In 1402, the Yan army entered Yingtian Mansion, and a fire broke out inexplicably in the palace. In this fire, Emperor Jianwen disappeared. Relying on the trick of "clearing the emperor's side", Zhu Di overturned his nephew's dynasty and sat on the dragon throne.

1402, the Yan army entered Yingtian Mansion , and a fire inexplicably ignited in the palace. In this fire, Emperor Jianwen disappeared. Some people say that Zhu Yunwen was burned into coke by the fire; some people say that Zhu Yunwen changed his name and surname to escape the place of right and wrong. Regardless of the outcome of Emperor Jianwen, he finally withdrew from the ruling class, and the country was controlled by his uncle Zhu Di.

Relying on the trick of "Qingjun side", Zhu Di overturned his nephew's dynasty and sat on the dragon throne. This year, only four years had passed since his father Zhu Yuanzhang passed away.

Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was the first emperor in history to become the ninth emperor in white. Prior to this, the founders of the country who "made themselves from scratch" basically had aristocratic status. No matter how bad they were, they would be like Liu Bang, whose family was a local power. A man like Zhu Yuanzhang, who went from facing the loess with his back to the sky to become admired by thousands of people, is unique.

As the saying goes, "Heroes do not ask where they come from." No matter how ordinary Zhu's background is, there is no doubt about his political level. Let’s look at the various achievements he made after the founding of the country. They are all good strategies for governing the country that benefit the country and the people.

In his later years, Lao Zhu devoted all his energy for the rest of his life to paving the way for his descendants. In order for Prince Zhu Biao and Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen to take over the throne smoothly, Lao Zhu worked hard and tried his best to move the other princes to the fiefdom beyond the reach of eight poles to prevent them from doing stupid things to fight for family property.

However, just four years after Lao Zhu returned to the West, the structure he had worked so hard to manage was destroyed. Didn't he foresee the danger factor of Zhu Di during his lifetime?

As smart as Zhu Yuanzhang, it is impossible for him to make such a low-level mistake. From the day Zhu Di was born, Lao Zhu smelled a hint of danger in his son. In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang had long planned to eliminate this ambitious son.

Among Zhu Yuanzhang’s dozens of princes, which prince has the strongest ability?

There is no doubt that the only person who can be compared with Zhu Biao is the King of Yan, Zhu Di. These two sons were both civil and military, and both were good candidates to become emperors. However, why did Lao Zhu give the crown prince position to Zhu Biao instead of Zhu Di?

Choosing a successor is the country’s top priority. Lao Zhu must have thought carefully before finalizing the candidate. In his mind, Zhu Biao was more suitable to be a Shoucheng emperor than Zhu Di, and Zhu Biao also had the status of "the eldest son of the emperor".

It is natural for Zhu Biao to be crown prince. Because Zhu Biao had a high prestige among the officials and could suppress other princes. In order for Zhu Biao to take over the throne smoothly, Zhu Yuanzhang cleared all obstacles for him. However, things did not go as planned, and no one expected that Zhu Biao, who had high hopes, would die young. After Zhu Biao's death, the selection of the crown prince once again became a big problem.

Under Zhu Biao, there are two candidates who are most suitable to inherit the throne:

The first is the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen;

The second is the fourth prince Zhu Di.

In terms of ability, Zhu Di is obviously much better than Zhu Yunzhen. However, the abolition of the crown prince is related to the stability of the entire country. Zhu Yuanzhang cannot choose his successor based on his personal ability alone, but must think about the overall situation.

So, why did Zhu Di lose to the young boy Zhu Yunwen and lose the election in the heart of his father?

First, Zhu Di is the fourth prince. Even if Zhu Biao dies young, he still has two elder brothers. Although these two princes have mediocre abilities, they both hold military power. What's more, both the King of Qin and the King of Jin were Zhu Di's elder brothers, so it was not Zhu Di's turn to take the throne in terms of seniority. If Lao Zhu chooses Zhu Di as his successor, it will inevitably trigger a "rebellion of kings". At that time, the kings of Qin and Jin will rebel, which will be detrimental to the stability of the country.

Secondly, this is the first time that the Ming Dynasty chooses a crown prince, and the process of passing the throne must be guaranteed to be stable and without any mistakes. Because the "first time" can serve as a guide for the subsequent "countless times". If the "first time" is done in a bloody manner, later emperors will inevitably follow suit. At that time, every time the imperial power is passed on, there will be bloodshed and the country will be ruined.

After excluding Zhu Di, only the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen was left. From the perspective of etiquette and law, Zhu Yunwen has irreplaceable advantages for other princes.He is the son of the prince and the eldest grandson of the current emperor. After Zhu Biao's death, he was ranked first in the line of succession. In addition, Zhu Yunwen had a relatively generous character and was very filial. Ministers also liked this easy-to-talk benevolent and righteous emperor.

Lao Zhu has fought all the battles for his descendants. In the future, the country does not need an "emperor Wu", but an "emperor civil" who is good at maintaining success. What is "Shou Cheng"? Just follow the route planned by the ancestors, and the filial Zhu Yunwen is undoubtedly the best candidate to "keep it". Zhu Yuanzhang must have thought of the above thoughts.

Friends who are familiar with history know that Zhu Yuanzhang is comparable to an old fox, and his political literacy is quite mature. After selecting his successor, he immediately began to clear the obstacles that blocked Zhu Yunwen's succession. According to historical records, in the 20th year of Hongwu, Lao Zhu had already had murderous intentions for the fourth prince Zhu Di. At that time, Lao Zhu sent a team of spies to lurk in Prince Yan's palace to monitor his son's every move.

In the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu, Lao Zhu finally had the opportunity to kill Zhu Di.

During this year, the king of North Korea Li Chenggui donated a batch of BMWs to the Ming Dynasty. He sent the fifth prince Li Fangyuan to rush to the Ming Dynasty with a cavalry team. From the Korean Peninsula to Nanjing, taking the land route will inevitably pass through Yandi. After Li Fangyuan arrived in Peiping, Zhu Di warmly received the foreign prince and stayed at his house overnight.

The two drank for three rounds and chatted happily all night long. Why do these two rulers' sons have so much to talk about? Because their situations are so similar! Li Fangyuan is also a very capable prince, but his father has no intention of making him the crown prince. This pair of brothers and sisters got excited about chatting and almost kowtowed.

Early the next morning, Zhu Di personally sent this foreign brother out of the palace. Li Fangyuan and Zhu Di said goodbye reluctantly. Before leaving, he did not forget to ask the cavalry team to keep a few horses with good teeth, and gave the BMW that was originally intended for Zhu Yuanzhang to the speculative Zhu Di as a gift.

Every word and deed of the two people was seen by the spies. After this incident was reported back to the court, Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he almost overturned the table. Zhu Yuanzhang decided to kill Zhu Di quickly, eradicate all the private parties of King Yan, and completely remove this nail that stood in front of the emperor and grandson.

When Zhu Yuanzhang discussed this matter with minister Liu Sanwu, Liu Sanwu immediately expressed his opposition. Liu Sanwu felt that the time was not yet ripe. After all, the second prince and the third prince are both alive and well. If the fourth prince is killed at this time, it will inevitably make them afraid, and then they will jump over the wall to rebel. Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it carefully and felt that this statement was reasonable. At least for the moment, the second, third, and fourth sons check and balance each other. If one of them collapses, it will be even more troublesome for Zhu Yunwen to succeed in the future.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang restrained his murderous intention, let Zhu Di go, and waited for a better opportunity.

and so on, it takes two years.

In the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu, the second prince, King Qin, died. On this occasion, Lao Zhu also felt that the god of death was beckoning to him. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was old at this time and was unable to do many things.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang's state of mind also changed greatly during this period. At this time, he was no longer decisive, but became tolerant. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that no matter what, Zhu Di was his own flesh and blood, and it would be unethical to kill him for no reason. Moreover, even though the second prince died, there was still the third prince to contain Zhu Di. At least the matter had not developed to the point where it was beyond control. As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang put away his murderous intention again.

Another three years passed, and something suddenly went wrong. In March of the thirty-first year of Hongwu, the third prince, King Jin, also died! Now, the situation became uncontrollable.

Friends who like Ming history all know that Lao Zhu died in June of this year. In other words, Zhu Yuanzhang died of illness only three months after the death of King Jin. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that his body was getting worse day by day, and the death of his son made him even more exhausted mentally and physically.

On this occasion, Zhu Yuanzhang had already given up the idea of ​​killing Zhu Di. Because, at this time, he no longer wanted to experience the pain of a white-haired person giving a black-haired person. However, leaving Zhu Di in the world will definitely bring trouble to Zhu Yunwen in the future.The palms and backs of your hands are all flesh, how should you choose?

Lao Zhu, who had been decisive all his life, could not make a decision at the end of his life. Before his death, Zhu Yuanzhang did not forget to say to his consort Mei Yin : "King Yan is ill." Yes, at this time, King Yan had gradually grown up and became extremely dangerous. The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang confided this idea to his son-in-law was because the only one he could count on was Mei Yin. Lao Zhu hopes that his son-in-law can do his best to assist the emperor's grandson.

Before Lao Zhu closed his eyes, did he regret not killing Zhu Di? This question doesn't make any sense. Not long after Zhu Yuanzhang passed away because of his love for his consort Mei Yin.

At this point, the legend of Hongwu fell, and the great hero Zhu Yuanzhang passed away.

History has proven how accurate Zhu Yuanzhang's prediction that "The King of Yan is in danger" was. In the 32nd year of Hongwu, before Lao Zhu's bones were cold, Zhu Di had already raised the banner of "Qing Jun Side" and attacked Nanjing with great momentum.

In fact, King Yan had already realized that something was wrong as early as the first time Zhu Yuanzhang had murderous intentions towards Zhu Di. In the next few years, Zhu Di continued to recruit troops and horses to expand King Yan's army, and summoned capable men such as Seng Daoyan. It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang had lost the opportunity to kill Zhu Di when he failed to kill Zhu Di the first time.

Because when the second prince, King Qin, died, Zhu Di already had an ace division in his hands that could compete with the main force of the Ming Dynasty. In the subsequent Jingnan War, this ace division showed Zhu Di's city to the world-in just a few years, Zhu Di built an invincible iron army.

Sometimes history is so incredible. If Zhu Yuanzhang could have made up his mind and strangled Zhu Di in the cradle, the history of Ming Dynasty would have developed in another direction. By then, what kind of dynasty can the benevolent Zhu Yunwen bring about?

Reference:

["History of Ming Dynasty", "Battle of Jingnan"]