How powerful is Zhu Zhanjiang Why is he called the strongest uncle

Zhu Zhanjiang was the fifth son of Zhu Gaochi, a member of the Ming dynasty royal family and the fifth son of Emperor Renzong. Although he never served as emperor in his lifetime, he did many things that emperors do. In his later years, Emperor Yingzong treated him with great respect. Even Emperor Yingzong no longer held himself as emperor, but faced Zhu Zhanjiang as his nephew. Many people called Zhu Zhanjiang the most powerful uncle. Below, the history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content to share with you.
Zhu Zhanjiang was the younger brother of Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji. He was not of the same father, but was born to a mother named Empress Zhang of Ming Renzong.
At the time of Zhu Di’s death, there was a certain degree of turmoil in the world, and Zhu Di’s sons Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui were eager to seize the throne.
Emperor Mingren, who was suffering from illness, resolutely ascended the throne in order to protect his main vein and sons from being “abused”. His accession only stabilized the Ming Dynasty for a certain period of time, but a few months later, he passed away and the Ming Dynasty was once again in chaos.
Fortunately, the sons of Emperor Mingren have all grown up.
Firstly, Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji, who accompanied the army on the Northern Expedition and had experience in supervising the country, had the ability to ascend to the throne in times of chaos.
However, just Zhu Zhanji was not enough. In 1425 AD, the struggling Emperor Mingren Long Yu Bin Tian, his brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui, remained powerful due to his benevolent heart, and Zhu Zhanji faced the crisis of the throne being taken away.
So at this moment, Zhu Zhanjiang was put to use.
Before the death of Emperor Ming Renzong, an order was issued in advance for Zhu Zhanji to return to Beijing from Nanjing. During the reign of Emperor Ming Renzong, he wanted to change his father’s move of the capital to Beijing and continue to relocate the capital of the Ming Dynasty back to Nanjing, so he had Zhu Zhanji supervise the country in Nanjing.
However, when Zhu Zhanji returned to Beijing, there were many difficulties, and unexpected things could happen if he was not careful. Therefore, Beijing also needs someone to supervise the country.
For Empress Dowager Zhang, Zhu Zhanji was her own son, and so was Zhu Zhanjiang. Therefore, allowing Zhu Zhanjiang to supervise the country in Beijing was considered a preparation for both sides.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was said that he was in charge of the state, but his power actually far exceeded that of the crown prince. Zhu Biao and Zhu Gaochi were both in charge of the state, and their power was no less than that of an emperor. Therefore, when Zhu Zhanqian was in charge of the state, the entire court automatically transformed into a mode of assisting the emperor, which was also the experience of this state, leaving a strong mark on Zhu Zhanqian’s life.
Not long after, Zhu Zhanji returned safely. Zhu Zhanji and his brother Zhu Zhanjiang had a good relationship. However, Zhu Zhanjiang was not an ambitious person and had high political abilities, but he did not think about competing for power and profit. This was like the relationship between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his brother Li Chengqi back then, where brothers were friends and respectful.
Zhu Zhanjiang is equivalent to a line of defense for Zhu Zhanji. It was not until several years after Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne that he was arranged to become a vassal in Changsha, Hunan. At the beginning, the situation was unstable, and Zhu Zhanji needed talents very much, so he kept Zhu Zhanjiang by his side, which also reflected that Zhu Zhanjiang had certain abilities.
After the death of Zhu Zhanji, his eldest son Zhu Qizhen ascended to the throne as Emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty.
As a result, Zhu Zhanqian was elevated to the rank of “Imperial Uncle” and is now the uncle of the current emperor.
When Zhu Qizhen ascended to the throne for the first time, he was relatively immature in his conduct and actions, including the “Tumu Fortress Incident” caused by eunuchs playing around.
The change of Tupu was also a turning point of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Qizhen, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was captured, and the Northern Grassland forced the Ming Dynasty with the emperor as a hostage. The Ming Dynasty immediately became a mess.
It is inevitable for people to stabilize the overall situation.
No matter how powerful Yu Qian is, he is only a courtier. As an emperor, it can only be done by the Zhu family. At the beginning, Empress Dowager Sun did not think of making Zhu Qiyu the emperor. The first thing she considered was the old imperial uncle who once supervised the country: Zhu Zhanqian.
In times of crisis, Zhu Zhanjiang naturally had to go to the capital to help his family overcome difficulties.
This imperial uncle had a strong appeal at that time because of his good social connections and good temper. Zhu Zhanjiang was known as a “wise and virtuous” person. From another perspective, Empress Dowager Sun’s desire for Zhu Zhanjiang to become this emperor was not only suitable, but also the will of the people at that time. Compared to Zhu Qiyu, Zhu Zhanjiang was much more stable.
However, Yu Qian supported Zhu Qiyu at that time. From the perspective of etiquette and law, if Zhu Zhanjiang were to be established, there would be many troubles in the future. What Yu Qian needed was an attitude. He didn’t care if the emperor was strong, what he needed was an emperor in public and to turn the tide on his own.
Fortunately, Zhu Zhanjiang also understood this issue and did not follow everyone’s wishes, otherwise the Ming Dynasty would have split.
So, Zhu Zhanjiang suggested that Empress Dowager Sun listen to Yu Qian and make Zhu Qiyu emperor, in order to dispel the threat of the grasslands to the Ming Dynasty, while he himself would help if he could, and stay at home if he couldn’t.
In this way, Zhu Qiyu ascended to the throne and helped the Ming Dynasty in the transitional stage, while Zhu Zhanqian, although not explicitly recorded in history, assisted Zhu Qiyu in handling a series of affairs in the capital at this time. His ability to supervise the country at that time was demonstrated. Afterwards, it was Yu Qian’s defense of Beijing that repelled the Wala and lifted the crisis of the country.
After the defense of Beijing, it was a matter of the return of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. The grasslands seemed to have no effect on the Ming Dynasty, but the recovery power of the Central Plains dynasties was astonishing. If they were to fully recover, they would soon use Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty as an excuse to attack the grasslands. So, out of the spirit of diplomacy and diplomacy, Wala expressed to the Ming Dynasty that he wanted to send the Grand Emperor Zhu Qizhen back to Beijing.
The significance of Wala’s move is very obvious. They knew that the Central Plains Dynasty emphasized morality, etiquette, and law, and sent Zhu Qizhen back. The Central Plains Dynasty could not refuse, and Zhu Qizhen was not a fuel-efficient lamp. After returning, he could not really be idle. The first thing to do was definitely to regain the throne.
The fact is also the same, many things are as Vara thought.
So after Emperor Yingzong’s return, Zhu Zhanjiang repeatedly expressed to Zhu Qiyu that he should treat the Empress Dowager with courtesy and not be criticized morally.
The implied meaning is to let Zhu Qiyu treat Zhu Qizhen kindly in a humane way, without causing internal struggles. If there is a power struggle, the Ming Dynasty will become weak and fall under the trap of Wala.
Unfortunately, Zhu Qiyu did not listen and gradually wanted to make his eldest son the crown prince. The originally agreed appointment of Zhu Jianshen, the eldest son of Zhu Qizhen, as the crown prince was violated.
Over time, Zhu Qizhen, who was “imprisoned”, became extremely angry. He lost his feelings for his younger brother Zhu Qiyu, and then a series of supporters of Ming Yingzong launched the “Gate Robbery Incident” together.
After the incident of snatching the door, Yu Qian was executed, and Zhu Qiyu was lying on the sickbed, also about to die. The change in the Ming Dynasty came quickly and made people unable to react.
The incident of snatching the door was both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunately, the speed was fast and there was no dragging of the water. Wala did not have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, Zhu Qizhen began to change and became cold-blooded in his character.
This coup also became a paradise for Ming Yingzong’s indiscriminate killing. Despite his suspicions, he also harbored doubts and resentment towards his uncle Zhu Zhanjiang, for no other reason. Zhu Zhanjiang was the main figure who supported Zhu Qiyu’s accession to the throne at that time. And Zhu Qizhen also heard that Zhu Zhanjiang almost ascended to the throne, so he also thought of taking action against his uncle.
But by chance, Ming Yingzong learned that Zhu Zhanjiang had voluntarily refused the throne. This incident made Ming Yingzong realize that he had wrongly accused his uncle, so he held a banquet to entertain him. Faced with Emperor Yingzong’s invitation, Zhu Zhanjiang naturally went gladly. In fact, at this point, his uncle and nephew should also meet to see how their relationship would develop in the future.
Zhu Zhanqian is still so good at being a person, and he should still abide by the etiquette and laws, without exceeding them. Ming Yingzong can see that his uncle is restrained and not swayed by his goodwill. It is also this state that makes Ming Yingzong completely agree with this uncle. During the conversation with Zhu Zhanqian, Ming Yingzong stated that he is only a nephew, not an emperor.
And Zhu Zhanjiang was not hypocritical either. He gave Zhu Qizhen the advice he should have given, and Zhu Qizhen also gave face and listened to them all.
From then on, Zhu Zhanjiang was often invited by Zhu Qizhen to Beijing for banquets. After each banquet, Zhu Qizhen would personally escort Zhu Zhanjiang to the outside of the city. In this matter, it can be seen that Zhu Qizhen was sincere to this uncle. Occasionally, looking back, this uncle’s life experience was also exciting enough, making people unable to help but reminisce.
Being known as the strongest imperial uncle, the fundamental reason is that after Zhu Di’s extensive reduction of fiefdoms, the Prince of Ming almost became a mascot, and there are very few princes like Zhu Zhanjiang who have repeatedly ascended to the pinnacle of Ming power. Most importantly, he was able to resist and did not exceed the boundaries.
So this imperial uncle was a legend in the Ming Dynasty and a role model revered by the royal family. The strongest imperial uncle may not be strong in comparison to history, but being a person is truly wise.