Emperor Yongle led two military campaigns in person, and the Crown Prince served as regent twice, each time lasting nearly two years. "As long as the Crown Prince is regent, the country's affairs are not wasted" was the unanimous evaluation of both the ministers close to the Crown Prince and political enemies such as the King of Han.
This lame prince is really capable.
During his regency, the Ming Dynasty was under pressure from two wars, one in the north and the other in the south: Jiaozhi in the south and the Oirat tribe in the north. Fighting on two fronts was something that even Emperor Gaozu of the Hongwu Dynasty did not dare to do, because a single war could consume a country's accumulation of at least five years.
The army needs food, weapons, ammunition, clothing, pensions, etc. War means spending money, not to mention that the Ming Dynasty was like a candle burning at both ends.
In addition to war, other major expenditures of the Ming Dynasty included dredging the Grand Canal and Zheng He's voyages to the West.
Of course, there was also the relocation of the capital and the construction of a new capital and palace.
In any dynasty, if a monarch did just one of these major things, he would be remembered in history and be considered a capable monarch.
But in the Yongle Dynasty, all of them were done in one go. Most emperors would make this choice, but Emperor Yongle said he wanted them all.
Emperor Yongle made the decision and pointed out the direction of progress, then he patted his butt and went north to lead the army in person, becoming a hands-off manager. It was almost entirely up to the Crown Prince to implement these major national plans from top to bottom.
All of these require money, but taxes cannot be increased at will. The prince has no choice but to vigorously promote economic development and make the pie bigger in order to barely make up for the deficits of these major projects that are like money crushers.
Emperor Yongle was only responsible for spending money, while the Crown Prince was responsible for making money. The Crown Prince was under a lot of pressure and even lost weight (lost two taels).
However, the prince had no regrets. Being under a lot of pressure was nothing, and losing two pounds was nothing. Being able to share the worries of his father was enough to prove the prince's value.
Even when the King of Han wanted to slander the crown prince, he would not be so tactless as to say nonsense like the crown prince was incompetent or the regent was derelict in his duties. He would always find excuses like the crown prince was infatuated with women, made friends with princes and ministers, won people's hearts, liked to hold literary and poetry gatherings, and believed in flattery. He would never question the crown prince's ability to govern the country.
However, the prince did not expect that his hard work would be met with suspicion instead of appreciation.
The prince was also unlucky. This wasn’t the case the first time he served as regent. At that time, Emperor Yongle was strong and healthy, and the court was under his control.
However, during his second term as regency, the Korean concubine dared to poison Emperor Yongle with mushroom powder. At the most excited moment, the emperor felt that his brain was about to explode. After a narrow escape from death, his body was weak and he was betrayed by people around him. Xie Jin added fuel to the fire and behaved without any courtesy as a subject, and had no regard for the monarch. Emperor Yongle could not help but suspect that the prince had controlled the court during his time as regency and had sidelined him as the emperor.
The imperial power is supreme and unique. All emperors fear losing the imperial power much more than losing their sons.
An emperor can have many children and grandchildren, or even more children and grandchildren, but once he loses his imperial power, he will have nothing.
Emperor Yongle imprisoned Xie Jin and other officials who worked part-time in the Eastern Palace in order to establish his authority and tell his ministers who was the real boss and who was just an employee. Although he was old and weak, he was the only king and he could still control the government.
The prince was wronged, he had no intention of taking over the throne. He was a cripple, and most of the military generals in the court supported the King of Han. He had no soldiers, and he was surrounded by a group of civil officials. The scholars had been rebelling for ten years but had failed. Could the prince rely on his three hundred kilograms of fat to force the emperor to abdicate
He just wanted to slowly wait until Emperor Yongle grew old so that he could ascend the throne smoothly.
Emperor Yongle: No, you do.
Once the crown prince began to plead for the officials of the Eastern Palace, it was confirmed that he had objections to Emperor Yongle's decision.
As the heir to the throne, the prince must keep pace with the emperor, which means: I am your puppet, I obey all your arrangements, and I have no intention of replacing you.
Emperor Yongle wanted to lock him up, but the prince wanted to release him. This was meant to be a rebellion against Emperor Yongle's arrangement, a refusal to accept the emperor's authority, and a desire to rebel and replace him!
As a result, the crown prince would be deposed, and those loyal officials of the Eastern Palace who refused to say a word against the crown prince would also be beheaded. The court would be purged, the game of power would be over, and everyone would be finished.
So the prince had no choice but to let others call him cold-blooded and indifferent, but he did not dare to say a word.
If he didn't ask the emperor for help, these people in prison might still survive.
As long as he opened his mouth, all the ministers in the imperial prison would be killed.
I can bear it!
Why can turtles live so long
As long as I don't make any mistakes, my father will put aside his suspicions and I won't be deposed.
This is what the prince has been thinking all along, relying on the belief that a thousand-year-old turtle can live ten thousand years longer to sustain himself and get through the difficult times.
However, before the old problems are solved, new problems arise.
In addition to deposing or not deposing, Emperor Yongle had a third option: to nominate the Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji as the first-line heir.
Emperor Yongle did not ask Ji Gang to quell the "rumors" that the crown prince would be deposed and the throne would be inherited by the crown prince, for two reasons.
Firstly, this heart-piercing rumor will bring greater pressure and a sense of crisis to the prince, causing him to reflect on his "mistakes", serve as the crown prince obediently, and not have any thoughts of replacing the previous emperor.
Secondly, Emperor Yongle really had this consideration, to replace the Crown Prince with the Crown Prince.
For this purpose, Emperor Yongle also went to the Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay homage to his father, Emperor Gaozu.
Looking at his father's portrait, Emperor Yongle sighed, "Father, Prince Yiwen died of a sudden illness before, and the eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen was only fourteen years old at that time. At that time, my second brother, the Prince of Qin, and my third brother, the Prince of Jin, had already passed away. I became the eldest among my brothers. I think I have guarded the border for many years for the Ming Dynasty and have made great contributions to the governance of Yandi. My younger brothers are not as good as me. According to the inheritance rules of the Ming Dynasty ancestral precepts, if there is a legitimate heir, the legitimate heir shall be appointed, and if there is no legitimate heir, the eldest son shall be appointed. I am the eldest and the most talented. The eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen was born out of wedlock by a concubine, and the only legitimate grandson Zhu Yunhuan was said to have damaged his brain during a difficult childbirth, and he was half-idiot.
My father is old and if he wants to appoint a new crown prince, he will most likely choose me."
Emperor Yongle laughed at himself, "So, when I brought my wife and children to the capital to attend the funeral, I was a little happy in my heart, but I never expected that my father would make the weak Zhu Yunwen the crown prince, and named him the crown prince, and also hold my four children hostage in the capital. At that time... and for a long time, I couldn't understand my father's actions, and thought he was old and confused. It was really ridiculous. When I was in my father's position, I fell seriously ill, my health took a sharp turn for the worse, and I gradually became unable to do anything. I finally understood my father's choice at the time."
The head follows the butt. Emperor Yongle once hated his father for being "blind" by appointing a young boy with no political experience as the crown prince. He thought his father had made a big mistake and it was simply unreasonable.
Now that he is in this position, he deeply understands his father's approach. If it were him, he would make the same choice.
What could be a safer decision than having a sensible and obedient grandson, who has been taught step by step since childhood, has no power or faction in the court, and relies on the emperor's arrangements for everything, as the crown prince
The Crown Prince is a heir who poses no threat to the throne.
The prince is the opposite.
Moreover, the prince's weaknesses are obvious: he is obese, lame, and weak. I'm afraid he won't live long. The imperial physician has also said that his diabetes has worsened to the point where both feet are diseased and deformed, and it's unlikely that he will live more than another ten years.
Maybe the prince will die before me? The meat is rotten in the pot, and by then the first-line heir will still be the crown prince Zhu Zhanji.
In this case, wouldn't it be better to let the Crown Prince gain more experience and gain political experience a few years in advance so that he will be more skilled when he inherits the throne in the future
As a result, Emperor Yongle had the idea of changing the crown prince. This idea was like a demon in his heart, which could not be shaken off and grew bigger and bigger in his mind.
When Hu Shanwei heard Ji Gang say that Emperor Yongle did not suppress the rumors about the change of crown prince, his heart sank and he guessed the general idea.
She was an old person who had personally experienced the mental journey of Emperor Gaozu when he appointed Zhu Yunwen as the Crown Prince. There was nothing new in the harem, and the Ming Dynasty had begun a new cycle.
Hu Shanwei sighed, "Now it is the Crown Prince's turn to suffer."
Originally, Zhu Zhanji grew up in Kunming and was not close to the Eastern Palace. Now that rumors are flying around outside, his relationship with the Eastern Palace has become even more distant.
Zhu Zhanji had no intention of seizing the throne, but he could not withstand the suspicion of the Eastern Palace!
The grandfather suspects his son, the son suspects his grandson, and the grandfather uses his grandson to restrain his son. The grandson is stuck in the middle like a meat bun, neither of them is a good friend, and it would be wrong for him to favor either side.
Ji Gang said calmly: "This is how the Heavenly Family is. They torment each other, enjoy the greatest wealth in the world, and also suffer the most heartbreaking torture in the world. It's quite fair."
Zhu Zhanji did not expect the situation to develop to this point. He was immediately terrified. His father was alive and well and had made two contributions as regent. If he seized his father's position as crown prince, wouldn't that be extremely unfilial
If he deposed his father from the crown prince position, he would be cursed for eternity. Others would only say that his father was deposed because of him, and would not say that it was because of his grandfather the emperor.
Zhu Zhanji was helpless in this regard. He was even more passive than the crown prince. He could do nothing but suffer.
Zhu Zhanji still went to the East Palace every morning and evening to pay his respects to the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.
As the second crown prince, Zhu Zhanji was accompanied by a team of attendants from the Crown Prince's Palace and the Chancellery whenever he paid his respects. There was also another team from the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace and the Chancellery. When father and son met, the two teams stood on the left and right, forming a stalemate and the atmosphere was tense.
In this atmosphere, with more than a dozen pairs of eyes watching, Zhu Zhanji suppressed all his emotions in his heart and stepped forward to salute, "Father, how is your health today?"
The prince said: "I am fine, go see your mother."
The daily conversations seemed to be the same as usual, but both father and son understood that something was quietly changing. Under great pressure, the prince's feelings towards his eldest son became more and more complicated.
Officials from the Crown Prince's Palace in the backyard were not allowed to enter, so when Zhu Zhanji and the Crown Princess paid their respects, they were not as restrained as they were in front of the Crown Prince.
For the Crown Princess, if her husband is the Emperor, she is the Empress; if her son is the Emperor, she is the Empress Dowager. In any case, her position is very solid.
But because of this, the Crown Princess was caught in a difficult position in front of the Crown Prince and the Crown Grandson. The Crown Prince and the Crown Grandson were obviously her closest relatives, but these two people seemed to have distanced themselves from her psychologically.
Because they all felt that she seemed to be more biased towards the other party.
The Crown Prince: She wants to be the Queen more than the Queen Mother. The Queen is the mother of the country, which is the dream of all women in the world.
Prince: She wants to be the Queen Mother more than the Empress. Above the Empress is the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager is the real master of the harem.
It was not only the Crown Prince who was suffering. The Crown Princess Zhang was also in a dilemma. She could not say anything because anything she said would be wrong. She could only remain silent like the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince.
"Greetings to mother."
The Crown Princess waved to Zhu Zhanji and said, "Come and sit down. You seem to have lost weight recently."
Yes, due to the controversy over the change of crown prince, Zhu Zhanji's body shape changed from a large bowl of wide noodles to a small bowl of ramen, and he became more and more slender, with protruding cheekbones and a pointed chin like a dagger sticking in the middle of his neck. After all, he was her first son born after ten months of pregnancy. The Crown Princess felt very sorry for her eldest son becoming like this. Now she was caught in the middle, and she understood her eldest son's suffering very well.
Zhu Zhanji had never acted like a spoiled child or shed tears in his mother's arms since he could remember. However, the similar situation at this time made him and the Crown Princess feel in sync. He said, "Mother has lost a lot of weight recently. Even if you don't have much appetite, you have to try to eat more."
What I mean is that you have to be patient and stay calm. The whole family is under a lot of pressure right now, so you have to stay calm and don't lose your composure.
The Crown Princess understood what her son said. She patted his hand and said, "I know. You should also take care of yourself."
Zhu Zhanji wanted to communicate more with his mother, but in this special period, if he stayed with his mother for too long, the prince might be unhappy and suspicious of his mother, which would bring trouble to his mother.
So Zhu Zhanji hurriedly said goodbye after greeting her. The Crown Princess knew her son was in trouble and waved her hand, "Go and get busy."
The atmosphere in the royal family was tense, and even New Year's Eve was lifeless.
In this way, the Ming Dynasty ushered in the 13th year of Yongle amid the turmoil of changing the crown prince.
On the 16th day of the first lunar month, the longest holiday was over and the court began to work. Jinyiwei Commander Ji Gang reported to Emperor Yongle:
"…During the Chinese New Year, Gao Deyan, an official in the Imperial Clan Court, Li Guan, a Zhongyun, Wang Ruyu, a counselor, Zhu Hong, an editor in the Hanlin Academy, and Xiao Yin, five people died of illness in prison."
These five people are naturally officials who support the prince.
Emperor Yongle was silent for a while after hearing this, and then asked, "Is Xie Jin still alive?"
Ji Gang was stunned and said, "Still... alive."
After hearing this, Emperor Yongle said nothing and asked Ji Gang to step down.
What does the emperor mean? Ji Gang tried to figure out what Emperor Yongle was thinking, and suddenly, an idea came to his mind: Xie Jin is still alive, so why is Xie Jin not dead yet
The chance for revenge has finally come!
Ji Gang returned to the imperial prison, set up a banquet outside, called Xie Jin out, and said he would treat him to a drink.
The food in the imperial prison was bad, otherwise the five ministers would not have died of illness so quickly. If Xie Jin saw the delicious food and did not eat it, it seemed as if he was guilty.
Just sit down and pour some wine and drink.
Xie Jin drank half a jar of wine and fell to the ground drunk. It was the first month of the year and the wind was biting cold with heavy snow. In low temperatures, the human body loses its perception of the external temperature and will feel hot, so he took off his clothes and burrowed into the snow.
The same happened to Xie Jin. Heavy snow fell for a day and a night, covering Xie Jin's entire body, leaving only a human-shaped pile of snow.
The next day, the sun came out and Ji Gang wiped off the loose snow on the human-shaped snow pile.
What's the point of thawing? It's all thawed!
The author has something to say: There is nothing new in the harem, and fate has begun its second cycle. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: Qu Jin 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
20 bottles of "Dudumo", 10 bottles of "Four Books and Five Classics", "The Fat Little White Sheep", "Long Song as Dance", "I Don't Want to Work", "Like This", "Mia", 5 bottles of "Seven Strings", "Setting Sail", "Yuki", 4 bottles of "Tingting Jingzhi", 3 bottles of "Xiao Mo", 2 bottles of "Dimples", "A Tree Spirit in the Deep Forest", "Gu Yinlou", "Qingxuan Zhubai Zhou" 19, "Zizhu", 1 bottle of "Zizhu"
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!