The position of the ancient crown prince has always been hotly discussed by later generations, because it is a profession full of high risks. Poor performance is seen as incompetent, wasteful, and eventually abandoned or deposed by the emperor, or even involved in a battle for succession and ending in a fiasco. However, if the performance is too good, it will attract the suspicion of the emperor, and it will be regarded as a usurper for power, or even persecute his father. Therefore, the position of the prince is really difficult to sit, especially when some emperors use balance and pot throwing techniques, they take the prince to the pot at critical moments, for example, Song Huizong once asked his son Zhao Heng to take the blame. However, there are also some strange things in ancient history. Although it is not uncommon for rebellious princes and princes to occur, there is a prince who has been as stable as Mount Tai since birth, and even if the other brothers have outstanding performance in both military and talent, they are destined to be unable to shake his position. Some netizens even joked that if he really rebelled, his father would happily say: "My son has a future", and then obediently give way. This prince is Zhu Biao, an elegant, kind, but young prince. Zhu Biao is the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang, and when he was born, Zhu Yuanzhang was conquering Nanjing, and it can be said that Zhu Biao's birth further consolidated the stability of Zhu Yuanzhang's military group.
Because of talented descendants, it is possible to ensure that Zhu Yuanzhang's power can be inherited and this interest group can continue to be maintained. After the victory, Zhu Yuanzhang happily went to the mountain to carve a stone, "Those who come to this mountain will not suffer from childlessness", and placed extremely high expectations on the young Zhu Biao. He even invited the famous Song Lian to teach Zhu Biao Confucian culture, with the aim of governing the world in the future. It can be said that Zhu Biao was cultivated as an heir from the beginning. In 1364, Zhu Yuanzhang established himself as the queen of Wu, and immediately named Zhu Biao as the prince, confirming his status as the first heir. On the one hand, this move pleased his subordinates, especially supporters of Confucianism, who adhered to orthodox ethicsOn the other hand, it was also to cater to the queen of the Ma family at that time, Aiwu and Wu. In 1367, Zhu Biao, who was only 13 years old, returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors, which can be said to have completed this ancestor worship task instead of Zhu Yuanzhang, and reported to his ancestors that the Zhu family had descendants, and the ancestors were glorious. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang was proclaimed emperor, and Empress Ma naturally took charge of the harem and was supported by the Huaixi generals, and Zhu Biao became the first prince of the Ming Dynasty as a matter of course. The ** of the East Palace is well arranged, and it can be said that this lineup can be called luxurious.
The young master of the crown prince is Li Shanchang, the leader of Wenchen;The young master of the crown prince is Xu Da, the first person among the generals;Prince Shaobao is Chang Yuchun, the second person in the army. Zhu Yuanzhang cultivated many talents, including Yang Xian, Feng Sheng and others, who served in the East Palace. Zhu Biao is fully capable of supervising the country, and all the decrees he promulgated have been implemented, which shows that he is very careful about thinking about the future. In addition, Zhu Biao received many teachings from the Great Confucians, and although he lived in peace, he was not tainted with the Xi of the children of the Confucians, and treated his teachers with great respect, so he was unanimously praised by the ministers of the government and the opposition. He was also very friendly to his brothers, even the ambitious Zhu Di, who was also relieved to be his fourth brother during that period. In 1371, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to choose a wife for Zhu Biao, and he chose the daughter of Chang Yuchun, the second highest in the army, who would become a staunch supporter of the prince's future leadership of the court. Soon, Zhu Biao ushered in the birth of two sons, which further consolidated the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, Zhu Biao was 22 years old and began to get into government affairs, and his benevolent government ideas were different from Zhu Yuanzhang's ideas, but they were supported by his courtiers. In 1391, Zhu Biao was ordered to send an envoy to Shaanxi to investigate the situation in detail and intercede for the king of Qin, showing his benevolence. After returning to the court, Zhu Biao fell ill on the way back.
Zhu Biao still insisted on handling government affairs when he was critically ill, and suggested to Zhu Yuanzhang to build the capital, which fully demonstrated the quality of devoting himself to political affairs in spite of his personal safety like Zhu Yuanzhang. However, it is a pity that his body is not as strong as Zhu Yuanzhang. On April 25, 1392, Zhu Biao died young at the age of thirty-seven, in the prime of life. Zhu Biao's death had a profound impact on the early years of the Ming Dynasty. First of all, there is the question of heirs, whether they will inherit in the order of the eldest son, or will they be distributed according to merit?In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang made a decision to let Zhu Biao's eldest son inherit the throne, which led to a situation where the monarch was weak and the courtiers were strong. Although Zhu Yuanzhang tried his best to avoid it, he did not expect that his son would seize his grandson's country in the future. Secondly, after Queen Ma and Zhu Biao died one after another, Zhu Yuanzhang began to act recklessly, like a wild beast that had escaped. Coupled with Jinyiwei's powerful intelligence capabilities, the Huaixi generals were almost wiped out. This was vividly reflected in Zhu Yunwen's pacification of the Jingjing Battle, because it was difficult to find generals who could fight, from which it can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang's methods were ruthless. However, Zhu Biao will forever become a big regret of the Ming Dynasty, a regret of his untimely death.
The father passed the throne to his son, but it was taken away by his brother, if Zhu Biao was still alive, everything would be reasonable, not so. The young Zhu Yunwen was unable to conquer the arrogant generals, let alone deal with the ambitious uncles, and even how to deal with these sons made Zhu Yuanzhang helpless. Zhu Biao's death became a dead knot that was difficult to untie, and eventually led to Zhu Di's seizure of the world as inevitable. The young and ambitious Zhu Yunwen was unable to govern the world in the end, especially the ambitious uncle in Beiping.