Emperor Mingren once planned to relocate the capital back to Nanjing

During the reign of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty, he made a significant impact on the country’s fortunes by relocating the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and constructing the grand Forbidden City. However, many people are unaware that shortly after Zhu Di’s death, his son Mingrenzong made a decision to relocate the capital back to Nanjing. What exactly happened? Below, the history encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed introduction. Let’s take a look together!
After winning the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Di finally ascended to the throne. In the second year of his reign as emperor, he announced the renaming of Beiping to Beijing, and in the fourth year of Yongle, he issued an edict to build the city of Beijing. For this reason, Zhu Di faced enormous political and economic pressure, but he resolutely decided to relocate the capital to Beijing, even resorting to killing ministers who opposed the relocation. At the same time, Zhu Di established six ministries in Beijing and gradually transferred government affairs to Beijing. After seven years of Yongle reign, Zhu Di lived in Beijing for a long time and left Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi in Nanjing. In September of the 18th year of the Yongle reign, all major construction projects in Beijing were completed, and the temples, shrines, palaces, and gates were all as grand and magnificent as Nanjing. Zhu Di officially issued an edict to summon the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince’s grandson to Beijing, and at the same time announced to the world that “from the first day of the first lunar month of next year, Beijing will be the official teacher.
However, Zhu Di died of illness during the Northern Expedition in the 22nd year of the Yongle reign, and Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne. In April of the first year of Hongxi, Emperor Mingren Zhu Gaochi, who had just served as emperor for seven months, issued a decree deciding to relocate the capital back to Nanjing. He declared, “We will return the capital to Nanjing, and all the officials in Beijing will be appointed as the governor of Beijing and the military governor’s office.” At the same time, officials from the Mingren sect repaired the palaces in Nanjing and stationed Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji in Nanjing to support the preparations for the relocation. The relocation of the capital to Beijing was a major event made by Zhu Di throughout his life. He worked tirelessly for eighteen years from the beginning of his reign before finally coming to an end. Now that it has only been four years since becoming the capital, why did Zhu Gaochi go against his father’s wishes and plan to relocate the capital back to Nanjing?
Firstly, the most important reason is economic. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the economic center of China has shifted southward, and by the Ming dynasty, the south had become the economic center of the country. After relocating the capital to Beijing, a large amount of grain and materials need to be transported from the south every year to supply the expenses of the court. This is just as Zhu Gaochi said, ‘The north and south have provided billions of labor, and both the military and civilians are in dire straits. Looking up from all directions and admiring Nanjing, this is also my sincere heart.’. Secondly, political factors are also important. Although Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, there were still some officials within the court who opposed the relocation. In April of the nineteenth year of the Yongle reign, which was the fourth month after the capital was relocated to Beijing, lightning struck the three main halls of the Forbidden City, causing a fire that destroyed all three halls, causing a tremor in the court and the public. Zhu Di even killed officials who submitted petitions to quell public opinion.
Although Zhu Gaochi did not make a statement, he also expressed sympathy for those officials. At the beginning of his reign, he restored the positions of the officials who were demoted due to this matter. In addition, in this fire, due to the destruction of the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Gaochi’s coronation ceremony had to be held at the Fengtian Gate. Zhu Gaochi was reluctant but helpless about this. Moving back to Nanjing, there is no need to rebuild the three main halls, which can save financial expenses. Another point, which is also very important. Although Zhu Gaochi is the son of Zhu Di, he has been living in Nanjing since childhood and is familiar with the living environment in Nanjing. Although Beijing is the capital city, throughout Zhu Gaochi’s life, he spent most of his time in Nanjing and did not adapt well to life in Beijing. Taking into account the above factors, Emperor Mingren decided to return the capital to Nanjing. However, his plan did not succeed!
Over a month later, Emperor Mingren Zhu Gaochi fell seriously ill and died in the Forbidden City in Beijing. He never returned to Nanjing until his death! The successor to Zhu Gaochi was Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji, whose temperament and character were more similar to Zhu Di, so he did not continue with the plan to relocate back to Nanjing. Although Zhu Gaochi never forgot to move the capital in his posthumous edict, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty did not implement it. In the end, the Ming Dynasty remained in Beijing, but Nanjing still retained a complete administrative system.