Emperor Yongle spent his entire life in military service. When he was a teenager, he served as a vassal king to protect the Yan area and his country. In his middle age, he raised an army to quell the rebellion and seized the throne. After that, he worked hard to govern the country internally and used war as a defense against foreign aggression. During his 21 years in office, he personally led six military campaigns. In the end, he died on the expedition rather than on a sickbed. It was a worthy death.
Yumuchuan was far away in Mongolia. When he learned of the death of Emperor Yongle, the first thing the prince did was to send the crown prince Zhu Zhanji away in the name of welcoming the emperor's dragon carriage, and also gave a small seal to his eldest son:
"This is what the late emperor first gave me. Now I am passing it on to you. If you have anything to report, use this seal."
The emperor who has passed away is called the "Last Emperor" because the Ministry of Rites had not yet selected a posthumous title for Emperor Yongle. It is a temporary honorific title during the period between his death and the determination of his posthumous title.
This is the seal used by the Crown Prince as regent.
Zhu Zhanji took the seal, and the prince said, "It is dangerous to go north. In addition to guarding against the Oirat people disturbing the imperial carriage, we must also guard against the remnants of the Han and Zhao kings taking the opportunity to cause chaos. Therefore, when you leave the city, take the 28,000 young soldiers with you to protect you along the way."
After experiencing the war against Japanese pirates, the 28,000 young soldiers became stronger and developed a military spirit. They were transformed from a ragtag army into a regular army. They came to Beijing with the Crown Prince three years ago and have been patrolling the Forbidden City as the vanguard of the palace army, one of the imperial guards. They are a military force that should not be underestimated.
Zhu Zhanji hesitated and said, "The late emperor died in the Northern Expedition, taking with him 600,000 troops. Now the defense of the capital is empty, and the Prince of Zhao is still in the capital, not yet in the vassal state. The Prince of Zhao's palace has two teams of guards, with nearly 20,000 people. What if... Father, leave the young army to guard the palace. Your son doesn't need to bring so many guards."
These are Zhu Zhanji's heartfelt words. Under the current situation, as long as the prince successfully ascends the throne, both the royal family and the country will have a smooth transition and be free from turmoil.
But the prince had been suppressed by his father for too long. After Emperor Yongle passed away, the royal family had two crown princes waiting to inherit the throne!
The Prince of Zhao has been secretly "dealt with" by the Crown Prince. Although the Prince of Zhao has not yet been enfeoffed as a vassal king, he is a vassal king and the Crown Prince is the heir to the throne. For the Crown Prince, who is the greater threat
Of course it’s the Crown Prince.
Therefore, the Crown Prince was afraid of the Crown Prince, and at the critical moment of inheriting the throne, he quickly sent the Crown Prince and the young army out of the capital.
The prince thought so in his heart, but said: "Filial piety comes first. Welcoming the late emperor's carriage is the most important thing. I have already ordered Ningyang Marquis and Yangwu Marquis to lead 3,000 cavalry back to Beijing for protection. I have also sent the son-in-law Mu Xin to take charge of the Nanjing Army Commandery, and Xining Marquis Song Hu (also a son-in-law) to assist the Duke of Wei in guarding Nanjing. I have made all the arrangements. Don't worry, just focus on welcoming the late emperor."
In fact, Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu was also in the army. In terms of prestige and military strength, how could these marquises and princes-in-law compare with the most outstanding general of the Yongle Dynasty, Duke Yingguo
However, the Crown Prince did not dare to summon Duke Yingguo to the capital, obviously fearing that Duke Yingguo had a past relationship with the King of Han. Although Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu had already offered his youngest daughter to the Crown Prince as a concubine to show his loyalty, the Crown Prince still did not dare to trust Duke Yingguo and would rather settle for the second best and recall Marquis Ningyang and Marquis Yangwu.
The Crown Prince understood all this clearly. Seeing that the Crown Prince was determined to do so, he remembered the Crown Princess's advice not to go against his father, so he did not mention it again and left.
The father of today is no longer the father of the past.
To my father, I, the King of Han, and the King of Zhao are all threats.
Before leaving, the Crown Prince hugged his three-year-old daughter and kissed her, and then told A Lei, "You should go to the Crown Princess every morning and evening to pay your respects, don't say a word, and walk a step further. If someone wants to test you, ignore them, just mourn for the late emperor and wait for me to come back."
The Crown Prince and Young Army were both leaving, how could A Lei not understand what the Crown Prince meant? He could only sigh that there was nothing new in the royal family. The younger generation repeated what the older generation did, no matter how much they hated it in the past, when they became the superior, they would involuntarily repeat it, or even make it worse.
Arei had a premonition that difficult days were coming. When the Crown Prince became the new Crown Prince, he would probably have to go through all the hardships and difficulties that the Eastern Palace had experienced in the past.
The two of them lived like a couple in heaven for six years. They agreed to share the joys and sorrows together. After six years of sweetness, it was time to suffer.
Arei was as if facing a great enemy. "I know, don't worry, I will stabilize the Crown Prince's Palace. You must take care of yourself outside."
Zhu Zhanji then led his young army out of the city overnight and headed towards Mobei.
As soon as the Crown Prince left, the Prince began to prepare to ascend the throne.
On August 11, all the civil and military officials in the capital collectively wrote a letter to persuade the crown prince Zhu Gaochi to ascend the throne. The words read:
“Since ancient times, the emperors have always passed down the throne to the eldest son to build the country (affirming the impeccable birth of the prince)… I compliment the late emperor on his great wisdom and generosity in civil and military affairs… Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the eldest son and benevolent… He has been entrusted with the power to pacify the army and supervise the country, and to take over the great sacrifices to the ancestors (affirming the prince’s excellent performance as supervisor)… The late emperor left a will that Your Highness would ascend the throne early (affirming the prince’s legitimate succession to the throne)…”
This letter of persuasion was not actually intended for the crown prince to read, but was published in the official gazette for everyone in the world to see, so that everyone in the world would know that the crown prince would inherit the throne for three reasons: his unique birth, his good governance, and legal inheritance.
According to the rules, the first attempt to persuade him to marry must be rejected on the grounds that he is in grief over the loss of his father.
Of course the prince wants to ascend the throne, but he still has to go through the formalities.
The next day, civil and military officials began to write letters to persuade the prince to ascend the throne for the second time, but the prince still refused on the grounds of grief.
On August 13, Prince of Zhao Zhu Gaosui, who was in the capital, submitted a petition for the throne alone, which was sent to the Eastern Palace together with a third petition from civil and military officials.
King Zhao had no choice but to write the letter alone.
The Prince of Zhao had lost all his temper after being beaten by his elder brother, the Crown Prince. He must be crazy to rebel by poisoning and killing his father, and by fabricating a clumsy edict of succession!
He didn't do it.
However, the father-in-law of the King of Zhao is Mu Sheng, the Duke of Qian, who has guarded the southwest for many years. The King of Zhao has been guarding Beijing for many years, and has a strong military and political foundation. Of course, the King of Zhao wants to fight for it, but he dare not do such things as killing his father and brother. He has a bottom line.
But the Crown Prince was afraid of King Zhao. King Han made him paranoid and he didn't trust his third brother at all.
Therefore, the Crown Prince took advantage of the fact that when Emperor Yongle led the fifth expedition in person and he was in charge of the state and held great power, he took action against the Prince of Zhao. He framed the Prince of Zhao with the crime of patricide and treason, uprooted the Prince of Zhao's military and political power in the capital, and even eliminated the spies in the palace.
Then, he repeated his old trick and knelt down to beg Emperor Yongle to let Prince Zhao go, saying, "It's all the fault of the people below."
The prince gained both fame and profit, and the King of Zhao looked at the prince with new eyes from then on. He believed that his cowardice and womanly kindness were all illusions, and that his elder brother's forbearance and strategy were beyond the reach of both he and the King of Han combined.
Your eldest brother is always your eldest brother. Neither of us brothers can beat the eldest brother.
Now that his biological father is dead and his only umbrella of protection has fallen, he looks again and sees that even the crown prince and young soldiers have been sent out of the capital to Mobei.
Seeing even his own son's defense, King Zhao suddenly felt a sense of crisis. He was afraid that the crown prince would take revenge on him later and cause trouble for him, his third brother, after he ascended the throne. He quickly wrote a letter to persuade his eldest brother the crown prince to ascend the throne, saying that "the throne cannot be vacant for long, and the people cannot be without a master", expressing his submission and his determination.
In addition to this, King Zhao also sent a message to his second brother King Han in Le'an Prefecture, Shandong, asking King Han to quickly write a letter to persuade the crown prince to succeed to the throne and win the merit of following the dragon. In the future, the two brothers will have to make a living at the hands of their eldest brother, so they must be tactful!
King Zhao had always regarded King Han as his role model since he was young. He thought his second brother was resourceful, skilled in martial arts, and excellent in military tactics. However, when King Han received the letter, he immediately
He burned it, as if he had never received it. He just mourned in the palace and did not write any letter of persuasion.
After experiencing the pain of losing his son, the King of Han was still proud. He thought to himself, I would kneel to heaven, to earth, and to my parents, but I would never kneel to my eldest brother. So I refused to write a letter. If you have the guts, accuse me of treason and kill me after you ascend the throne!
Killing you would be a good thing, and let the world see your hypocrisy!
As the King of Han refused to submit a letter, the Crown Prince felt somewhat embarrassed. He kept waiting for his second brother's reaction. Only after both of his brothers submitted a letter did he agree to ascend the throne.
What now? This is embarrassing.
The prince had no choice but to decline the offer three times, saying, "The country is in great distress, and the people of the world are like those who have lost their parents, let alone the relationship between father and son. I appreciate your loyalty, and you understand my plea, so I will not grant your request."
On August 14, ministers, famous scholars and elders in the capital continued to persuade him to ascend the throne, saying, "For those who govern the country, their filial piety should focus on stabilizing the country and consolidating the foundation. If they ignore this important matter, the filial piety of saints and sages is unlikely to be like this."
It is said that you have governed the country well, which is the greatest filial piety. Ascend the throne as soon as possible!
This is the fourth time, I can’t postpone it any longer.
On August 15, which was the Mid-Autumn Festival, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty. He announced that his father, Emperor Yongle, would be given the posthumous title of "Emperor of Heaven, Great Wisdom, Holy Martial Arts, Pure Benevolence, and Filial Piety", and the temple name of Taizong. He was buried with his wife, Empress Renxiao, in Changling (later Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, also known as Emperor Jiajing, who liked to cultivate immortality and take drugs, changed his temple name to Chengzu. Later generations called Emperor Yongle the Ming Chengzu, but since this book does not cover the Jiajing period, it only calls him Emperor Taizong).
At the same time, the reign title for next year - Hongxi - was also promulgated. The new reign title would be used from the first day of the first lunar month next year. It was currently the 21st year of Yongle, so Zhu Gaochi became Emperor Hongxi.
In addition, Emperor Hongxi also named his wife Zhang as empress, his concubine Guo as imperial concubine, his eldest son Zhu Zhanji as crown prince, his eldest daughter-in-law Hu as crown princess, and his three-year-old granddaughter as Princess Shunde.
Except for the Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji, all his sons were made princes, and all his daughters were made princesses. It was truly a case of one person's success bringing prosperity to the whole family.
In addition, Emperor Hongxi had not forgotten his brothers and sisters. After all, they were all born to the same mother, Empress Renxiao. With a wave of his hand, Emperor Hongxi promoted all his sisters to princesses and also increased the salaries of his two troublesome brothers.
At this time, Zhu Zhanji was still on the way to escort Emperor Taizong's dragon carriage to the capital. On the way, he received the imperial edict to confer the title on the emperor, and the crown prince was transformed into the prince.
Changling was opened again, and the coffin of Emperor Taizong was carried into the tomb, where he was finally buried with Empress Renxiao.
After Emperor Taizong's funeral, Emperor Hongxi quickly sent Prince Zhao to his vassal state of Anyang, Henan, completely ending Prince Zhao's idea of being a stubborn resident in the capital.
However, since the King of Han and the King of Zhao were far away in the vassal state, Emperor Hongxi became closer to his two younger brothers and gave them various rewards. People all praised Emperor Hongwu for his generosity and kindness, and for his brotherly love and respect for his younger brothers.
Emperor Hongxi solved the "position" problem and immediately issued a new policy for governing the country, a total of thirty-five articles.
When Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji and other ministers saw the length of Emperor Hongxi's enthronement edict, they all felt dizzy; it was simply too long!
The new policies in the edict issued when Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne consisted of eight articles.
Emperor Taizong's accession edict contained a total of twenty-four new policies.
Emperor Hongxi came up with a total of thirty-five articles! The richness of the content is very commensurate with his huge size.
But after seeing the contents of the imperial edict, Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji looked calm, but a great shock was brewing in his heart:
Of the thirty-five points, fourteen of them were completely contrary to the proactive and enterprising philosophy of my grandfather, Emperor Taizong:
On the surface, the purpose of stopping the voyages of treasure ships to the West, the collection of gems from Yunnan, the mining of gold and pearls from Jiaozhi, the collection of horses from Samarkand, etc. was to reduce the expenses of royal enjoyment.
In fact, Zheng He's voyage to the West was to open up the official overseas trade of the Ming Dynasty. Yunnan was not for gems, and Jiaozhi was not for gold and pearls. They were all for expanding the southwestern territory and preventing Jiaozhi from being separated again. He went to Samarkand not for horses, but for the security of the northwestern border, using offense as defense.
But now, Emperor Hongxi wants to abandon the Ming Dynasty's overseas trade, abandon Jiaozhi, which is constantly in rebellion, and no longer send troops to fight. The national defense strategy has changed from offense to defense!
Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji could not find peace for a long time. He had followed Emperor Taizong in the Northern Expedition since he was young, and had received instruction from his grandfather. He was deeply influenced by Emperor Taizong. Whether it was sailing to the West, conquering Jiaozhi, personally conquering Mobei, or moving the capital, as well as opening the Grand Canal, Zhu Zhanji agreed with these practices.
He felt that Emperor Taizong's achievements were enough to make him a wise ruler throughout the ages, and he took him as his idol, hoping to become a great ruler like his grandfather in the future.
I never expected that as soon as my father ascended the throne, he would immediately destroy all of Emperor Taizong's governance strategies.
Zhu Zhanji's blood boiled and he wanted to tear up the imperial edict.
At this time, the eunuch beside Emperor Hongxi came to invite him, saying that he had something to discuss with the prince.
In the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Emperor Hongxi asked the Crown Prince: "What is your opinion on the 35 articles of my accession edict? You and I are father and son, so we should speak freely. You grew up under Emperor Taizong's lap and are well versed in statecraft. Your opinion is very important to me."
When Zhu Zhanji came, he was still very excited and had a lot to say. He refuted 35 points. At this time, looking at his father on the dragon throne, his mother Empress Zhang's admonition rang in his ears: "In the future... you must maintain the same position as the prince. He is your father."
Zhu Zhanji wondered how his father survived for 21 years. No matter what problems he encountered, no matter how disgusted he felt, no matter what hardships and difficulties he encountered, he always stood in line with Emperor Taizong and never disobeyed him. As a result, he was able to defeat his two brothers, the King of Han and the King of Zhao, who had made many military achievements, and the emperor's suspicion, and finally ascended the throne smoothly.
What I have to do now is to learn from my father and follow his path. My father crossed the river by feeling the stones, and I just need to follow in his footsteps.
Therefore, Zhu Zhanji swallowed his objections and said, "I think the 35 articles are all about loving the people, being pragmatic, and recuperating the country. Your Majesty is wise."
"Very good." Emperor Hongxi nodded. "In that case, the Crown Prince will go on my behalf and ask Eunuch Zheng He to guard Nanjing. He is too old now and cannot withstand the wind and waves at sea. The climate in Beijing is dry and cold, and he is not used to it. Let him return to Nanjing to spend his remaining years."
Eunuch Zheng He was the chief eunuch in charge of the seal among the twenty-four eunuchs. Nowadays, the emperor has his own ministers. No matter how talented Eunuch Zheng He was, Emperor Hongxi would never dare to keep such a loyal minister of Emperor Taizong in the palace. So he found an excuse to get rid of Zheng He.
This kind of matter of offending people should be left to the prince.
The author has something to say: Countdown to the end, everyone shout together: Seven!
I will send 200 red envelopes tonight. There will be no extra chapters after this article is finished. I will open a new article directly, so the endings of everyone will be explained in the main text. The main characters will be written clearly, but I may have forgotten some minor characters because they are too far away. If you want to know the ending of a minor character, you can leave a message to remind me to explain it when I have time. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
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