The Battle of Jingnan
When Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, was in power, he distributed his children and grandchildren to various places as vassal kings , and the power of vassal kings was expanding day by day. Due to the early death of Prince Zhu Biao, in the 31st year of Hongwu (1398), the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen succeeded the throne as Emperor Jianwen. Emperor Jianwen and his trusted ministers Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, etc. took a series of measures to reduce the vassal. At the same time, they also deployed troops around Peiping and in the city, and in the name of Fangbian, they transferred the elite guards of Zhu Di, the fourth son of Emperor Yan of Ming Taizu, to guard outside the Great Wall, ready to eliminate the King of Yan.
Zhu Di rebelled in the first year of Jianwen (1399), and then marched south, known in history as the "Battle of Jingnan". Emperor Jianwen used veteran Geng Bingwen to lead the Northern Expedition, and then sent Li Jinglong to continue the crusade, and Emperor Jianwen also lacked strategies, resulting in the continuous annihilation of the main force. Zhu Di attacked at the right time and used strategies flexibly. After several battles, he eliminated the main force of the Southern Army, and finally took advantage of the victory to advance. In the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), he captured the imperial capital Yingtian (now Nanjing) .
Whereabouts unknown
The Battle of Jingnan lasted four years (1399-1402). ended with Zhu Di's victory. But the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen has become a mystery. There are only a few sentences in official history , "the fire in the palace, the emperor does not know where to end", so where did Emperor Jianwen go?
1: monks monks said
monks monks said is currently the most well-known version. It is said that after the city was destroyed, Emperor Jianwen was going to throw himself into the sea of fire and not be a prisoner, but a eunuch around said that Taizu handed him a mysterious box before his death, saying that if Emperor Jianwen was in danger, he could be opened.After Emperor Jianwen opened it, he saw that there were cassocks, ultimatum , razor, and a letter inside, so Emperor Jianwen immediately followed the instructions in the letter, disguised as monk , successfully escaped from the palace, and went to Yunnan to become a monk . As for the eunuchs in the palace, they wore the clothes of Emperor Jianwen and were burned to death. When Zhu Di arrived, he saw that the body had changed beyond recognition, so he had no choice but to give up. official history records: Or Emperor Yun died from the tunnel. There is a monk who calls himself Emperor Jianwen, which is the best proof. There are official historical references to this statement. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang was a monk in his early years. He was worried that his grandson would not be able to control his sons, so he left such a back-up move for Emperor Jianwen. The credibility is indeed very high.
2: Another mainstream saying is that when Emperor Jianwen escaped from Nanjing, he came to , Quanzhou, , , and then lived overseas. And the voyage to the west , the first task of voyage to the west is to find the Jianwen Emperor living abroad, and the second is to show off politically and carry out tributary trade. After arriving at Luoda Temple in Wuhan, he took out the ultimatum and asked the abbot at the time to help him take a boat overseas. The abbot then helped Emperor Jianwen escape to the Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou at that time. Later, Emperor Jianwen arrived with a Persian merchant's boat. He went to the overseas island of Sumatra, so Emperor Jianwen lived in seclusion here until his death.It is said that the local Chinese still hold a grand ceremony to worship the "Emperor" on the day of Emperor Jianwen's enthronement on the 16th day of the fifth lunar month. But I personally think that Emperor Jianwen still has a high possibility of escaping. There is also a saying that Zhu Di has always sent households to give Hu Xi clues in the countryside to search for Emperor Jianwen. Finally found Zhu Yunwen In fact, has been taking refuge in Puluo Temple . Knowing that Zhu Yunwen at this time had no interest in the government, Zhu Di let him go. Zhu Yunwen was considered safe in his later years, and he was forty-six years old when he died.
In short, all the above are speculations. After all, there is no empirical research on the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen. Perhaps one day, archaeologists have discovered some clues, and the truth will be revealed to the world.
