When Chinese emperors chose their successors, they had to choose the most capable and good-looking son to be the crown prince. But Ming Chengzu Zhu Di passed the throne to his eldest son, who was cowardly by nature, bloated, and even a little disabled. Does this eldest son have any special skills?
Clumsy body
Yongle Emperor Zhu Di had a total of four sons, the youngest son died before he reached adulthood, and there are still three alive.
Among the three sons, Emperor Yongle actually didn't like his eldest son, Zhu Gaochi.
Not to mention that the boss is fat, he looks a little weird, walks crookedly, and has to be supported when he goes out, almost a disabled person.
There is no royal grandeur and the grandeur of being a king at all.
In contrast, the second and third children are handsome and physically capable.
Horseback archery is many times stronger than the boss. Eloquence and strategy are better than Zhu Gaochi.
But when Empress Xu was pregnant with Zhu Gaochi, a peculiar phenomenon occurred.
One night, she dreamed that a man wearing a crown was sitting on the highest floor, and below it were all courtiers kneeling with a board in their hands.
Zhu Gaochi was born the next day.
Zhu Gaochi has been frail and sickly since he was a child, and he has been sick for a long time, which has developed his habit of not being mobile.
The two brothers have been in strong health since childhood, and when they go out to fight or patrol, Zhu Di always takes the other brothers who are quick and fast. For the clumsy Zhu Gaochi, he could only stay in the imperial city without any vision and experience.
Be generous to others
Zhu Gaochi doesn't like sports, which is not eye-catching for the emperor Zhu Di, who likes to fight and kill. But although Zhu Gaochi is stupid, his brain is extremely smart.
When Zhu Gaochi was still a minor, he often assisted Taizu Zhu Wuzhang in handling the affairs of the DPRK and China.
Once, there was a huge pile of folds on the table, and it was almost impossible to hold it on the table. In order to test Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "These twists and turns are really a headache, how to deal with them?"
Zhu Gaochi stepped forward to take a look, and then said slowly: "Grandson has his own way, please rest assured."
After Zhu Yuanzhang left, Zhu Gaochi moved a high stool and sat steadily, and in a few minutes, several large stacks of folds were lined up in his hands.
He divided the recitals into two parts, civil and military affairs, and the use of such a classification was very quick to deal with state affairs, and the emperor was very satisfied, and liked this grandson even more.
Zhu Gaochu and Zhu Gaosui did not have this kind of carefulness, and often did not have Zhu Gaochi's restraint and proportionality when dealing with internal affairs, and treated ministers even more as princes to suppress meritocracy, win over cronies, and form gangs.
Zhu Gaochi treats people sincerely, has a broad heart, and he never takes the grievances between brothers to heart.
Although the second brother and the third brother are brothers with Zhu Gaochi, they each have ghosts in their hearts and are jealous of their abilities.
For their own interests, they always want to pinch this weak big brother as a soft persimmon a few times.
Once, Zhu Gaochu and Zhu Gaosui plotted to murder Zhu Gaochi. They deliberately tricked Zhu Gaochi into going out of the palace to the paddock, saying that the three brothers were hunting in a team. They knew that Zhu Gaochi's body was not suitable for going out, but they deliberately made it difficult for him.
What they didn't expect was that Zhu Gaochi went to the appointment on time and took Zhu Zhanji with him.
The two brothers deliberately walked behind them, and when the horses reached the paddock, they deliberately frightened the horses, stumbling the old ambassadors, and making the horses run as fast as they could.
Zhu Gaochi was very unbalanced on the horse, and he was in danger of falling down at any time. Fortunately, his son Zhu Zhanji moved quickly, and with a flying pounce, he pressed down the startled horse and spared an accident.
But they laughed and sarcastically said: those in front stumble, and those in the back are alert. Don't you know, Zhu Zhanji added: There are people further behind who are vigilant. made the two look at each other, extremely embarrassed.
Zhu Di was very annoyed when he found out and wanted to punish the second brother.
Zhu Gaochi pleaded for his younger brother and said: "It's not the fault of the second brother and the third brother, it's the horse's hooves that tripped over something on the ground and ran away when they were frightened, and I ask my father to forgive them." "Zhu Gaochi knows better than anyone that he was born from the same root, why do you have to fight for your life and death.
Family affection and benevolence
When Zhu Yuanzhang was in power, he invited professional teachers to hand over Zhu Gaochi's various knowledge. There is often the shadow of Zhu Gaochi around the grandfather, and the other grandchildren crowd out the unattractive Zhu Gaochi.
Once, the great grandfather said to Zhu Gaochi: "Chi'er, help the imperial grandfather to check the army guarding the imperial city, and see if their training is loose and has lost its military prestige."
Zhu Gaochi came back a few minutes after running out, and said, "Grandpa Huang, the weather is bad today, and the soldiers haven't eaten yet, let them eat breakfast, and it's not too late to practice when the weather is better."
Such a slow grandson quickly gave an answer. This made Zhu Yuanzhang particularly pleased: at a young age, he knew that benevolence loves people, and what the country needs is such a person.
Zhu Gaochi has been in the capital for physical reasons, and rarely has the opportunity to ride a horse to the battlefield. But he has been reading military books since he was a child, and he has secretly learned a lot of the art of war.
When the "Jing Disaster" occurred, Zhu Di took the second and third children to fight outside, and stayed behind Zhu Gaochi to manage the affairs of the capital.
Zhu Yunwen's 500,000-strong army fought for several days and nights, but did not open a gap in the capital. The camp tent is also dozens of kilometers away from the capital, and there is nothing to be done if you want to move forward. At that time, there were only about 10,000 people stationed in the capital, and Zhu Gaochi alone pacified the safety of the capital.
Zhu Yunwen tried to use the feudal marquis to induce Zhu Gaochi to surrender and let him go, and sent someone to send a letter.
The letter detailed the treatment after the incident. Zhu Gaochi was unmoved, and sent the letter of persuasion to Lao Tzu Zhu Di urgently.
Zhu Di also likes Zhu Gaochi's son Zhu Zhanji.
In one battle, the emperor and grandson are in danger, and the sexual command is worried. Zhu Di, regardless of his own safety, ordered an immediate counterattack, which was bound to rescue the emperor and grandson.
After his grandson was safe, Zhu Di put his mind at ease, which was a treatment that other sons had never had.
At that time, Zhu Di also had his second sons Zhu Gaochu and Zhu Gaosui by his side.
Zhu Gaoxu has both courage and military talent, and has helped Zhu Di turn defeat into victory many times, and has made many military exploits.
There are many people in the court who support Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Di also wants to pass on the throne to this son in his heart.
Zhu Gaoxu did not have a humble heart, but was proud of his achievements and arrogant.
He also relied on the power and ability in his hands, and no one in the army, and did whatever he wanted. He committed many illegal things, which made Zhu Di very dissatisfied.
Zhu Gaoxu has always felt that he is the crown prince, and Lao Tzu Zhu Di has also promised him. Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu always performed very well in wars and made many outstanding achievements.
Unexpectedly, after Zhu Di became the emperor, he changed his hexagram and made Zhu Gaochi the crown prince. Zhu Gaoxu expressed great resentment.
He gathered his cronies, rebelled, and was finally defeated. Zhu Di originally wanted to kill Zhu Gaoxu.
Although the tiger is powerful, it has never bitten his own son to death. Zhu Gaochi was not afraid of leaving trouble, and personally knelt down to intercede for his brother. Zhu Di was exempted from the death penalty and sent Zhu Gaoxu to the common people. Away from the capital, he defused a time bomb beside the prince.
Outstanding political achievements
After Zhu Gaochi became emperor, although it was less than a year. However, in a very short period of time, the country was governed in an orderly manner and brilliant achievements were made.
He first carried out the reform of the imperial examination, so that the imperial examination could be truly applied to practical work, and selected outstanding people from the imperial examination and entrusted them with important tasks.
Assign some capable veterans to important posts, give full play to their respective advantages, and contribute to the country.
He also pardoned many of the guilty ministers who had been punished at the hands of the previous emperors.
The brutal criminal law was abolished, and the unjust cases were redressed, allowing them to use their own characteristics to serve in the state capitals.
Punish **, be in the court, and clear the discipline of the court. Many idle soldiers and scattered generals were diverted to various places, and they retouched their studies, and no longer wanted war in the country.
Production has been vigorously developed, heavy taxes on miscellaneous laborers have been exempted, and many people who have fled the country have returned to have fields to plant and have food to eat.
Zhu Gaochi greatly promoted Confucianism, and he believed that people should have a "generous and benevolent" mind, and this concept spread throughout the country through lectures.
Although Zhu Gaochi died young, he became a generation of Ming monarchs and an emperor through the ages.
Conclusion: Some emperors lived a long time, but they did nothing for the people, leaving only a lifetime of infamy.
Although Zhu Gaochi has only been the emperor for nine months, he is a virtuous monarch who can make him immortal in history and leave his name down through the ages. In fact, this life is very short, that is, decades can live, we must live meaningfully and do something, so as not to live in vain. If you live for a hundred years, looking back, you don't live as well as a chicken. What's the point of being alive?