The Ming Dynasty is one of the most glorious dynasties in Chinese history, and its founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, is a legendary figure, he went from a poor peasant to a great monarch who unified China.
One of the most eye-catching topics is the issue of Zhu Yuanzhang's succession. We all know that before his death, Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to his grandson Zhu Yunwen, instead of his son Zhu Di, a decision that caused Zhu Di's dissatisfaction and led to the later "Battle of Jingyan", which was the largest civil strife in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
Many people believe that Zhu Yuanzhang's decision was the biggest mistake in his life, and if he passed on the throne to Zhu Di, he could avoid civil strife and make the Ming Dynasty more stable and strong. Let's imagine if Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to Zhu Di, how would the Ming Dynasty be different?
If Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to Zhu Di, then the legitimacy and stability of Zhu Di's accession to the throne would be greatly improved. Because Zhu Di is Zhu Yuanzhang's son, not his grandson, his succession to the throne is more in line with the traditional primogeniture inheritance system and more in line with Zhu Yuanzhang's wishes. Zhu Yuanzhang once considered making Zhu Di the crown prince, but because of the opposition of the courtiers and the existence of Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunwen, he gave up. Zhu Yuanzhang is very appreciative of Zhu Di's ability and talent, and he believes that Zhu Di is the most like a son of him, with great talent and strategy, and can inherit his career. If Zhu Yuanzhang personally passed the throne to Zhu Di, then Zhu Di would not be opposed by the government and the opposition, nor would it cause dissatisfaction among other vassal kings, and his throne would be more solid and legitimate.
If Zhu Yuanzhang had passed the throne to Zhu Di, then the Battle of Jingyan would have been avoided, a civil war that had caused great damage to the Ming Dynasty. The Battle of Jingyan was a rebellion launched by Zhu Di in order to seize the throne, and he led the elite troops in the north to attack the imperial army in the south in the name of Fengtian Jingnan, and finally broke through Nanjing and ascended to the throne. The war lasted for four years, and the war spread throughout the country, causing millions of deaths, countless losses of wealth, and the Ming Dynasty's national strength and people's livelihood were seriously weakened. If there was no war, the Ming Dynasty would have saved a lot of manpower and material resources, and would have reduced a lot of internal strife and external troubles, and the development of the Ming Dynasty would have been smoother and stronger.
If Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to Zhu Di, then the political system and cultural atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty would also be different. Because Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen's governing styles and concepts are very different. Zhu Yunwen was a moderate monarch, he respected the civil servants, reused meritocracy, implemented reforms, weakened the vassal king, and maintained the centralization of power. His political line was to inherit and develop Zhu Yuanzhang's political legacy and maintain the stability and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di was an eloquent monarch, he reused military generals, appointed eunuchs, set up cabinets, moved the capital to Beijing, opened up frontiers, and sent Zheng He to the West. His political line was to innovate and change, expand the influence and territory of the Ming Dynasty, and show the strength and majesty of the Ming Dynasty. If Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to Zhu Di, then the political system of the Ming Dynasty would be more flexible and diverse, and the cultural atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty would be more open and inclusive.
First of all, the question of Zhu Di's origin is that he is not the sister-in-law of Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma, and there has been no definite answer in history about who his biological mother is, some say that it is a concubine of Zhu Yuanzhang, some say that it is a minority person, and some even say that it is a concubine of the Yuan Dynasty. In any case, Zhu Di's background is flawed, which makes it difficult for Zhu Yuanzhang to accept, he feels that Zhu Di is not his own flesh and blood, nor is he the biological son of Queen Ma, and he is unwilling to let Zhu Di inherit the throne.
Secondly, Zhu Di's character problem is that he is too strong and ambitious, he is a person who is good at using troops and politics, he suppressed the Mongol invasion on the northern border, and also established his own power, he has a high prestige and prestige, he also has strong ambitions and ambitions, he is not willing to be an ordinary prince, he wants to be a great emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang also saw Zhu Di's ambitions, Zhu Yuanzhang may be worried that if Zhu Di succeeds to the throne, he will continue to adopt strict punishment and decisive political methods, instead of Yanwu Xiuwen and benevolent and universal statecraft, he will be detrimental to his brothers, he will cause turmoil in the government and the opposition, and he will destroy his country. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang is psychologically unwilling to pass the throne to Zhu Di, and he prefers to pass the throne to Zhu Yunwen, which is also an explanation of conscience.
Zhu Yuanzhang was a mature politician, he was not a reckless hero, he was influenced by Confucian culture, he formulated the laws and systems of the Ming Dynasty, and he also formulated the rules of succession to the throne of the Ming Dynasty. In "Emperor Ming Zu Xun", Zhu Yuanzhang has long clarified the principle of succession to the throne of the Ming Dynasty: "There are grandchildren, and there are no grandchildren; The father dies and the son succeeds, and the brother dies and the brother dies. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang also added: "The state has a long monarch, and the blessing of the society." In other words, if there is a dispute between princes, the adult prince will be given priority.
According to this rule, after Zhu Biao's death, it is impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to abolish Chang Liyou, and it is impossible to bypass King Qin and King Jin and establish King Yan as the crown prince, because it has been taboo to abolish Chang Liyu since ancient times, and Zhu Yuanzhang is a person who abides by the rules, and he will not do such a risky thing. Moreover, according to the provisions of the ancient patriarchal system, the eldest grandson has a higher priority for inheritance than the second son, which means that the later de facto eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen has a higher priority for the inheritance of the throne than his four uncles. Although Zhu Yunwen is not Zhu Biao's eldest son, nor is he a descendant, Zhu Yuanzhang straightened Zhu Biao's little wife Lu Shi and made her the crown princess, so that Zhu Yunwen became the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang and became the legal heir of Zhu Yuanzhang and the future crown prince of the Ming Empire. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang will not pass the throne to Zhu Di in terms of rules, he will only pass the throne to Zhu Yunwen, which is a reasonable choice and a choice that conforms to the system.
To sum up, we can see that the mystery of Zhu Yuanzhang's succession is not a simple question, and his choice is not a wrong choice, but a reasonable, affectionate and righteous, pros and cons. His choice was based on his understanding of his sons, his respect for his eldest son, his trust in his grandson, his consideration for the stability of the Ming Dynasty, and his confession of his conscience.
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang's choice was not a perfect choice, and his choice also left a regret in the history of the Ming Dynasty, that is, Zhu Di's rebellion, that is, the "Battle of Jingyan". Zhu Di felt dissatisfied and angry with Zhu Yuanzhang's choice, he felt that he was the most qualified person to inherit the throne, he was unwilling to let Zhu Yunwen be the emperor, he decided to launch a mutiny and seize the throne, which caused the largest civil strife in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
The Battle of Jingyan lasted for four years, and the two sides launched many fierce battles, and in the end, Zhu Di defeated Zhu Yunwen with strong military strength, ascended the throne, and established the Yongle prosperous era of the Ming Dynasty, while Zhu Yunwen disappeared and became an eternal mystery. This civil strife caused huge losses to the Ming Dynasty and left endless reverie for future generations.