Preface: In the leap December of the fifth year of Xuande (AD 1430), Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty Zhu Zhanji received an urgent message from Zhangde Mansion in Henan: King Zhao Zhu Gaosui was seriously ill. His Royal Highness King Zhao was Zhu Zhanji's third uncle. Xuanzong often affectionately called him "Uncle Zhao", so he immediately ordered the imperial doctor Sheng Qidong to rush to Zhangde Prefecture to treat Zhu Gaosui.
Gengshen, King Gao Sui of Zhao was ill. When the memorial arrived, he sent the imperial doctor Sheng Qi Dongchiyi to pay a visit. - "Volume 74 of the Record of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty"
This imperial doctor's surname was actually Sheng Mingyin, whose courtesy name was Qidong, and he was from Wujiang, Suzhou. His master Wang Bin was a friend of Yao Guangxiao, the prime minister in black and a hero of Jingnan, so Sheng Qidong also won the trust of Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji, the grandson emperors. Xuanzong sent him to Zhangde Mansion, which showed the importance the court attached to King Zhao's condition.
Still photos of King Zhao Zhu Gaosui
However, King Zhao's wind disease has become extremely serious, and no matter how amazing the imperial doctor is, there is nothing he can do to save him. On August 26, the sixth year of Xuande (AD 1431), the third son of Emperor Taizong Wen, the younger brother of Emperor Renzong Zhao, and the uncle of Emperor Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui died at the age of 50. It is recorded in the history books that Xuanzong "went to mourn" and stopped attending the court for three days and was given the posthumous title "Jian" . The posthumous law "One virtue is unremitting" is simply said, which means that insists on virtue without slacking off. The Ming court finally gave this King Zhao a pretty good coffin conclusion. In fact, it is not easy for Zhu Gaosui to die well. Today we will interpret the crisis faced by His Royal Highness King Zhao in the Xuande Dynasty.
The short honeymoon period
The author has described King Zhao's performance during the Yongle years in a previous article. I will not go into details here. Interested readers can read the extended link.
Gaoge Temple: located in the ruins of Zhao Wangfu in Anyang, Henan.
On the fourth day of July in the first year of Hongxi, Zhu Zhanji went to the Ministry of Industry to repair Zhao Guo's sacrificial vessels and musical instruments due to their "overage and damage", requiring "all to be of high quality". On the 16th day of the seventh month, King Zhao was given eighty hectares of farmland. On July 24, the Henan Department was ordered to survey the vacant land of the Zhangde Mansion Military and Civilian Home and allocate it to the Zhao Mansion guard sergeants as barracks. On August 23, twenty-seven households of Zhao Mansion musicians were given musical instruments and clothes.
Of course, Zhu Zhanji’s suspicion cannot be hidden under the mask of warmth. We can see this from two things. First, King Zhao requested to come to Beijing to pay homage to Renzong's mausoleum, but his eldest nephew refused. The reason is very high-sounding: "Fan Ping is a serious matter" , but everyone knows that the emperor does not want King Zhao to enter the capital. Secondly, Zhu Zhanji ordered Song Xiang, the commander of the Liaodong Guangning right guard, to be relegated to the coastal frontier guard.
line in Metropolitan Procuratorate memorial: "Song Xiang, the commander of the right guard in Guangning, Liaodong, knew that his wife's brother Meng Xian was rebelling and treason when he was commanding the guards in Changshan and did not report it. He should be executed in the law." He was ordered to be relegated to Yuan Haiwei. - "Records of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty Volume 3"
Meng Xian, the mastermind of King Zhao's rebellion in the 21st year of Yongle (1423 AD). Now that Zhu Zhanji has dismissed his brother-in-law Song Xiang and sent him to the army, he is naturally giving Zhu Gaosui a warning: Don't think that I don't know what you did back then!
Still photos of King Zhu Gaosui of Zhao
In the context of the court rejecting requests from other vassal princes, crown princes, and princes to go to Beijing for pilgrimage, in April of the first year of Xuande (AD 1426), Zhao Crown Prince Zhu Zhanxi and Anyang King Zhu Zhanyao went to Beijing together according to the order. Unlike the eldest brother Zhu Gaochi and the second brother Zhu Gaoxu who had prosperous heirs, how could King Zhao go to Beijing for pilgrimage at the same time with these two sons? If it was for Emperor Renzong Xiaoxiang (referring to the first anniversary of his death), no one from the Han Dynasty prince or prince came to Beijing. At the same time, "Records" does not record when the two brothers returned to Zhangde. The author has to wonder whether Zhu Zhanji held these two cousins in the capital as hostages to prevent King Zhao from sending troops to help when the King of Han was forced to rebel in the future?
In June of that year, Dingzhou man Diao Er carried a yellow baggage and asked to see King Zhao. As a result, Zhu Gaosui opened it and saw that there were two pieces of yellow paper and two pieces of white paper. A flower was drawn on the yellow paper, and a person was drawn on the white paper.To be honest, I don’t understand what this means. Maybe it’s to persuade King Zhao to proclaim himself emperor? Because Zhu Gaosui was so frightened when he saw it that he quickly sent someone to report to the court. Zhu Zhanji's reaction to this was gentle but revealed murderous intent.
He ordered the Jinyi Guards to arrest him, because Gu Shichen said: "Uncle Zhao has to say something. If Uncle Zhao doesn't say anything, the villain will say it, which will create a wedge. There are many things like this reported to the palace in recent years." The minister said: "Thanks to the brightness of the sun and the moon, your majesty, the villain's plan will not work, and the clan is lucky." - "Records of Ming Xuanzong, Volume 18"
Stills of Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji
Two months later, Han King Zhu Gaoxu launched a rebellion in the feudal state of Le'an, Shandong. Affected by this turmoil, the Zhao Palace in Zhangde was almost destroyed.
The shock wave of the Rebellion of the Han Dynasty
On the first day of August, the King of Han Zhu Gaoxu announced that he would follow the example of his father, Taizong Zhu Di, and prepare to launch a "Fengtian Jingyan" to kill the traitorous officials around the emperor Xia Yuanji and others. On August 10, Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji personally led the army to the south to quell the chaos. On August 20, the imperial army surrounded Le'an. On August 21, the king of Han went out of the city and surrendered. On August 23, Xuanzong wrote a letter to King Zhao. In addition to explaining why he wanted to personally lead troops to quell the rebellion, Xuanzong also included confessions from the Han King's party members.
Nowadays, due to the great importance paid by our ancestors and the great plan of the country's livelihood, we have no choice but to lead our soldiers to ask questions personally. When the teacher reached his territory, he still gathered a mob to resist. My nephew couldn't bear to attack the city. He wrote three letters but still refused. Relying on the blessings of heaven and earth and the spirit of the clan, he was forced to come here by the people in the city. For the sake of close relatives, I couldn't bear to offend him, so I ordered my family members to return to Beijing to live. Those who share the same evil will clearly correct their crimes, while those who coerce and obey will not ask about it, and they have not committed any crimes since Yu Qiu. But my uncle is a close relative who is taking the imperial examination, so I must tell him. The things that many people think about are slightly different and painful to say, but my uncle learned from them. - "Volume 20 of the Records of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty"
Didn't Xuanzong doubt Zhu Gaosui? Obviously it was impossible, otherwise the confession would not have been copied to the third uncle, because it clearly stated that the King of Han and the King of Zhao had long been colluding with each other and preparing to rebel together.
Stills of Xuanzong and Zhu Zhanji
On August 24, the army took charge. On August 29, Chen Shan, Minister of Household Affairs, welcomed him in Xian County (now Cangzhou, Hebei Province). Chen Shangshu was the lecturer of Xuanzong at that time, and the relationship between monarch and ministers was unusual. So Chen Shan boldly proposed to Xuanzong to move troops to show his virtue and capture King Zhao together, but Zhu Zhanji did not agree.
On the eighth day of September, the court reported that Zhu Gaosui's party members all alleged that King Zhao and the King of Han were of the same mind, and Zhu Gaosui should be punished together. Xuanzong said "Although King Zhao is his own brother, he has no different intentions" and would not be held accountable. Emperor Taizong only had three sons. After deposing the King of Han and then the King of Zhao, Zhu Zhanji was afraid that he would not be able to explain to his imperial grandfather. However, the suspicion in Xuanzong's heart did not diminish. In general, the court had two concerns about King Zhao.
Firstly, although King Zhao only has Changshan guards left, he seems to be weak. But in the 18th year of Yongle (AD 1420), Tang Saier, an illiterate peasant woman, caused a stir in Shandong. Who can guarantee that Zhu Gaosui, the powerful prince who has guarded Beijing for decades, will not be able to make waves?
Secondly, although the fate of King Han will make King Zhao fearful, it will also increase his inner anger. Zhu Gaosui would not understand the principle of dying lips and cold teeth. If he is allowed to live under the pressure of suspicion, it is difficult to say whether he will suddenly explode in the future.
Still photos of Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui
Zhu Zhanji has a good grasp of the art of emperors. The above worries were expressed through the mouth of a small official like Li Yi, the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He first stated that Li Yi "does not know the general situation", and then asked Zhang Ben, the Minister of the Ministry of War, Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Household, and others for their opinions. We are all veterans who have been in the officialdom for decades. How can we still not understand what the emperor means? So Zhang Ben said "It is not possible to nourish carbuncles and grow gangrene," Xia Yuanji thought "People's words cannot be ignored, but they are appropriate in the situation." , which means that your majesty can do it with confidence, and we support it 100%.
On the seventeenth day of the first month of the second year of Xuande (1427 AD), Zhu Zhanji wrote a letter to King Zhao after careful consideration. At the beginning of the letter, the eldest nephew gave the third uncle a warning, saying that the party members of the Han Dynasty had said that his uncle was also involved. After the second uncle arrived in the capital, he personally admitted that he had "consultations" with you , and I didn't believe it, nephew. Recently, civil and military ministers have said that the imperial court is so "hidden and silent" . What if Commander Meng comes to sow discord again? So in today's letter, my nephew plans to openly talk to his third uncle about this matter. The second uncle's confession and the memorials of the ministers impeaching you are attached at the back. Your uncle needs to think carefully about what to do.
On the third day after this letter was sent, Zhu Zhan'an, the prince of Zhao, unfortunately passed away at the age of 17. His posthumous title was Mourning Xi. I can't imagine how King Zhao, who was suffering from the pain of losing his son, felt after seeing the letter from his eldest nephew. He might be exhausted or despairing. On the second day of February, Zhu Gaosui submitted his resignation to the imperial court and resigned from the Changshan Guards and Qunmu Qianhu Station officers and soldiers and the Yiwei Division Officer School.
Geng Shen, Zhao Wang Gao Sui said: "Yesterday, I received the imperial edict and reported it to you that I was planning something wrong. Your Majesty, Your Majesty, bows down and considers me deeply. I am deeply grateful for the grace of pardoning his mortal sin and giving him a new life. Your Majesty has the power of heaven and earth, and you should tolerate your old evils. New. However, the soldiers and guards have not been eliminated, and the fear of others has not been eliminated. I would like to send the guards of Changshan and the officers and soldiers of the Yiwei Division back to the imperial court. I will be safe and secure." - "Records of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty" Volume 25》
Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui stills
Xuanzong was very satisfied, so he only left the official school of the Yiwei Division to his third uncle, and then asked his uncle Prince Consort and Guangping Marquis Yuan Rong to rush to Zhangde Mansion and transfer the guards from Changshan and Qunmu Qianhu Station to the four guards of Yongping, Shanhai, Lulong and Funing. He was also dismissed from the Changshan Zhonggong Guard Experience Department, Changshan Qunmu Qianhu Office, and Changshan Zhonggongcang.
- A down-and-out phoenix is not as good as a chicken
In addition to "removing his guards" , the imperial court had another trick to deal with Zhu Gaosui: "suppressing his authority" . The actual operator was Wang You, who was in charge of the Henan Zhangde Guards and commanded the Qianshi.
In February of the third year of Xuande (1428 AD), Wang You found an arrow outside the city with a letter tied to it. When I opened it, I found a secret letter written by Kaifeng Zhou Fanxiang Fu Wang Zhu Youjuan to the King of Zhao Zhu Gaosui, asking him to "attack the palace with his troops" and avenge the King of Han Zhu Gaoxu. The cover and paper of this letter are both stamped with the seal of King Xiangfu, and it looks just like the real thing.
The king of Zhao granted the kingdom: Anyang Ancient City, Zhangde Prefecture, Henan
Wang You was overjoyed and felt that the time had come to make a contribution. This fellow did not report to the court, but directly mobilized troops to surround Prince Zhao's Mansion. At that time, the cavalry was galloping in the city, and the officers and soldiers of the guard station were holding firearms and carrying siege equipment. It was a replica of the Beiping city that surrounded the Yan Palace. In fact, this letter was forged by Zhu Youjuan, King of Runan of Zhou Dynasty, in order to frame his younger brother Zhu Youjuan, King of Xiangfu. As for King Zhao, he was shot innocently. However, after the truth of the matter came to light, Wang You's arrogant behavior was only reduced from a third-grade general commanding Qianshi to a third-grade commanding colleague.
In Weiwei, Wang You, who was in charge of the military affairs department in Zhangde, Henan Province, was found guilty and was demoted to his commanding post. Friends first guard their virtues, and they are arrogant and corrupt. There were rumors in the palace of King Hui Zhao about the king's secret affairs, but friends heard about it but refused to report it. Officials, weapons, weapons and offensive equipment were often sent out to surround the palace, and knights galloped into the city. When cannons were fired at the north gate of the city, the people were horrified. The three officials in Henan Province also reported that their friends were illegal. Then he went to the capital and ordered the imperial censor to interrogate him. He was convicted of the crime and dismissed from duty to guard the border. Shang Yuzhi moved to the left to command Tongzhi, and ordered him to go to Xuanfu to prepare for the imperial attack. - "Records of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty Volume 42"
The dignified prince and the legitimate son of Emperor Taizong Wen was so humiliated by a warrior. Since then, Zhu Gaosui paid great attention to the virtuous and courteous people and served the vassal with great respect. Finally, he was evaluated as "unprecedented" in "Records".
Conclusion: After the death of Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui was left with his only son Zhu Zhanyao, King of Anyang.In the fourth year of Xuande (1429 AD), Zhu Gaosui asked the court to choose a concubine for his son when he saw that his son had reached eighteen years old. At this time, King Zhao had already become a toothless tiger, and it would not be too much to describe him as barely surviving. Zhu Zhanji was naturally happy to show his "kinship" and readily asked his uncle to report his name after the election in the country.
In May of the fifth year of Xuande's reign (AD 1430), the imperial court sent Xu An, Marquis of Yongkang, as the chief envoy, and Zhang Jujie, the deputy envoy of Li Kezhong, who held the ceremony of the Zhao Mansion. Later, he would move out of Prince Zhao's Mansion, hoping that the imperial court could help build Anyang Prince's Mansion in the gap east of the palace. Xuanzong was very proud this time, saying that the west side was a big place, so he should build it there, and he also gave way to the Ministry of Industry "No tip is needed" . You must know that Xuanzong was particularly stingy when he was building a princess mansion for his sister. This shows how comfortable King Zhao was who was no longer able to cause trouble.
In the Sino-Japanese War of 1991, he was ordered to live in the Ministry of Industry as the second son of King Zhao, Zhanyaying Mansion. At that time, the king of Zhao told Zhan Yao that he was about to get married. He did not have a living room, so there was a gap in the east wall of the mansion that could be used. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was ordered to make progress, and he said: “It’s better to be more generous and lenient. There is a lot of free space on the west side, so no expense is spared to build more. ” - "Volume 53 of the Records of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty"
After the death of Zhu Gaosui, Xuanzong retained the 30,000 shi of annual salary of Prince Zhao on the one hand. On the other hand, in July of the seventh year of Xuande (AD 1432), he sent Ding Guogong Xu Jingchang as an envoy to pay tribute. In the Kejie incident, Yu Xiang was appointed as the deputy envoy, and the second son of King Zhao Jian, Zhu Zhanyao, was appointed as the king of Zhao.
The story of Zhao Fan during the Xuande period has come to an end. We will talk about the story of the successor to King Zhu Zhanyao in a later article.
