In the first year of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qiyu of the Ming Dynasty was pleasantly surprised to find that there was still an "elder" in the clan. This elder's name is Zhu Ling, the eighteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, who was already over the age of ten years at that time, and according to his generation, Zhu Qiyu had to call him "great-uncle and grandfather".
At this time, it was a turbulent period after the "Tumubao Incident", Zhu Qiyu had to deal with the threat of Mongolian Warat soldiers and horses on the one hand, and on the other hand, he had to beware of his brother Zhu Qizhen, who had not yet been taken back by Wara.
In order to stabilize the throne, Zhu Qiyu decided to show favor to the clan. In view of the fact that Zhu Yang was the longest, he was specially awarded a 200-stone salary.
In history, Zhu Yuanzhang's fifteenth daughter, Princess Hanshan, was his longest-lived and last daughter to die. Coincidentally, her son Zhu Yang was also born to Zhu Yuanzhang's "transnational marriage", and his mother is also from Goryeo.
This seems to indicate that the children born of Zhu Yuanzhang's transnational marriage may have inherited some kind of longevity gene. I have written an article about the eldest princess of Hanshan before, and it has been liked by everyone.
Now, I have sorted out the relevant historical materials to write about Zhu Yuanzhang's last deceased son, Zhu Yang.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eighteenth son, Zhu Yang, was named the first King Min of the Ming Dynasty, and his mother was born as a Goryeo tribute girl. The Goryeo Gongnu is not a random name, but has its historical background.
In the first year of Hongwu, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun Northern Expedition to the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Yuan Shun fled to Guanwai with the crown prince and queen. In order to win over the Goryeo Dynasty against the Northern Yuan, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Goryeo concubines who remained in the Yuan Dynasty's palace to be sent back to Goryeo.
In the third year of Hongwu, the 31st king of Goryeo, Wang Yuan, declared himself a vassal to the Ming Dynasty, sent a large amount of gold, silver and furs, and at the same time brought young Goryeo women to Zhu Yuanzhang, and these women were called "tribute girls".
In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Yi Sung-gye usurped the power of the Goryeo Dynasty and established the Joseon Dynasty, that is, the Korean Yi Dynasty. The new dynasty continued to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty and continued to implement the "tribute girl" system.
Therefore, in the harems of Ming Dynasty emperors such as Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi, Korean women can be seen. There are a total of 18 concubines of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, two of whom are Goryeo women, and they are called Concubine Zhou and Concubine Han.
The son born to Concubine Zhou is Zhu Yang, and the daughter born to Concubine Han is the eldest princess of Hanshan that we mentioned earlier. According to the record of "Ming Taizu Records Volume One Hundred and Twenty-Three", Zhu Yuanzhang's eighteenth son Zhu Yang was born in March of the twelfth year of Hongwu, and his mother was Concubine Zhou.
Compared to other vassal kings, there are few records of Zhu Yang's childhood in the Ming Shilu, probably because the prince, who was half of his "foreign" blood, did not receive special care in the palace.
Zhu Yuanzhang divided the feudal kings for the third time and made all the remaining ten sons vassal kings. Among them, Zhu Yang, who was only thirteen years old, was named King Min, and his fief was in Minzhou (now Minxian County) in Gansu Province, where the climate was harsh and the area of the fief was far smaller than that of King Ning and King Gu.
Although Zhu Pan was not valued compared with the king of Ning and the king of the valley, whose fiefdoms were in military positions and the vast geography, his life did not end there. With the development of the plot, Zhu Pan's future will usher in a turning point.
The death of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest brother Zhu Biao made his heart change greatly and he began to kill heroes. And in distant Yunnan, Mu Ying died after hearing the news.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang had already made Mu Ying's eldest son Mu Chun the Marquis of Xiping, he still considered arranging a vassal king in Yunnan to ensure its stability. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew Zhu Shouqian had been named the king of Jingjiang, but he was useless and was recalled after only one year.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's sons had all been sealed, so he needed to change the title of a son to go to Yunnan, and unfortunately, Zhu Yang, the king of Min, was chosen. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Yang's fief to be changed from Minzhou to Yunnan, but the title was still "King Min".
However, this decision was not wise, as the rest of the story proves it. Yunnan is a complex region with many toasts and chieftains. Although Mu Ying is Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted son, he has been operating in Yunnan for more than ten years, but after his death, his eldest son Mu Chun is not easy to follow.
When Mu Chun heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was going to put a vassal king in Yunnan, he immediately became alert, and he knew that next, there would definitely be a fierce battle between Mu Wangfu and Minwangfu.
Zhu Yuanzhang planned to build the Minwang Mansion in Yunnan, but Mu Chun suggested waiting for 15 years to rebuild it, because Yunnan is vast and sparsely populated, and the burden on the people is already very heavy. Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the suggestion and ordered the construction of the palace to be suspended and repaired again after 15 years.
Although this made Zhu Yang feel that this "dismounting" was too powerful, he did not dare to oppose the decision of his father Zhu Yuanzhang.
The soldiers of Yunnan have become accustomed to fighting, and they are the key to maintaining stability in Yunnan. If they are used to protect the palace, then how will the next "social order" be maintained?
After weighing up, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to hand over two of the three guards of the Min Wangfu to the command of the Mu Mansion. However, Zhu Yang knew that Mu Fu was not an easy opponent to deal with, and as soon as he arrived in Yunnan, he was robbed by the two guards and guards, and he was expected to be bullied more in the future.
In fact, Zhu Yang's hunch was right, and the conflict between him and the Mu family was not over. In the thirty-first year of Hongwu, Mu Chun was killed in the counterinsurgency, and his younger brother Mu Sheng inherited the title of Marquis of Xiping.
Mu Sheng is stronger than his elder brother, and it is because of him that the Mu family has been promoted from "Xiping Hou" to "Qianguo Gong". After Mu Sheng inherited the title of Marquis of Xiping, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang died, and Zhu Yunwen, the emperor's grandson, ascended the throne and became Emperor Jianwen.
After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he listened to the advice of Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng and others, and ordered the reduction of the vassal kings. The first five vassal kings to be cut were the kings of Zhou, Dai, Qi, Min, and Xiang.
Zhu Yang was cut because Mu Fu was a hindrance. Zhu Yunwen's attempt to weaken Zhu Di, the king of Yan, led to the weakening of his brother Zhu Hu, the king of Zhou. Mu Sheng took this opportunity to report all Zhu Yang's problems to Zhu Yunwen, who was overjoyed and immediately ordered Zhu Yang to be deposed as a concubine and moved to Zhangzhou, Fujian.
Zhu Yang was very wronged by this, but no one avenged him.
In history, it is difficult to find a situation where a prince can defeat a marquis, but unfortunately, Zhu Yang is one of them. Not only did he meet a politically skilled lord of the Hou Mansion, but he also met an emperor who had just ascended the throne and began to cut down the feudal domain.
Four years later, Zhu Di invaded Nanjing, changed his name to Yongle, and became the new emperor. And Zhu Yunwen was criticized for cutting five kings in a row, including Zhu Yang. These five vassal kings were either demoted to concubines or imprisoned, and only one of them, Zhu Bai, the king of Xiang, chose ** Mingzhi to prove his innocence.
This tragic death caused great stimulation to Zhu Di, the king of Yan who was far away in Beiping, and he decided to raise troops on the "Qingjun side", which eventually triggered the Battle of Jingjing.
The screen is of the utmost importance, and the virtuous brother should be cautious in and out, and be cautious in drinking. Shu Zhuyi has some admiration, and lives up to his brother's expectations. Zhu Yang returned to Yunnan directly from Fujian, like "the return of the king".
In the holy decree, Zhu Di did not forget to remind Zhu Yang to act cautiously and live up to "brother's expectations".
Zhu Di regarded Zhu Yang as a pawn against the Mu family, and Zhu Yang was also willing to cooperate, because the two sides had common interests in bringing down the Mu family. However, Mu Sheng had already foreseen Zhu Di's strategy, according to the "History of the Ming Dynasty: The Biography of Mu Sheng", after Zhu Di ascended the throne, Zhu Di returned to the domain, and he relied on Zhu Di's power to become more arrogant and domineering.
Mu Sheng and Zhu Yang had a discordant relationship, and Zhu Yang angrily accused Mu Sheng of committing the following crimes, implying that he was not Mu Sheng's opponent and could only ask Zhu Di for help.
Zhu Di, who originally planned to suppress the Mu family in Yunnan, has now changed his strategy and courted the Mu family through marriage. He married his youngest daughter, Princess Changning, to Mu Sheng's younger brother Mu Xin.
In this way, Zhu Yang, who was used as a pawn against the Mu family, was embarrassed. In September of the first year of Yongle, Zhu Di cut off his three guards on the grounds that Zhu Yang was "drunk" when he was sacrificing to the temple, making him a bare-pole vassal king.
Even so, Mu Sheng still felt that Zhu Yang was an eyesore in Yunnan. As a result, Mu Sheng made great contributions to the conquest of Annan in the fourth year of Yongle, and was named the Duke of Qianguo by Zhu Dijin. He now has the capital to ask Zhu Di for a price, so he played to Zhu Di, saying that Zhu Yang was harassing the people and asking the court to recall him back to the capital.
Zhu Di agreed to Mu Sheng's request, and in the sixth year of Yongle, he issued an order to summon Zhu Yang back to Beijing. Zhu Yang took his wife and children and began his life in the capital under Zhu Di's nose.
Zhu Yang's experience can be described as very tragic, as a vassal king, he has no fiefdom, can only live in the capital, and every step is closely monitored by the imperial court. However, in the campaign in Yunnan, he had already proven his mediocre abilities.
If he wants to return to the fiefdom, he must wait for the new emperor to ascend the throne, which is a distant opportunity. After waiting in the capital for 16 years, the Yongle Emperor died, and the crown prince Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne as Ming Renzong.
Renzong knew Zhu Yang's difficulties in Beijing and decided to rearrange him. He was reassigned to Wugang, Hunan, however, even when he arrived, he could only live in the state capital Yamen, and the situation did not improve.
There were many vassal kings in the Ming Dynasty, but there were very few people like Zhu Yang, who constantly changed fiefs but never lived in a serious palace. In addition, when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, he stipulated that the prince's salary was 10,000 stones, however, after Zhu Gaochi went to Wugang, he only gave him 1,000 stone after Zhu Yang went to Wugang.
Although Zhu Gaochi is benevolent and charitable, he understands that his eighteenth uncle has limited ability and a small fief, so he doesn't need so much money. After the death of Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Zhanji of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty succeeded to the throne, and in the later period of Xuande, the imperial court finally ordered the construction of the Minwang Mansion for Zhu Xuan.
This shows that Zhu Yang, the king of Min, finally has his own palace after being crowned a vassal king for more than 30 years.
The Records of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty recorded an anecdote that Zhu Zhanji exempted Zhu Yang, the king of Min, from the task of entering the congratulatory table three times a year. The reason is not that Zhu Zhanji feels sorry for this uncle and grandfather, but because there is no extra person around Zhu Zhanji who can be responsible for this task.
For a long time, there were no envoys in the Minwang Mansion, and there were few of them. It was only recently that they had a royal palace, but they didn't even have anyone to do errands. Among the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yang can be said to be extremely "shabby".
In the tenth year of Xuande, Zhu Zhanji died, and Zhu Qizhen of Ming Yingzong ascended the throne. During the reign of Zhu Qizhen, Zhu Yang went to the imperial court to ask for an increase in Yulu. At that time, the cabinet was presided over by the "Three Yangs", and after they gave Zhu Qizhen a clear name, they decided to show the respect for the elders of the imperial court, and added 300 stone to Zhu Qi.
However, since Zhu Yang did not need to send someone to the capital to deliver a congratulatory watch every year, he seemed to be forgotten by people.
In the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, under the impact of the Tumubao Change, Zhu Qiyu of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne with the support of Yu Qian and others. In order to stabilize the imperial power, he decided to give the clan a seal.
In the list of clans in need of grace proposed by the cabinet, Zhu Qiyu was surprised to find one"Ancestors"is alive, so it was decided to show respect to him. So, in the first year of Jingtai, Zhu Qiyu ordered to add 200 stone to Zhu Lu, so that Zhu Lu's annual Lu reached 1,500 stone.
In this year, Zhu Yuxian died at the age of 72. Zhu Qiyu gave Zhu Yang "Zhuang" as his nickname. Cinnabar.
When interpreting historical figures, we cannot ignore the political environment and cultural context in which they lived. This article takes Zhu Yang as an example, and aims to give readers an idea of the living conditions of most of the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty through his life.