Foreword: Ming Chengzu Zhu Di is a legendary emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty and even in the history of China. After three years of bitter fighting, he overthrew his nephew Zhu Yunjiao, who controlled the resources of the whole country. After ascending the throne, in order to wash away the insult of "butcher and thief", Zhu Di took Annan, cut down the desert north, went to the West, moved the capital to Beijing, and repaired the "Yongle Canon", and one person completed the work of several generations of emperors.
The emperor had few heirs, and only three of them survived to adulthood, namely Crown Prince Zhu Gaoxu, Han King Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhao King Zhu Gaoxuan. The dispute between these three sons in the Yongle Dynasty undoubtedly broke the heart of the old father Zhu Di. In the end, in addition to relying on his own ability, the crown prince also had the help of Zhu Zhanji, a good son and a "good saint grandson" who was very popular with Zhu Di, and successfully sat in the position of crown prince.
Throughout the Yongle Dynasty, Zhu Di was very busy. In addition to the Five Expeditions to the North, they often made round-trip tours between Beijing and Nanjing. Therefore, the author suddenly wondered, can we directly show who Zhu Di prefers the most by counting the four people who have been with the emperor for the most time by counting the four people who are the prince, the grandson, the king of Han, and the king of Zhao? Let's just do it, let's talk about data. The starting point of time began when Zhu Di entered Nanjing and became emperor, until Zhu Di died on his last northern expedition.
Zhu Dijing could not succeed
From June 17, the fourth year of Jianwen (1402 AD), when Zhu Di ascended the throne at the Fengtian Temple of the Nanjing Imperial Palace, to February 9, the seventh year of Yongle (1409 AD), Zhu Di had been honestly staying in Nanjing without moving his nest for eight years. During this period, several major events were carried out, such as opening up science to recruit soldiers, appointing the crown prince, sending Zheng He to the West, and recovering Annam.
For a long time after Zhu Di ascended the throne, due to the political situation not being stable, Zhu Gaozi, who was still the son of the Prince of Yan at that time, always sat in Beiping (later changed to Beijing) and never went south. It was not until the first month of the second year of Yongle (1404 AD) that Zhu Di sent Du Wei (驸馬都尉), the Marquis of Yongchun Wang Ning ( 王宁 ) , and Zhang Xin the Marquis of Longping as envoys to Beijing to summon Shizi south.
On March 24, Zhu Gaozi arrived in Nanjing and was crown prince on April 4. When Zhu Di was hunting in Beijing, the crown prince was appointed to oversee the state of Nanjing. Father and son spent 59 months together.
The King of Han followed Zhu Di south to attack Nanjing, so he was a witness when his father ascended the throne, but his identity at that time was still that of the King of Gaoyang. As mentioned above, the political situation in the north was unstable at that time, so on August 23, 1402, the thirty-fifth year of Hongwu (1402 AD), Zhu Gaoxu led an army back to the north to assist Shizi in defending Beiping.
On February 27, the first year of Yongle (1403 AD), Zhu Gaoxu led his troops to Kaiping to prepare. Leading the army on this expedition may not be an opportunity for Zhu Di to give his son a meritorious career in order to be crowned crown prince. Unfortunately, at that time, there was a celestial phenomenon of "daytime white seeing the throne", which was considered to be a harbinger of "the general is in chaos, and the soldiers in the palace are rising". Subsequently, Zhu Gaoxu's troops marched to Qinghe, and the slave was Lei Zhen and died. When passing through Juyong Pass, it is also "the sound of cauldrons in the curtain", which is an ominous sign. Finally, on June 23, Zhu Di ordered Zhu Gaoxu to return to Beijing with 300 of his own troops, and the large force was handed over to zheng heng the marquis of Wu'an, Wang Cong, the marquis of Wucheng, and Li Yuan, the marquis of Anping, and stationed at Xuanfu.
On March 24 of the second year of Yongle, Zhu Gaoxu arrived in Nanjing with his brother Zhu Gaoxu, and on April 4, he was crowned king of Han. From then on until Zhu Di's tour of Beijing, the King of Han stayed in Nanjing. Father and son spent a total of 61 months together.
Zhu Gaoxuan remained in Beiping with his eldest brother Zhu Gaozi during the Jingnan War, but after Zhu Gaoxu returned from Nanjing to Beiping to assist in the stay, Zhu Gaoxuan was summoned to Nanjing. On September 10, 1935, Zhu Gaoxuan arrived in Nanjing.
On October 2, Xu Shi, the daughter of the governor Xu Zhang and niece of He Fu, a major chancellor of the Jianwen Dynasty, was made a concubine of Zhu Gaoxuan. On April 4 of the second year of Yongle, Zhu Gaoxuan was created the Prince of Zhao, and Xu shi was made a princess of Zhao.
In February of the third year of Yongle (1405 AD), the three guards of the Zhao Dynasty were set up, with Peng Chengwei as the changshan guard, the Yongqing left guard as the changshan left guard, and the Yongqing right guard as the changshan right guard. On February 17, Zhu Gaoxuan, the King of Zhao, was ordered to go to Beijing to live in Beijing.
King Zhao then came to Nanjing on October 13, 2013, but departed for Beijing on October 21. On December 13, the fourth year of Yongle (1406 AD), King Zhao returned to Nanjing, this time not until March 25, the fifth year of Yongle (1407 AD). On the 25th day of the first month of the sixth year of Yongle (1408 AD), Empress Xu of The Zhao Dynasty was buried in Nanjing. On February 3, King Zhao returned to China. In July of that year, when Empress Xu was Xiaoxiang, King Zhao came to Nanjing again, and returned after the matter was completed. Father and son spent a total of 37 months together.
Stills of the King of Han, the Prince, and the King of Zhao
Zhu Zhanji was born in Beiping, and during the Jing Dynasty, he stayed in Beiping with his father Zhu Gaozi and his third uncle Zhu Gaofu. Zhu Di always liked this eldest grandson, so when the crown prince and the king of Han were still in Beijing, he first recalled Zhu Zhanji to Nanjing. On November 20, the first leap year of Yongle, Zhu Zhanji arrived in Nanjing. Yongle went to school on April 7, 2005. When Zhu Di was hunting in Beijing in the seventh year of Yongle, he specially took Zhu Zhanji with him. Grandchildren spent a total of 66 months together.
Summary of the number of months spent together: 1, Zhu Zhanji (66), 2, Zhu Gaoxu (61), 3, Zhu Gaozi (59), 4, Zhu Gaoxuan (37).
On March 19, the seventh year of Yongle (1409 AD), Zhu Di arrived in Beijing. In August of that year, qiu Fu, the Duke of Qi, lost the northern expedition, and Zhu Di decided to march in person. On February 10, the eighth year of Yongle (1410 AD), a large army set out from Beijing to begin the first northern expedition. On July 17, Zhu Di led his army back to Beijing. On October 4, he set off for Nanjing.
During this time, Zhu Gaozi was in nanjing to oversee the country, so the time spent between father and son was zero.
The King of Han also remained in Nanjing, so the time spent between father and son was zero.
Although King Zhao was in Beijing, he did not follow Zhu Di on the Northern Expedition, nor did he return to Nanjing with him. Father and son spend 14 months together.
Zhu Zhanji followed his grandfather to Beijing and was ordered to stay in Beijing during the First Northern Expedition. When Zhu Di returned to Nanjing, Zhu Zhanji walked with him again. The total time spent with grandchildren is therefore 17 months.
Summary of the number of months spent together: 1, Zhu Zhanji (83) 2, Zhu Gaoxu (61) 3, Zhu Gaozi (59) 4, Zhu Gaoxuan (51).
The Ming Army's Northern Expedition
On November 12, 2008, Zhu Di returned to Nanjing. On February 16, the eleventh year of Yongle (1413 AD), he once again hunted Beijing.
The prince had never been out of Nanjing anyway, and the father and son spent 29 months together.
On the 17th day of the eleventh month of Yongle, the King of Han escorted Empress Renxiao to Beijing, so the father and son spent 28 months together.
Because Princess Xu's uncle He Fu (何福) of the Zhao dynasty had offended the emperor during the First Northern Expedition and committed suicide in fear of his sins, Princess Xu was also deposed in March of the ninth year of Yongle (1411 CE). On October 20 of that year, King Zhao was ordered to come to Nanjing to prepare for his second marriage. On December 4, the daughter of Mu Sheng, the Duke of Qianguo, was crowned Princess Zhao. On the 20th day of the first month of the tenth year of Yongle, King Zhao returned to Beijing with his princess. Therefore, the time spent between father and son is 4 months.
On November 10 of the ninth year of Yongle, Zhu Zhanji was crowned as the emperor's grandson, and he was already established as the third generation heir of the empire during his father's lifetime. This time Zhu Di went to Beijing, and Zhu Zhanji once again followed the line. The total time spent with grandchildren is 30 months.
Summary of the number of months spent together: 1, Zhu Zhanji (113) 2, Zhu Gaoxu (89), 3, Zhu Gaozi (88), 4, Zhu Gaoxuan (55).
Stills of Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji's grandchildren
On April 4, 111, Zhu Di arrived in Beijing. On March 17, 1212, Yongle personally conquered Mobei for the second time. He returned to Beijing on August 1 of that year. Yongle departed for Nanjing on September 20, 1416.
Zhu Gaozi was still in Nanjing, so father and son spent zero time together.
After arriving in Beijing earlier, the King of Han insisted on returning to Nanjing on the 19th day of the first month of the twelfth year of Yongle (1414 AD), despite the hardships of his old father. Father and son spend 10 months together.
After Zhu Di came to Beijing, King Zhao naturally did not need to go to Nanjing. However, at the time of the Second Northern Expedition, King Zhao remained in Beijing and did not accompany him. As a result, father and son spend 39 months together.
After coming to Beijing with his grandfather, Zhu Zhanji participated in the Second Northern Expedition with Zhu Di. Yongle returned to Nanjing with his grandfather in the fourteenth year. The total time spent with grandchildren was 44 months.
Summary of the number of months spent together: 1, Zhu Zhanji (157) 2, Zhu Gaoxu (99), 3, Zhu Gaoxuan (94), 4, Zhu Gaozi (88).
The Emperor's grandson was married
On October 25, 14, Zhu Di arrived in Nanjing, and immediately summoned a group of ministers to discuss the construction of Beijing. On March 26, 1417, in the fifteenth year of Yongle (1417 AD), Zhu Di made his third tour of Beijing.
The prince sat firmly in Nanjing, and the father and son spent 5 months together.
In view of the fact that the dispute between the King of Han and the Crown Prince had already caused great division in the court, in order to prevent future troubles, Zhu Di ordered the Han King to live in Le'an Prefecture, Shandong Province, on March 20 before this tour of Beijing. Father and son spend 5 months together.
During this time, King Zhao did not go south, so the time spent between father and son was zero.
Before setting off, Zhu Di arranged a marriage for his grandson. On March 13, 15th year of Yongle, the daughter of Hu Rong, the secretary of the Guanglu Temple, was made the crown princess. The total time spent with grandchildren is 5 months.
Summary of the number of months spent together: 1, Zhu Zhanji (162) 2, Zhu Gaoxu (104), 3, Zhu Gaoxuan (94), 4, Zhu Gaozi (93).
Beijing Imperial Palace
On May 1, 1555, Zhu Di arrived in Beijing. On September 22, the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420 AD), Zhu Di issued an edict that from the first day of the first lunar month of the following year, Beijing would be called a beijing master, not a walk. The original Beijing division was called Nanjing, and the word Nanjing was added in front of all the yamen.
On March 21, 1422, the 20th year of Yongle (1422 AD), the third personal conquest of Mobei. He returned to Beijing on September 8.
On July 24, the twenty-first year of Yongle (1423 AD), the fourth personal expedition to Mobei was carried out. He returned to Beijing on November 7.
On April 4, the twenty-second year of Yongle (1424 AD), the fifth personal conquest of Mobei was made. On July 18, Zhu Di died in the Elm River. On August 10, Emperor Daxing Ryuji went to the Great Inner Renzhi Hall to serve An.
After Zhu Di went north, the crown prince was still in Nanjing. However, after changing Beijing to Beijing, Zhu Gaozi left Nanjing on October 17, 1818 and went north, arriving in Beijing on December 25.
After that, when Zhu Di marched three times, Zhu Gaozi remained in the prison state. The total time spent between father and son is 32 months.
The King of Han had not seen Zhu Di since he was demoted to Le'an Prefecture, so father and son spent zero time together.
King Zhao stayed in Beijing until Zhu Di's death and did not participate in any of the three conquests, so the total time spent between father and son was 93 months.
Zhu Zhanji and the crown prince went north together, and stayed in Beijing ever since, and did not participate in the three pro-conquests. As a result, grandchildren spent a total of 32 months together.
Summary of the number of months spent together: 1, Zhu Zhanji (194) 2, Zhu Gaoxuan (187), 3, Zhu Gaozi (125), 4, Zhu Gaoxu (104).
The soul returns to elmgigawa
Conclusion: Judging from the final data, even after Zhu Di's third tour of Beijing, until he and his father entered Beijing together, he did not spend more than three years with his grandfather, and his data still ranked first. It can be seen from this that Zhu Di's great love for this eldest grandson is indeed not the praise of Zhu Zhanji in the history books of later generations.
As for King Zhao, it is certain that he is the most favored of the three sons. Even if Yongle was involved in a conspiracy against the wind and turmoil for twenty-one years, it still did not shake his position. Of course, some people may say that King Zhao accompanied Zhu Di for a long time because he had been in Beijing. Having said that, in the fourteenth year of Yongle, Zhu Di had already designated king Zhao's fiefdom as Zhangde Province. However, until Zhu Di's death, this Zhao Prince did not go to the domain, which does not explain Zhu Di's preference for his young son?
The prince, in a decent and diligent manner, did his promising job of supervising the country. Zhu Di was on a hunting tour between Beijing and Nanjing, and if there was no prince to oversee the state, the country did not know what chaos would become.
Finally, His Highness the King of Han could see that since being driven to Le'an Prefecture, Zhu Di had completely abandoned it. Judging from the time he spent with his father at the bottom, his road to winning the wife came to an abrupt end in the fifteenth year of Yongle.
Although the data is cold, it can reflect the living history. Whether the feelings between father and son and between grandchildren are deep, sometimes they do not rely on a mouth. The "good saint sun" is the heart of the grandfather, and this is the solid evidence.