In the 1950s, archaeologists excavated a royal tomb in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. When cleaning up the tomb, it was found that the owner of the tomb did not wear the prince's costume for burial, but wore a Taoist crown and a Taoist robe! Isn't this a royal tomb? But this tomb is of high specification, even known as the "Jiangnan Underground Palace", and all kinds of evidence show that this is the royal tomb! It turned out that the owner of the tomb was Zhu Yuanzhang's best son, but he had become a monk and learned the Tao, what was going on?
In May of the tenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang received a report from the harem, and Concubine Yang bore him a son. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang already had seventeen sons, and according to the previous rules, he named this child Zhu Quan next to the wooden character. Zhu Yuanzhang had twenty-six sons in his lifetime, and Zhu Quan should be the best. While Reading a wide range of books, Zhu Quan also practiced martial arts and learned the art of war. Among Zhu Yuanzhang's many princes, Zhu Di was the most capable of fighting, and Zhu Quan was the best at strategizing. In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, Zhu Quan was made the Prince of Ning.
Two years later, the teenage Zhu Quan came to his fiefdom of Daning. Daning is in the territory of today's Chifeng in Inner Mongolia, connecting Liaodong in the east and Xuanfu in the west, and its strategic position is very important, but it is also very dangerous. In order to defend the northern region, Zhu Yuanzhang selected "heroic and wise people shubian" among the princes, such as the King of Yan, the King of Gu, the King of Dai, the King of Jin, the King of Su, the King of Ning, and others, of which the most powerful was Zhu Quan, the King of Ning.
According to historical records, "the king ruled over dozens of cities, more than a thousand miles, with 80,000 armor and 6,000 leather cars, and regarded the kings as the most powerful." That is to say, Zhu Quan had 80,000 soldiers and 6,000 chariots in his hands, in addition to the Duoyan Three Guards cavalry under his command. It can be seen from this that in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, Zhu Quan's ability among the sons is the strongest, otherwise he would not have entrusted such a heavy task to him. Zhu Quan did not live up to his father's expectations, and sent troops several times, "known for his good strategy."
In addition to being good at using soldiers, Zhu Quan was also an out-and-out "literary and artistic youth", and he had high achievements in literature, history, music, medicine, tea ceremony, calendar, drama, and agriculture. Zhu Quan's "Taihe Zhengyin Score" is the earliest surviving miscellaneous opera score in China, which has a profound influence on future generations. Zhu Quan is proficient in music, and the production of the Zhonghe Qin, known as the "Flying Waterfall Lianzhu", is known as the Kuangshi Baoqin. In addition, Zhu Quan also wrote many miscellaneous dramas, which have an important position in the history of ancient Chinese literature.
Why did such a prince, who was both literate and martial, and who was knowledgeable and versatile, choose to become a Taoist monk? This is related to a change in the early years of the Ming Dynasty. After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he began to implement a policy of cutting off the clans, cutting off those who had committed illegal acts. Zhu Quan did not commit any misdeeds, so he was not involved, but there was a prince who rebelled, and he was Zhu Di, the King of Yan. After Zhu Di raised the banner of "Jing Difficulty", he found that his troops were insufficient.
So Zhu Di went to Daning, designed to hold King Ning hostage, and then took King Ning's tens of thousands of troops under his command. At that time, Zhu Di promised Zhu Quan, "When things are accomplished, the world will be divided." In the process of the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Quan also played a great role. Later, Zhu Di became emperor, and Zhu Quan did not dare to mention the matter of dividing the world equally, but only asked to change the fief to Suzhou, but still met with Zhu Di's refusal. In the first year of Yongle, Zhu Quan was renamed to Nanchang.
Zhu Di was well aware of Zhu Quan's talents, so he was very jealous of him. Soon after arriving in Nanchang, someone reported Zhu Quan's "witchcraft and slander." Zhu Di quickly sent a secret agent to investigate, and Zhu Quan has been under the surveillance of the fourth brother ever since. Zhu Quan knew that his political life was over, and in order to save his life, he had to cultivate obscurity. After that, Zhu Quan interacted with literati and Taoists, and he believed in Taoism, so he became a monk. Thirteen years after orthodoxy, Zhu Quan fell ill and died at the age of 71.
References: 1. "History of Ming"; 2. "The Facts of King Ning Xian"