Zhu Yuanzhang's father-in-law was named Hu Mei, and his eldest daughter Hu Shi was crowned as Hu Shunfei by Zhu Yuanzhang when Hongwu was 13 years old. In the 17th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, without warning, issued an edict to kill his father-in-law Hu Mei. As for what crime hu Mei committed? At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not mention a word, and for the ministers, no one dared to question Zhu Yuanzhang, which became an unsolved case at that time.
(Zhu Yuanzhang stills)
It was not until 6 years later, that is, in the 23rd year of Hongwu, that Zhu Yuanzhang first mentioned the reason for the death of Hu Mei, "Mei Yin's eldest daughter was a noble concubine, and she was forbidden to go to the chaotic palace with her son-in-law.
That is to say, Hu Mei died from an unauthorized visit to the palace.
So, why did Hu Mei's usual visit to the palace lead to such serious consequences? Not only was he forced to commit suicide, but he also lost his son-in-law's life.
To understand this problem, let's first look at what kind of person Hu Mei is.
Hu Mei's original name was Hu Tingrui, and because he avoided Zhu Yuanzhang's character Guorui, he had to change his name to Hu Mei. He was a famous general in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and initially worked well under Chen Youyi's men. Chen Youyi, who was proclaimed empress dowager, appointed Hu Mei as the chancellor of Jiangxi Province and stationed in Nanchang.
In the 21st year of Zhizheng (元惠宗年号), Zhu Yuanzhang conquered Chen Youyu. After capturing Jiangzhou, he heard that Hu Mei was brave and good at strategizing, and that his troops were strong and strong, and that there were many people, so he heeded the advice of the military master Liu Bowen and sent emissaries to summon Hu Mei.
Under the circumstances at that time, Chen Youyu was already weakening and the defeat was decided, and Hu Mei's wisest choice was to submit to Zhu Yuanzhang. However, he was jealous, afraid that once he surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang, zhu Yuanzhang would cut off the military power and become the commander of the light pole. Therefore, after hesitating, Hu Mei sent an emissary Zheng Renjie to meet Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zheng Renjie put forward the conditions for Zhu Yuanzhang's surrender in person: First, he must not lower his title, and second, he must not reorganize and disrupt his troops. For the first condition, Zhu Yuanzhang agreed very happily, promising to retain the treatment of Hu Meicheng. However, for the second condition proposed by Hu Mei, Zhu Yuanzhang looked embarrassed, because Hu Mei had a heavy army in his hands, and Zhu Yuanzhang was also jealous and worried that he would rebel against the water in the future.
(Hu Mei stills)
At this time, the alert Liu Bowen played a key role. He gently stepped on the bed where Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting with his feet, and Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized that he agreed to Zheng Renjie's request.
On the day of Hu Mei's surrender, Zhu Yuanzhang gave him enough face. Not only did he lead the military division Liu Bowen to personally go to the Longxing Tree House to greet him, but also arranged a grand welcome ceremony. Of course, Hu Mei also showed enough sincerity, handed over the seal of Cheng Xiang given by Chen Youyu, and also sacrificed the number of soldiers and civilians and grain reserves to greet Zhu Yuanzhang outside the new city gate.
After Hu Mei surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang, he led his former subordinates to begin to attack the city and plunder the land for Zhu Yuanzhang, and made great achievements.
In 23 Years, Hu Mei accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang in attacking Wuchang and besieging Chen Youyi's son Chen Li. In the 25th year, he accompanied the general Xu Da and led his cavalry and sailors to capture Huaidong. The following year, Hu Mei led his army to a fierce battle with Zhang Shicheng, and more than a dozen cities such as Lianke Huzhou and Wuxi became zhu Yuanzhang's founding heroes.
Zhu Yuanzhang was also righteous enough, and after assuming the throne as emperor, he successively made Hu Mei a Zhongshu Pingzhang and a tongzhi Zhan Shiyuan. In the 3rd year of Hongwu, Hu Mei was again given the title of Marquis of Yuzhang, with 1500 stones of food. Later, in the 13th year of Hongwu, Hu Mei was renamed the Marquis of Linchuan, and praised him: "Ru returned with the Chen clan, and I was loyal for several years. ”
It can be seen from this that Zhu Yuanzhang's trust in Hu Mei has reached the point of no return, and Hu Mei's merit and status at this time have also reached their peak.
However, only 4 years later, Hu Mei was killed by Zhu Yuanzhang for visiting her daughter in the palace. So, is the cause of Hu Mei's death really "disturbing the palace ban"?
(Hu Shunfei stills)
For Hu Mei, as a man rather than a woman, entering the palace to visit her daughter without permission is of course against the taboo of the palace. But after all, visiting relatives is the common sentiment of people, and he has made outstanding achievements in battle, and he has been knighted, and he will not lose his life because of this mistake.
Moreover, Princess Hu Shunfei has always been favored by Zhu Yuanzhang, not only was she crowned a noble concubine for a few years, but she also gave birth to a crown prince Zhu Bai for Zhu Yuanzhang very early, which can be said to be gaining power.
According to the theory, Zhu Yuanzhang would give Hu Shunfei a little face if he did not look at the monk's face and look at the Buddha's face, and would not kill in vain.
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang gave Death to Hu Mei in the name of "disturbing the palace ban", and there were other reasons.
This reason is Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicious and defensive heart.
First of all, Hu Mei was the founding hero of Zhu Yuanzhang, and when Zhu Yuanzhang fought the world, he had made great achievements in battle and made great contributions, and there were a number of helpers who swore to follow him to the death. This is a great threat to Zhu Yuanzhang and to the Zhu family world. Especially Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in the grassroots, he especially cherished this hard-won world and imperial power, and did not allow any figures in crisis of imperial power to exist.
Secondly, Hu Mei is also a foreign relative, and a foreign relative with a huge influence. If he is allowed to continue to grow bigger and stronger, and develops into collusion with the inside and outside of the inner palace, it is bound to lead to disasters and endless troubles.
Again, Hu Mei was involved in the party struggle. After all, he was only a demotion general, although he was loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang, and despite his many military achievements, he was never a member of the core power group trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, in order to protect herself, Hu Mei became involved in the party dispute.
The same is true of the facts. Six years after Zhu Yuanzhang's death of Hu Mei, in the case of Li Shanchang, zhu Yuanzhang classified Hu Mei as a traitor, believing that Hu Mei not only "disturbed the palace ban" but also participated in Li Shanchang's "conspiracy to rebel" incident.
(Reference: History of the Ming Dynasty)