Can the crown prince be emperor? How many unenthroned princes were there in the Ming Dynasty?
On the fourth day of the first month of the first month of 1368 AD, Zhu Yuanzhang wore a gorgeous dress and held a grand ceremony of heaven and earth sacrifice in the southern suburbs, and then officially ascended the throne, announced the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, named the country "Daming", and named it "Hongwu".
Under the leadership of Zuo Xiangguo of Zhongshu Province and Li Shanchang, the Duke of Xuanguo, hundreds of officials shouted "Long live" to Zhu Yuanzhang three times. After sacrificing to the Taimiao Temple and returning to the Fengtian Palace, the Ming Emperor ordered Li Shanchang to present the treasure and canonize Zhu Biao, the son of King Wu, as the crown prince.
The crown prince's book clearly pointed out that "the establishment of the prince by the country should follow the principle of the eldest son and the eldest son", which clearly shows that Zhu Biao is the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang personally approved.
For those so-called "experts" in later generations, who said that Queen Ma was infertile, should they say to Zhu Yuanzhang: "You are just Zhu Biao's father, what do you know?" ”
Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's crown prince canonization ceremony was held 15 times, of which Xianzong Zhu Jianshen experienced it twice. Of the 14 crown princes, only eight ended up on the throne, more than half.
So, why did the remaining six crown princes fail to ascend to the throne? Some of them did not even become emperors, but they had an important impact on the history of the Ming Dynasty.
Let's talk about this together.
Zhu Yuanzhang devoted all his efforts to the cultivation of the crown prince Zhu Biao. When Zhu Biao was only six years old, he was taught the "Five Classics" by Song Lian, the "first generation of Wenzong", and the starting point was enviable.
After Zhu Biao was canonized as the crown prince, Li Shanchang and other founding fathers were sent to concurrently serve as officials of the Eastern Palace to prevent disagreement between the prince and the old ministers. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang also built a large main hall in the palace, took ancient and modern books to fill it, invited the famous Confucian princes from all over the world, and selected talented people to serve as companions.
Zhu Yuanzhang has extremely high requirements for the prince, even if it is a star in the sky, he is willing to find a way to achieve it for the prince. In addition to studying, Zhu Yuanzhang also paid attention to establishing the authority of the crown prince.
In the first year of Hongwu, when he visited the Great Liang, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the prince to stay in Beijing to supervise the country. In the second year of Hongwu, when Liao Yongzhong, the general of Zhengnan, was from Guangxi, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately asked Zhu Biao as his representative and led hundreds of officials to Longwan to meet the labor army.
It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang has put great effort into the cultivation of Zhu Biao and is committed to cultivating him into a qualified heir.
The crown princess Chang Shi, the eldest daughter of Chang Yuchun, the second military minister of the founding of the country and the king of Zhongwu in Kaiping, married Zhu Biao in April of the fourth year of Hongwu (1371 AD). This marriage caused Chang Yuchun to transfer all of his resources in the army to the crown prince.
After that, Zhu Yuanzhang gradually let the prince participate in the court politics, and by the tenth year of Hongwu (1377 AD), he had ordered that all political affairs, big and small, should be reported to the prince before they could be reported to him.
This made the crown prince the de facto "vice-emperor". Under Zhu Biao's rule, he had a very high reputation among ministers and princes. He won the respect of the people for his majesty and kindness, and his kindness and severity also won the respect of the prince.
If he inherits the throne, everyone will be convinced, including his younger brother Zhu Di. However, fate tricked people. On April 25, the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu (1392 AD), Zhu Biao died suddenly at the age of 38.
His nickname was "Yiwen" and he was buried in the east of the filial piety tomb. His death made Zhu Yuanzhang deeply regretted, and in order for his son Zhu Yunwen to inherit the throne smoothly, he launched the Lanyu Case, executed a large number of high-ranking generals, and laid the groundwork for the later Battle of Jingjing.
Zhu Wenkui: Zhu Wenkui, the great-grandson of the emperor and the eldest son of Zhu Yunwen, was born on October 30 in the 29th year of Hongwu (1396 AD), and his birth made his great-grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang very happy.
However, in the "Records of Ming Taizu", diametrically opposite records are given: Jiayin, the emperor's great-grandson Wen Kuisheng, and the emperor's grandson Yunwen's eldest son. It said: "October, the end of the number, is born in the dark day." ”
Don't congratulate the inner court. ——Ming Taizu Records Volume 246. The obscure day is usually considered to be a day to ward off evil spirits, avoid disasters and pray for blessings, and there is nothing bad about it.
Therefore, the credibility of this paragraph of the record in the "Actual Record" seems to need to be put under question.
After Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen succeeded to the throne, he appointed his eldest son Zhu Wenkui as the crown prince. However, on June 13, the fourth year of Jianwen (1402 AD), the Jingnan army led by Zhu Di, the king of Yan, raided the Beijing division, and Emperor Jianwen was martyred in the palace Fengtian Palace, and the whereabouts of the crown prince Zhu Wenkui are unknown.
Yan Shijin, who was only seven years old at the time, and his whereabouts are still unknown. During the Southern Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yousong, Emperor Hongguang, posthumously crowned Zhu Wenkui as the crown prince of "Gongchou". In addition, Zhu Jianji, the crown prince of Huaixian, was the first prince of the Ming Dynasty to be born before the prince's wedding.
Zhu Qiyu and Zhu Jianji's drama illuminates Yingzong, and the relationship between Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Jianji's uncle and nephew has become complicated because of the change of Tumubao. After Ming Yingzong was captured, Zhu Qiyu used his power to establish his son Zhu Jianji as the crown prince, and demoted Zhu Jianshen to the title of King of Yi.
This was to ensure the stability of the throne and the purity of the royal bloodline. Although this move caused controversy, in the end Zhu Qiyu succeeded in maintaining the dignity and authority of the imperial family.
Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu stills, the crown prince Zhu Jianji died young, only 9 years old, which is regrettable. Although Zhu Qiyu had tried his best to arrange, he selected 5,000 people for Zhu Jianji as his escort, and arranged almost all the cabinets and important civil and military ministers as officials of the prince's East Palace.
However, even if Zhu Qiyu was given a temple number in the Southern Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianji's identity was still not restored. Zhu Jianji's younger brother Zhu Youji is the second son of Xianzong Zhu Jianshen, born on April 28 in the fifth year of Chenghua (AD 1469), and his mother is Concubine Baixian.
His mother, Concubine Wan, is Xianzong's favorite person, and Zhu Jianshen's eldest son is the crystallization of their love. If this child can grow up safely, he will definitely be canonized as the crown prince, and Wan Guifei will also be promoted to the queen because of the birth of her son.
The crown prince is the cornerstone of the country. Ancient monarchs married nine wives in order to reproduce. Now that there is no one to inherit the throne, both the temple and the people are worried about it. I hope you will be able to treat the six houses fairly, reconcile family relations, and make the royal family prosperous. ”
Kenjong felt deeply justified and ordered the relevant departments to consider the issue. He also asked the speakers to do their duty in accordance with his wishes. The following year, Zhu Youji was born, and the birth of the second son of the emperor seemed to give the ministers a glimmer of hope.
They were determined to unite and insisted on the canonization of Zhu Youji as the crown prince in order to prevent Wan Guifei from coveting the throne of the empress.
After two years of arduous struggle, on November 16, the seventh year of Chenghua (1471 AD), Xianzong sent his uncle Changhou Sun Jizong as the chief envoy, and Peng Shi, the first assistant of the cabinet, as the deputy envoy, holding the holy decree to canonize his son Zhu Youji as the crown prince, and issued an edict of amnesty to the world on the same day.
However, unfortunately, on the 26th day of the first month of the eighth year of Chenghua (1372 AD), the crown prince Zhu You unfortunately passed away at the age of three. He was posthumously called "Mourning Gong" and was buried in Jinshan, which is today's Daogong Mansion in Shijingshan District, Beijing.
Zhu Cihong, the crown prince of Xianshu, was born on the fourth day of the second month of February in the second year of Chongzhen (1629 AD), and was the eldest son of Zhu Youzhen of Yizong, and his mother was the queen Zhou. Soon after his birth, in February of the third year of Chongzhen (1630 AD), he was canonized as the crown prince.
However, because it was not long after the Later Jin army besieged the city of Beijing, the Jingshi was still under martial law, so the crown prince Zhu Cihong's canonization ceremony did not carry out the ascension to the palace to receive congratulations, but only performed 12 bows at the noon gate.
Zhu Cihong, the crown prince of Emperor Zhu Youzhen, behaved in a dignified manner and dealt with it decently, not only good-looking and fair-skinned, but also showed excellent etiquette when performing the crown ceremony.
However, in February of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the situation was difficult, and the courtiers asked for the prince to move south to the prison country, but Emperor Chongzhen did not agree. This decision laid the groundwork for the later chaos of the Southern Ming court.
Guangshi Heng Kechen once participated in the impeachment of Li Mingrui's southward relocation as a heresy, and Emperor Chongzhen was displeased with this. Although he criticized Guang Shiheng, he did not pursue it. In the end, no one dared to raise objections.
Emperor Chongzhen's decision led to Zhu Cihong succeeding to the throne in Nanjing, and he was given the nickname of "Xiansu". This incident reflected the social turmoil and chaos at the time, and also made people think deeply about the fate and responsibility of the crown prince in a time of national crisis.
In general, eight emperors of the Ming Dynasty succeeded to the throne through the crown prince, and Emperor Chongzhen's decision made the crown prince have nothing to say after the country was ruined. However, if he had let the crown prince go south to supervise the country, perhaps the Southern Ming court would not have had infighting because of who was orthodox.
The seal photos of Yuwang Zhu Zaikun and the mourning for the birth and canonization of Prince Gong actually prove that Wan Guifei did not harm the crown prince. It is rumored that when the crown prince was canonized, the eunuch in charge of the canonization ceremony mistakenly sent the crown prince's canonization treasure to the palace of Yuwang Zhu Zaikun (Ming Muzong), indicating that he was indeed a gift from heaven and unrivaled.
Jiajing Jihai February Shuo, was canonized as King Yu, and Prince Zhuang Jing and King Jing Gong received the canonization on the same day. The lieutenant mistakenly sent the crown prince's book treasure to King Yu's palace, and King Yu's book treasure was in the prince's palace.
At that time, Prince Zhuang Jing was too ill to attend the ceremony. Yuwang Fengshen is beautiful and dignified, and everyone who sees him thinks that he has the demeanor of an emperor, and people at home and abroad are worried about him.
However, the early death of Prince Huaixian completely ruined the opportunity for Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu to go down in history. If Zhu Jianji can inherit the throne, with Zhu Qiyu's merits in the Ming Dynasty, he will definitely be able to enter the Taimiao Temple and be worshiped from generation to generation.
As for Prince Yiwen's death, it is Zhu Yuanzhang's greatest pain and Zhu Di's greatest luck. If the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty was Zhu Biao, then the Battle of Jingyan would definitely not have happened.
Even if it happens, it will be extinguished by the founding generals such as Lan Yu, Duke of Liangguo, Feng Sheng, Duke of Song, and Fu Youde, Duke of Yingguo. In this way, Zhu Biao is Emperor Taizongwen, and what will happen to the future of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing, and whether there will still be 276 years of national glory, it is unknown.