above picture_ Zhu Di (1360-1424), namely, Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, Yongle Emperor
first, before launching the Jingnan Campaign, Zhu Di's first half of his life was very ordinary. Zhu Di was just a very ordinary vassal king among the many vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty.
1360, Zhu Di was born in today's Nanjing City. Due to the urgent military situation, Zhu Yuanzhang had no time to take a look at Zhu Di and rushed to the front line to command the battle.
In his childhood, Zhu Di received Zhu Yuanzhang's strict military training, which made Zhu Di develop the good habit of enduring hardships and perseverance. In 1370, Zhu Di was named King of Yan by Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1376, Zhu Di married Xu, the daughter of Xu Da, and Xu was the mother of Zhu Gaochi, who later became the queen of , , and Mingrenzong, .
Zhu Di went to Beiping to be the King of Yan. Before going to Beiping, Zhu Di, along with the King of Qin and King of Jin , came to Fengyang to observe the "land of dragon prosperity" of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, Zhu Di has come to Fengyang three times, and while practicing military and martial arts, he also understands the sufferings of people. Life during his time in Fengyang had a profound impact on Zhu Di's first birth.
After coming to Peiping, Zhu Di led his army to fight fiercely with Mongolia. In 1396, Zhu Di led the Ming army to pursue Mongolian troops to Chechener Mountain, captured dozens of enemy generals, and defeated the Mongolian army and returned triumphantly. The experience of leading troops to fight made Zhu Di grow from an ordinary prince to a general who was good at fighting in the Ming Dynasty.
above_ Zhu Yunwen (December 5, 1377—?) That is, Emperor Jianwen
Second, during Zhu Yunwen's reign, Zhu Di led his army to defeat the more with fewer, successfully counterattacked, and finally ascended the dragon throne and became the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
1398, Zhu Yuanzhang died and Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne. In 1399, Zhu Di's subordinates, Zhu Neng, Zhang Yu, and others rose up in Peiping, and the Jingnan Campaign officially broke out. Zhu Yunwen ordered generals such as Geng Bingwen to lead an army of 300,000 to surround Peiping, and Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen's army fought fiercely.
During the civil war, Zhu Di received the support of Ningwang Zhu Quan's " Doyan Sanwei " and finally successfully counterattacked and won Nanjing. In June 1402, Zhu Di ascended the throne in Nanjing and began his 22-year imperial career.
above_ The Battle of Jingnan
Third, after Zhu Di ascended the throne, he conducted a large-scale liquidation of the old ministers of Jianwen , which was a controversial matter during Zhu Di's rule.
After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he carried out a large-scale liquidation and killing of old ministers from the Jianwen period, such as Fang Xiaoru, Qi Tai, , Huang Zicheng, and others. Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng were exterminated, and Fang Xiaoru died in a bad life. According to later records, there were more than a hundred old Jianwen officials killed by Zhu Di.
Zhu Di's killing of old ministers Jianwen has had some positive impact on consolidating his own power and stabilizing the situation. Moreover, Zhu Di did not take the attitude of killing all the old ministers of Jianwen. Officials such as the famous financial expert Xia Yuanji , Yang Pu , Yang Rong and Yang Shiqi , etc., were all ministers of the Jianwen period, and they all played a very important role in the Yongle, Hongxi and Xuande periods.
Of course, from the negative point of view, Zhu Di's killing was too bloody. Especially during Zhu Di's reign, in order to consolidate the imperial power, he revived the factory and guard system and invented the eunuchs in the late dynasty. This was a negative impact that Zhu Di had on the Ming Dynasty.
above picture_ Ming Dynasty secret agency plum blossom token
fourth, during Zhu Di ascended the throne, he was more proactive and active in foreign relations than his father Zhu Yuanzhang. Create a prosperous Ming Dynasty in which all nations come to visit the world.
Zhu Di once regarded Li Shimin, who created the Zhenguan rule as an idol. Zhu Di commented on Li Shimin as his idol. "In the past, Emperor Taizong of Tang made up the chaos and rectified the prosperous Zhenguan era. It has been rarely discussed since ancient times. He seeks his sake. He is loyal to the country. He will be rewarded even if he has a hatred. He has a different plan and will be punished even if he is close to his relatives."
Since Zhu Di believed that the Zhenguan rule was "unremarked since ancient times", Zhu Di wanted to create a prosperous era that belonged to the Ming Dynasty. In addition, Zhu Di's "usurpation of the throne" forced Zhu Di to build a prosperous empire to prove that his ability was excellent. This made the Ming Dynasty during Zhu Di's reign show a positive side in foreign exchanges.
Zhu Di's foreign exchanges can be discussed in the following aspects:
Photography_ Hu Jiying, whose real name is Li Jiying, changed its name to , after ascending the throne, Hu Yiyuan
First of all, for countries that did not obey the Ming Dynasty tribute system , Zhu Di directed the Ming army to conquer and occupy it. This is the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Annan , and Zhu Di's war against Mongolia in the northern expedition.
1405, the Ming Dynasty He'an Territorial dispute occurred in the south. As Hu Jiyu, a powerful minister of the Chen Dynasty in Annan, usurped the throne and came to power, there were more and more conflicts between Annan and the Ming Dynasty. By 1406, Ming generals Zhu Neng, Zhang Fu and others led a large army to attack Annan. During the battle of Annan, the Ming army launched a public opinion offensive to condemn Hu Jiyu's "crime" for usurping the throne. This move led to the turmoil of the people in Annan. In 1407, more than 70,000 people in the Ming army and Annan army broke out in the Battle of Xianzi Pass. After fierce battle, the Annan army returned in a crushing defeat. The Ming army won a great victory. In the summer of 1407, the Ming army captured Hu Ji-chan, who usurped the throne, and the Hu Dynasty was destroyed. Zhu Di set up the Jiaozhi Governor's Office in Annan to strengthen the Ming Dynasty's management of Annan.
The war in Annan objectively played a powerful deterrent effect on the surrounding neighboring countries, and its significance was no less than the war between the Tang army's battle to destroy the Eastern Turks and the Han army's Battle of the Demon North. The surrounding neighboring countries could accept the Ming Dynasty's tribute system, and the Battle of Annan played a certain role.
In addition to attacking Annan, Zhu Di also attacked Mongolia five times during his reign. Zhu Di once commanded the Ming army to attack Ounhe , defeating the Mongolian army Benyasili and Alutai troops, and the army's power was greatly shocked. Zhu Di became the only emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty to personally lead the army to attack Mongolian Plateau .
above_ " Ming Hui Dian " records the rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty in China, and the official book mainly based on administrative regulations, referred to as "Ming Hui Dian"
Secondly, in diplomacy, Zhu Di adopted an active and open policy to strengthen friendly exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and surrounding countries.
During Zhu Di's reign, there were hundreds of countries with the Ming Dynasty. In order to unify foreign exchanges, Zhu Di rebuilt the institution for developing foreign trade, and set up the Siyi Pavilion to cultivate translation talents for translation of the dynasty. Documents of exchanges between the Gong Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty. The staff in the museum are familiar with foreign languages and facilitate foreign exchanges. According to the "Ming Hui Dian", the four-way barbarians translated texts. In the fifth year of Yongle, the Four-way barbarians were set up, and the internal eight museums were divided into Tatar , Nuzhi, Xifan , Xitian, Huihui, Baiyi, Gaochang, Myanmar, and Imperial College Student . This historical material fully proves that the purpose of Zhu Di's establishment of the Four-way barbarians was to cultivate translation talents to expand foreign exchanges.
above_ Zheng He's nautical chart
As Zheng He's voyage to the West , more and more kings came to the Ming Dynasty to pay homage to Zhu Di. During the Yongle period, there were kings of four countries who came to the Ming Dynasty to pay homage to Zhu Di. Foreign envoys came to the Ming Dynasty to engage in diplomatic activities 318 times. Wuni , the kings of Sulu and the ancient Malalang Kingdom came to China to pay homage to the Ming Dynasty.
Zheng He's voyage to the West visited more than 30 countries and regions, including Jia , Sumatra, Zhenla , Gully , Siam and other countries and regions. Zhenghe fleet reached the farthest Red Sea and East Africa . During the voyage to the West, more and more countries learned about the Ming Dynasty through the Zhenghe fleet and sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty had a rare situation where all countries came to pay tribute to the people of the four seas.
Photos_ Suspected Zheng He portrait
In addition to Zheng He voyage to the West, Zhu Di also had contacts with North Korea, Japan and Timur Empire .
During Zhu Di's reign, North Korea's King Lee Fangyuan ascended the throne. In 1403, Li Fangyuan and the Ming Dynasty began to send diplomatic envoys regularly. North Korea paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, lacquerware and seal skins.
1403, Japan sent envoys to pay tribute. From 1404 to 1410, Japan paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty seven times. The Ming Dynasty had close contacts with Japan.
During the Zhu Di period, the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Timur was restored. The Ming Dynasty sent envoys to visit Samarkand, Central Asia many times.
above picture_Ming Dynasty territory
Through the above discussion, it can be seen that Zhu Di not only taught the disobedient Annan through force, defended the national prestige and dignity of the Ming Dynasty in East Asia, and cracked down on Mongolia to defend the security of the north. Zhu Di also strengthened exchanges with Asian and African countries through Zheng He's voyage to the West and his envoy exchanges, making the Ming Dynasty gradually become a world-wide empire. Although some of Zhu Di's practices during his reign were controversial, we will not forget Zhu Di's contribution to Sino-foreign exchanges.
Unfortunately, Zhu Di's later emperors no longer had the far-sighted vision like Zhu Di, and the Ming Dynasty's foreign exchanges became more and more restrained from being proactive. This cannot be said to be a regret of history.
Author: Sun Yi Editor: Lilith
Reference materials: "Prove the Ming Dynasty" Chen Shilong Chinese Publishing House
Text was created by the team of the History University Hall, and the picture is from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author
