There are many things in the Ming Dynasty that always leave future generations puzzled. From the “Red Pill Case” to the palace maid rebellion and the previous Jingnan Incident. In the history of China, it is probably only Zhu Di himself who was able to successfully rebel against feudal lords. Many people attribute this responsibility to Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that he should not have hidden all the birds and killed so many key entrepreneurs at that time. Some people also say that under the premise that Zhu Yunwen had fully mastered the initiative at that time, it was completely his own foolishness to make the ending like this. Is the King of Yan too lucky? Or was Zhu Yuanzhang not visionary enough? Or is it Zhu Yunwen’s own responsibility? Why don’t we sit down and have a talk.
Firstly, let’s talk about Zhu Yuanzhang. As a senior politician, it is a mistake to say that Zhu Yuanzhang lacked long-term vision and chose the cowardly and incompetent Zhu Yunwen as emperor. I cannot agree with this viewpoint. According to the tradition of the feudal imperial era in China, abolishing elders and establishing young ones is a major drawback in itself. It is reasonable and legal to choose Zhu Yunwen as the heir in order to avoid leaving any hidden dangers for the future empire that I have conquered. Some people say that Zhu Yuanzhang killed too many meritorious officials, which is the key to Zhu Di’s success. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang also had his own difficulties. At the beginning of entrepreneurship, we were all poor buddies, drinking together and conquering the world together, where we couldn’t distinguish between you and me. After achieving success and fame, they still hugged Zhu Yuanzhang’s neck and wanted to drink from their former friend. What’s the point of it? There are also talented individuals like Liu Bowen who have been deified by the people. He not only had more foresight than Zhu Yuanzhang several times, but also instigated Zhu Yuanzhang to murder his superiors. Who can sleep soundly with someone with such a dark background by their side?
How many founding emperors in history did not kill their meritorious officials? Why was the feudal era eliminated? This is its limitation. During the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, no one was better than anyone else. When commenting on history, look at problems from a historical perspective. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang left a lot of human resources for Zhu Yunwen in the later period. Based on the military strength of Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen at that time, they were not on the same level at all. So blaming Grandpa Zhu Yuanzhang is untenable.
Again, let’s talk about Zhu Yunwen. The reason why this young man was selected is actually because he shares the same political beliefs as his grandfather. Zhu Yuanzhang advocated weakening the power of ministers, while Zhu Yunwen advocated reducing feudal domains. The conversation between the grandfather and grandson confirmed this viewpoint. When Zhu Yuanzhang patted his chest and said to Zhu Yunwen, ‘I have already laid out your path from now on, you just need to follow it.’. If there are any rebels outside, your uncles will help you handle it. Zhu Yunwen said, what if uncles rebel? Everyone knows the story behind it. Zhu Yuanzhang told his grandson a lot of truths, but he couldn’t solve the real problem for him.
Some people say that Zhu Yunwen is too weak and should not have said that to everyone: Don’t let me bear the charge of killing my own uncle. Can this sentence really become a protective umbrella in reality? Amidst a thousand armies and horses, when soldiers kill red eyes, who cares who you are, and a cold arrow passes by. Besides, the generals are not fools either. Who doesn’t listen and laugh at these hypocritical words on the scene? Flipping through the history of Zhu Yunwen’s own creation of the era of domain reduction, he showed no mercy towards his other uncles. What should be closed now, damn dead. Why did the Yan King, who once bullied him, become so merciful and soft hearted? Is there true family affection in the imperial household? His grandfather was able to train him as an emperor, and he has heard countless stories about those imperial families in history. If he were really weak, he wouldn’t have been able to be emperor for so long. He would have been killed long ago.
Some people say it’s because the King of Yan is too skilled at fighting. Looking at the people he had when he rose up, and then looking at his struggle history, it’s simply a miracle. Firstly, he is indeed capable of fighting. However, if he could fight again, he would only have a small number of troops. If he hadn’t adopted the most risky plan to directly take Nanjing, would he still have succeeded? If it weren’t for Li Jinglong’s appearance, would he have gone so smoothly? It’s not that Zhu Di is amazing, but that Zhu Yunwen and his team are too funny. It was supposed to be a good game of chess, but they ended up playing it to their heart’s content. A leader like a pig, coupled with teammates like a pig, it’s no wonder they didn’t fail.
The subtlety of history lies in the fact that everyone can find their own shadow in it. We all have the strengths and weaknesses of historical figures. Some people can grasp it, while others cannot control themselves. In fact, the history of any era is not important, and there is no need to curse over the past. What can we learn from these historical stories? That’s the most important thing.
