On April 25, the 25th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang's carefully cultivated crown prince, Zhu Biao, who had a benevolent heart, died of illness at the age of 39. Zhu Yuanzhang single-handedly cultivated the crown prince, but failed to witness him become the emperor, this is an unfulfilled wish, and it is also a painful wound in the life of a generation of male masters. However, Zhu Yuanzhang still needs to face an urgent problem - the succession to the throne.
His choice fell on Zhu Yunwen, the emperor's eldest grandson. This decision sparked a series of events that eventually led to Zhu Di, the king of Yan, launching the "Battle of Jingjing" to seize the throne. This historical turning point became the focus of many people's discussions. Zhu Di is obviously better in talent and temperament, why is Zhu Yuanzhang reluctant to pass on the throne to him?
Orphan to Emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang, a great historical figure, was born in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty and had a bumpy fate. His family was poor and lived in a time of suffering. In a famine, he lost his parents and became alone. Zhu Yuanzhang, who wanders in the countryside, meets another ill-fated woman Ma in the game of fate. This chance encounter became a miracle in the fate of the two orphans, and also planted the seeds of two tenacious hearts.
In that era when the people were devastated, Zhu Yuanzhang was unwilling to succumb to the predicament and resolutely threw himself into the wave of peasant uprisings. He firmly believes that the only way to change his destiny is to eliminate harm for the people and work for the well-being of the people. And his determination was supported and encouraged by the horse. The two lonely souls were married in the journey of the uprising, and became a solid support for each other. They worked together to survive the 15 years of the uprising, during which Empress Ma performed heroically on the battlefield, and her courage and wisdom became an indispensable pillar of Zhu Yuanzhang's career.
Zhu Yuanzhang's alliance with Empress Ma made the rebel army stronger and stronger, and eventually, they succeeded in establishing the Ming Dynasty. And Queen Ma became Zhu Yuanzhang's right-hand man as a virtuous concubine, and the husband and wife jointly supported the Ming Dynasty. They have faced countless difficulties and hardships together, but they have always supported each other and never gave up. This couple has written a touching love story in the long river of history, which has become a good story in people's mouths.
The concept of the world.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, implemented an important policy in order to stabilize the country - the nine sons were feudal, and the concept of "family and world" was established. This wise move is aimed at creating a combination of internal and external forces to safeguard the stability of the country and the perpetuation of the country. Among them, Zhu Yuanzhang's son Zhu Di (later Emperor Yongle) performed well in the fight against the Northern Yuan Dynasty and became one of the most capable sons with the closest personality to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Under the concept of "family under the world", Zhu Yuanzhang not only achieved a clever separation of powers politically, but also built a large and solid network in military and diplomacy. He divided his sons into different territories in order to establish a more effective system of rule within the country. This decision would both reduce internal disputes and create a joint force for external resistance. This kind of governance concept of "family and world" is not only a trust in the son, but also a rational use of the overall strength of the family to ensure the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, experts believe that it is impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to pass the throne to Zhu Di.
Zhu Di, who was named the King of Yan, became one of the most outstanding representatives of this concept. In the war against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Di performed well, bravely and resolutely, which made him gain more trust in the heart of his father Zhu Yuanzhang. He not only distinguished himself in military affairs, but also showed outstanding talent in handling government affairs and diplomacy. This makes Zhu Di a strong contender for the throne in the future.
The dispute caused by the cutting of the feudal domain.
The wheel of history does not always move smoothly, and Zhu Yuanzhang's concept of "family in the world" faced great challenges later. When Zhu Yuanzhang's grandson Zhu Yunwen succeeded to the throne, he implemented the policy of cutting feudal domains, which caused Zhu Di's great disgust and became a serious shock to Zhu Yuanzhang's governance system.
After Zhu Yunwen ascended to the throne, he tried to concentrate the control of the imperial court by weakening the power of the vassal king, so as to achieve the goal of stabilizing the dynasty. However, this policy aroused Zhu Di's strong dissatisfaction. King Yan saw this as a deprivation of his power and an injustice to his military exploits on the battlefield. Although Zhu Yunwen was the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, compared with his grandfather, he lacked a deep understanding of the vassal system and failed to properly handle the complex relationship between the vassal kings.
The implementation of this policy angered Zhu Di and put the concept of "family world" to an unprecedented test. Zhu Yunwen is not lacking in means, he has many opportunities to directly deprive Zhu Di of his power, and even take strong measures to get rid of him, but he chose to pursue the path of "benevolence". This kind of "benevolent" behavior may be out of scruples for family affection, or it may be out of respect for the merits of his father and ancestors. However, this choice further complicated the subsequent disputes and laid the groundwork for the subsequent usurpation.
Zhu Di's disgust eventually evolved into ambition, and he was no longer satisfied with passively enduring the situation of cutting the feudal domain. Driven by discontent, Zhu Di finally embarked on the road of usurpation. Experts generally believe that Zhu Yuanzhang did not expect Zhu Di to rebel, which also exposed his overconfidence in the vassal system. Zhu Di's successful usurpation became a unique existence under the feudal system in history, and his ambition and courage caused a strong shock in feudal society.
Epilogue. Zhu Yuanzhang was a prominent leader in history who rose from being a poor orphan to establish the Ming Dynasty. His idea of the establishment of the vassal system and the idea of a family and the world shows that he has a deep understanding of the stability of the country. However, as for the question of why Zhu Yuanzhang is reluctant to pass on the throne to Zhu Di, I think it is related to Zhu Yuanzhang's lack of understanding of Zhu Di.
Zhu Di excelled in military exploits and was similar to Zhu Yuanzhang in personality, but Zhu Yuanzhang may not have fully understood Zhu Di's political ambitions. Under the policy of cutting the feudal domain, Zhu Yunwen aroused Zhu Di's disgust, which eventually led to Zhu Di's usurpation. This may be an omission in Zhu Yuanzhang's personnel judgment.