling Chi, and there were no bones. Zhu Di's iron-fisted methods can be described as extremely brutal, but under the circumstances at the time, this practice was undoubtedly aimed at completely eliminating dissidents and consolidating the rule of the new dynasty.
Secondly, Zhu Di gave a wide range of rewards and won over a large number of people's hearts. In the Battle of Jingjing, many princes and generals were half-hearted, wandering left and right. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he greatly favored these people, some gave them knighthoods and seals, and some rewarded them with money and food, thus bringing them under his command. At the same time, Zhu Di also issued a decree to reduce or exempt taxes across the country to thank the people. These practices undoubtedly won the hearts of the people and laid the foundation for the Yongle Dynasty.
The most important thing is that Zhu Di learned a painful lesson in the Battle of Jingjing. He knew that if power was dispersed again, it would inevitably lead to new civil strife. Therefore, as soon as Zhu Di came to power, he ordered the full recovery of the power of the vassal king and the recentralization of the government in the hands of the emperor. At the same time, he also vigorously promoted literary prisons, severely punished dissidents, and ensured that the government and the opposition were absolutely obedient to the imperial power.
With these iron-fisted methods, Zhu Di quickly consolidated his rule and cleared away all kinds of hidden dangers left over from the Battle of Jingjing. Since then, the Ming Dynasty has entered a long period of peace and prosperity. During the Yongle period, Zhu Di not only implemented a series of reforms in China and strengthened the centralization of power, but also established outstanding feats in foreign expansion, such as sending Zheng He to the West. It can be said that the prosperity of Yongle was built on the smoke of the Battle of Jingjing.
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However, the wounds inflicted on the Ming Dynasty by the Battle of Jingjing were irreparable. This civil war not only caused hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions of civilians to be killed and wounded, but also destroyed the foundations of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, the Ming Dynasty has been in a slump, and the mediocrity of later emperors has finally led to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that the Battle of Jingyan was the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's prosperity and decline, and the Yongle Prosperity was just the last afterglow of the Ming Dynasty.