Ten years of returning to the sea, landing on the shore for a day is parting. Power is like the sea, you think you have mastered it, but you don't know that the next second it may be stormy. So, is it really worth taking risks just for your own selfish desires and embarking on that bloody road of unscrupulous means to seize power?
As the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son Zhu Biao, who was painstakingly cultivated, died young. Zhu Di, with his outstanding military talent and political skills, took the throne of his nephew Zhu Yunwen in the Battle of Jingjing. However, the price he paid for it seems too heavy.
When in 1368, when the iron cavalry set foot in the capital of Pingyuan and Zhu Yuanzhang was proclaimed emperor in Tianfu, could he think that during the Jiajing period 55 years later, the court was already decaying? The Founding Fathers used their military and political skills to build this extremely powerful empire. However, the biggest problem he encountered during his reign was probably the difficulty of finding good heirs.
As an emperor, to establish an excellent heir, it is not only about his own affairs, but also about the fate of this empire and even millions of people. Zhu Yuanzhang had a total of 27 wives in his life and gave birth to 26 sons.
It's a pity that most of them are arrogant and lascivious, and it is difficult for them to be competent for the great cause of governing the country. God has eyes, and Queen Ma's eldest son Zhu Biao is quite wonderful. He was canonized as a prince when he was 13 years old, and then Zhu Yuanzhang taught him diligently for another 25 years. However, fate made people, 38-year-old Zhu Biao died of illness, and Zhu Yuanzhang was overwhelmed with grief.
At this time, the fourth prince Zhu Di was already in charge of the Yan Wangfu and was the crown of the vassal kings. He is strong by nature, good at military affairs, and well-versed in the art of war, which is very popular with Zhu Yuanzhang. The problem is that Zhu Di is not the queen of the horse after all. According to legend, his biological mother was an ethnic minority woman.
In ancient times, the inheritance of the throne paid attention to the blood of parents and children. Moreover, the national factor will also become a reason for opposition from the government and the opposition. You must know that one of the obstacles that Zhuge Liang faced when he assisted Liu Bei was also Liu Bei's own bloodline. At this time, Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunwen bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and took care of his sick father, which moved the old emperor very much.
Zhu Yunwen is gentle and benevolent by nature, and is very popular with the government and the opposition. It's just that he is too studious and virtuous, and he doesn't know how to govern the country, which makes Zhu Yuanzhang very worried. After struggling repeatedly, Zhu Yuanzhang still decided to pass on to Zhu Yunwen in 1391.
However, this decision has hidden dangers. Zhu Yuanzhang, who employed nepotism, handed over power to a scholarly monarch who was not politically skilled. And the ambitious Zhu Di quietly accumulates strength outside the core of power. A tragic and difficult competition for the Ming Dynasty began with this.
In 1398, Zhu Yuanzhang died. Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne at the age of 21. After taking office, he made great efforts to make the country prosperous, and he did not doubt the use of people, and his political achievements were remarkable. However, his weakness caused the government to gradually fall into the hands of the ministers. The powerful are in power, the DPRK and China are full of maladministration, and the people's grievances are boiling.
At the same time, Zhu Di led the army to conquer the northern ethnic minorities and won a complete victory. His prestige grew, and his ambitions grew. Previously, Zhu Di had three times to the imperial court and asked to attack his father Wuzong's King Wu, but he was all refused. Recently, Zhu Yunwen plans to cut the mining rights of Yanwangfu. This became the fuse.
At the instigation of his cronies, Zhu Di decided to raise troops to rebel. On July 13, 1399, Zhu Di left Beiping (now Beijing), proclaimed himself "General Jingnan", and led a heavy army to the south in the name of "Qing Jun's side and helping the country", and was invincible all the way.
On September 2, Zhu Di captured Texas. At this time, it was only 50 days before Beiping sent troops, and Zhu Di's army had already marched more than 1,000 miles. The Great Earthquake in Beijing. The cowardly Zhu Yunwen did not dare to fight a head-on battle and fled south in a hurry. In the first month of the following year, he fled to Yingtianfu in Nanjing and established himself as emperor.
Zhu Yunwen's move to flee south strengthened Zhu Di's determination. With the assistance of Xu Da, Li Jinglong and other fierce generals, Zhu Di's army was like a bamboo. In August of the following year, Nanjing fell. In November, after four months of pursuit, Zhu Di's general Zhang Yu finally captured Zhu Yunwen in exile in Yunnan Oleander. In December, Emperor Jianwen died "from the poison of heaven", and the Ming Dynasty, which ascended the throne at an early age, has come to an end.
In 1402, Zhu Di's first army to enter the city was proclaimed emperor in Nanjing, and the name of the year was changed to Yongle. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di officially ascended the throne. Since then, Zhu Di has held supreme power in his hands. However, with it came an unprecedented crisis.
His rebellion and seizure of the throne this time was full of controversy. Many forces in the south still support the orthodoxy of the Jianwen Dynasty and are coveting surprise attacks. The purge of dissidents is imperative. The first to bear the brunt is the old and young remnants of the Jianwen Dynasty. Zhu Yunwen's mother, wife and children were all escorted to the city gate and burned alive. Princess Jiangdu's husband was executed by Zhulian, and he himself threw himself into a well and died.
Zhu Biao's three sons were not spared, and were either demoted to concubines or committed suicide. The only remaining youngest son, the king of the county, was also killed in a fire. Next came the Great Purge of the DPRK and China. All the ** who opposed him were all purged from the court.
During the Jianwen period, almost all of them were dismissed or killed, regardless of whether they had opposed Zhu Di or not. According to research, there are only 100 civil and military officials, and only 55 people remain in office during the Yongle period of Jianwen for eight years. This shows how cruel it is.
Even Empress Lu was forced to accompany Zhu Di to "act" and forced Zhu Yunwen to hand over his military power. History calls this a "plan of defeat." Through iron-blooded means, Zhu Di finally consolidated his throne in the first few years of his reign. The power of the Ming Dynasty was successfully transferred to a collateral dynasty.
Ten years later, the gray-haired Zhu Di died. During his reign, the Ming Dynasty's national strength reached its peak through measures such as opening the sea and developing agriculture. Judging from his political achievements, Zhu Di is worthy of the title of an excellent monarch. However, his methods are also intolerable to future generations.
As Lao Tzu said, "For the world's style, Changde is not distant". What is the real royal road, what is the way to give way, and how to compromise the merits and demerits. This is worth pondering for every ambitious monarch. What's more, even if the power is in hand, is Zhu Di really happy? In the three fools making trouble in the Baolai Palace, the idiot brother talked about how much pain the emperor had in his heart when he went on a killing spree for his own selfish interests.
History is full of uncertainties. Who knows, if Zhu Di had not launched the Battle of Jingjing, how history would have been rewritten? Perhaps, as Mr. Feng Jicai said: "History is history, history is not a story".
We have to cherish the present and not worry too much about the ifs. However, perhaps every ambitious person is constantly paralyzing and comforting himself. The farther you go on the road of chasing fame and fortune, the more difficult it will be to turn back.
Power can never bring true happiness, it can only bring momentary high-spirits and vanity at best. Isn't the life of those once wise and powerful kings synonymous with emptiness and suffering?
Truly beautiful things are always simple and ordinary. For example, family company, fragrant flowers and plants, blue sky and red. These trivial things make up the true meaning of life. And once a person goes down the wrong path, the more he gains, the more he loses. When you look around, you will find that you are so lonely and small.
However, time is like an arrow, and everything flows. Zhu Di chose to chase, and he was doomed to lose. Life is too short, cherish the present. Don't go down the road of no turning back for the sake of vanity and fortune. Because what you gain will never exceed what you lose. This is the story of power. It is also a story of human nature.