In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di was a tough character. He was originally the fourth son of the emperor and had no qualifications to inherit the throne, but he seized the world from his nephew Emperor Jianwen with bravery, skill in battle, and rebelliousness, and achieved victory in the Battle of Jingnan. In the orthodox dynasty, this situation only occurred once. Because it was not easy to obtain, he showed no mercy in attacking political enemies. Fang Xiaoru was just a Confucian scholar and was unwilling to draft a decree for him, so he destroyed ten tribes.
However, in his later years, Zhu Di also encountered many difficulties that emperors face, which is who should the throne be handed over to? Zhu Yuanzhang had 26 sons, making it very difficult to choose and ultimately unable to solve the problem. He only has three sons who also suffer from headaches.
In theory, all three sons were born to Empress Xu, so the eldest son Zhu Gaochi should be appointed as emperor according to the system of legitimate elders. This child also received the blessing of Zhu Yuanzhang before his death and was named the Crown Prince of Yan. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he was also appointed as the Crown Prince, so there should be no controversy. However, as Zhu Gaochi grew older, he became increasingly disabled and obese, requiring the support of two eunuchs to walk, let alone ride horses. In this way, how can one dominate the world and gain the eye of Zhu Di?
So, for a considerable period of time, Zhu Di preferred his second son Zhu Gaoxu. This son not only looks like him, but is also brave and skilled in battle. He accompanied Zhu Di through life and death during the Jingnan War and made numerous military achievements. As for the third son of the emperor, Zhu Gaohui, he knew that his status was not as good as his elder brother and his achievements were not as good as his second brother, but he was close to Zhu Gaoxu. Perhaps in his heart, if the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he will not have much credit, but if his second brother Zhu Gaoxu is upset, he will have the credit of being enthroned.
Seeing this family is a vivid replica of the early Tang Dynasty royal family. Zhu Gaochi is like Li Jiancheng, famous and influential but slightly inferior in strength; Zhu Gaoxu is like Li Shimin, fully prepared but lacking in status; Zhu Gaosui is like Li Yuanji, but helping Zhu Gaoxu. History has proven that there will definitely be a conflict in this situation, just like the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
Zhu Gaoxu couldn’t contain his ambition. On the one hand, he attacked Zhu Gaochi, and on the other hand, he secretly recruited troops and horses, eager to make a move. Zhu Di originally liked this son, but as he grew older and received advice from many senior officials, he gradually realized the benefits of the system of legitimate elders. Moreover, Zhu Gaochi was the crown prince appointed by Zhu Yuanzhang at that time, and also the successor of Zhu Di’s family. Zhu Di cannot go against his father Zhu Yuanzhang’s wishes again, right?
More importantly, although Zhu Di did not like Zhu Gaochi, he particularly liked Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Gaochi’s eldest son. At the same time as he confirmed Zhu Gaochi as the crown prince, he also confirmed Zhu Zhanji as the great grandson and led him to conquer Mongolia, giving him great expectations. Based on these considerations, the elderly Zhu Di no longer hesitated and resolutely decided to pass on the throne to Zhu Gaochi. At the same time, he also drove Zhu Gaoxu back to his fiefdom, cutting off his thoughts.
Zhu Gaoxu’s departure from the capital means being eliminated in the struggle for the throne. For Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, it was a great thing, but it also fostered the ambition of Prince Zhao Zhu Gaosui. Zhu Gaosui immediately realized that his chances had greatly increased, and as long as he moved to the Crown Prince, he would be the rightful emperor. Since my father Zhu Di was able to change his fate against heaven, why couldn’t I?
More importantly, Zhu Gaosui was in the capital. When Zhu Di declared himself emperor in Nanjing, he was conferred the title of King Zhao and his fiefdom was located in Beiping. After Zhu Di moved the capital to Beiping, he was equivalent to coming to his territory, and he was the prince of the “lower emperor”. Therefore, he not only possesses the conditions to become an emperor, but also has certain strength in the capital.
As a result, Zhu Gaosui had a crooked idea. In the 21st year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Di fell seriously ill. To his surprise, he teamed up with the guards and commanders Meng Xian, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory official Wang Shecheng, and the eunuch Yang Qing to come up with a plan to kill the emperor and his father: on the one hand, he had the eunuchs in the palace poison Zhu Di to death, and on the other hand, he controlled the palace, forged imperial edicts to deceive the crown prince and great grandson into entering the palace, and was caught in one fell swoop.
If this strategy is successful, there will be no one competing in the world. However, a small person named Gao Yizheng revealed the secret to his nephew Wang Yu. Wang Yu worked under the command of Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui, but was extremely frightened and risked his life to report to Zhu Di. As an emperor, he was most afraid of his throne being usurped and most afraid of not dying well. Therefore, he killed all the people suspected of this matter and coldly questioned his son Zhu Gaosui:
Is it for you?
According to the “History of the Ming Dynasty”, Zhu Gaosui was so scared that he dared not argue a word and could not say anything. In the end, it was Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi who defended him and managed to escape death. Later on, Zhu Gaosui finally realized that he was not Li Shimin or Zhu Di, and had no such ability. He felt at ease and became a prince. During the Xuande period, when Zhu Gaoxu rebelled, he dared not move at all and even handed over his elite troops to the central government. It was this attitude that allowed him to pass away peacefully.
Why didn’t Zhu Di kill Zhu Gaosui? Xiao Jue believes that this is not because tigers do not eat their own offspring, after all, the Tian family has no father and son. The biggest reason is probably that Zhu Di’s descendants were too thin, with only three sons. When it comes to calculating, Zhu Gaosui’s crime of regicide and killing his father is a great one that will affect his descendants. Zhu Di does not regret Zhu Gaosui, but he cannot ignore the continuation of this lineage.
