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Chapter 184 The Greatest Emperor in History

The fifth is Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di. Zhu Di was the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. He was not only a man of both civil and military talents, but also the only emperor in Chinese history who successfully rebelled.

After Zhu Di ascended the throne, in order to ensure the stability of the northern border and outside the Great Wall, he moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. This move has become a move that has been talked about by later generations as the emperor guarding the country's border.

After the Northern Yuan Dynasty split, the Tatar and Oirat tribes often harassed the Ming border. In order to solve the northern border threat once and for all, Zhu Di personally led five expeditions to the northern desert starting in 1410 AD, which is known in history as the Yongle Northern Expedition.

Zhu Di's first expedition reached Genghis Khan's birthplace, the Onon River, and defeated Bayanchur's army, who fled with only seven horses. Later, he defeated Arutai's army in the Battle of Feiyun Mountain in Xing'an Mountains.

Alutai's followers were scattered, and Alutai fled with his family, and the Ming army won a great victory. Later, Alutai surrendered and Chengzu named him the King of Hening. Later, the Oirat and Wuliangha took the opportunity to respond quickly.

So Zhu Di launched a second northern expedition in 1414. This time, Zhu Di not only led his army to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, but also personally led the army to fight. The Oirat tribe was severely damaged in this battle and dared not to cross the border for many years. In the following several northern expeditions, Zhu Di still insisted on leading the army in person and finally died on the way.

[In The Investiture of the Gods, what historical facts do you know about the historical prototypes?]

"The Investiture of the Gods" is one of the most famous classical novels besides the Four Great Classics. It is set against the backdrop of King Wu's conquest of King Zhou and staged a wonderful battle between gods and demons. So, do you know what happened in the history of King Wu's conquest of King Zhou? Do the characters in "The Investiture of the Gods" have historical prototypes? In this video, let's take stock of the historical prototypes of the characters in "The Investiture of the Gods".

First of all, there is Jiang Ziya. The historical Jiang Ziya should be called Lu Shang, also known as Taigong of Qi. He was a descendant of a general and was named Lu Shang because his ancestors were granted the land of Lu. As for the name Ziya, it is a fiction in "The Romance of the Investiture of the Gods".

Lü Shang was from Donghai. He was poor when he was young. When he was 70 years old, he met King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, and was treated as a guest of honor. Later, he became a founding hero of the Zhou Dynasty. The history books also deliberately exaggerated the scene of Ji Chang meeting Lü Taigong. It is said that before Ji Chang went hunting, he divined and the omen he got showed that he would get neither a dragon nor a Chi, neither a tiger nor a bear, but a hegemon's assistant.

So how did Lü Taigong, a commoner, win the favor of Ji Chang? Some people say that Lü Shang was well-read and had served as an official in Chaoge, but he left the court because the King of Zhou was unjust, and no princes were willing to accept him. When he returned to the west, he met Ji Chang.

Some people also say that when Ji Chang was imprisoned by King Zhou, San Yisheng asked Lu Taigong to rescue Ji Chang. After Ji Chang returned to his fiefdom, he secretly planned with Lu Shang how to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. Through Lu Shang's planning and Ji Chang's management, by the time Ji Chang died, the Western Zhou Dynasty had become the most powerful vassal, controlling two-thirds of the world.

Lü Shang also married his youngest daughter Yi Jiang to Ji Chang's son Ji Fa. After Ji Chang's death, Ji Fa succeeded to the throne and in the 11th year, he defeated King Zhou and destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and was named the Son of Heaven. As a founding hero of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Lü Shang was granted the title of Duke of Yingqiu in Qi, and his descendants became the kings of Qi.

The second is King Zhou. In history, King Zhou should be called Di Xin, with a surname of Zi and a given name of Shou. He was the last king of the Shang Dynasty. King Zhou was regarded as a typical tyrant. His evil deeds included the punishment of burning people with fire, killing Bigan, indulging in wine and sex, and neglecting sacrifices. As time passed, more and more crimes were added to King Zhou.

But apart from the impression of being a tyrant, Emperor Xin's most famous deed was the war he launched against the Dongyi. Although he won, it overdrew the national strength of the Shang Dynasty. Around the 30th year of Emperor Xin's reign, the Shang army was defeated by the Zhou army in Muye, and Emperor Xin burned himself to death.

The third is Daji. In history, Daji came from Yousu clan. Seven years after King Zhou ascended the throne, the Shang Dynasty conquered Yousu clan, and Yousu clan offered Daji. King Di Xin of Shang doted on her and obeyed her every word.

When King Wu attacked King Zhou, he accused King Di Xin of the Shang Dynasty of listening to women's words and doing perverse things, which angered the heaven and the people. So when he conquered Chaoge, he executed Daji. Later generations gradually regarded Daji as the culprit who led to the demise of the Shang Dynasty.

In the Investiture of the Gods, Daji was originally the daughter of Su Hu of the Shang Dynasty. She was kind and beautiful, but on her way to Chaoge, she was possessed by a nine-tailed fox and was eventually beheaded by Jiang Ziya. It is worth mentioning that King Zhou's other wives and concubines in the Investiture of the Gods, as well as his two sons Yin Jiao and Yin Hong, are all fictional characters.

The fourth is King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang. Ji Chang's ancestor was Hou Ji, the son of Emperor Ku. Legend has it that when Hou Ji's wife Jiang Yuan was traveling, she stepped on a giant's footprint and gave birth to a son. Jiang Yuan thought it was a monster and abandoned it, but the baby survived tenaciously. Jiang Yuan named it Qi. When Qi grew up, he became an agricultural official in charge of agriculture and was called Hou Ji.

The 13th grandson of Hou Ji was Ji Li, the father of King Wen of Zhou. At the time of Ji Li, the Zhou tribe had already become the leader of the princes in the west. King Wen Ding of Shang was worried that the Zhou tribe was too powerful, so he brought Ji Li to the capital and named him Xibo, then placed him under house arrest and killed him.

Ji Chang, the son of Ji Li, ascended the throne and continued to develop the foundation left by his father. He had a high prestige among the princes. King Di Xin of Shang imprisoned him in Youli, so Ji Chang wrote the Zhouyi in Youli.

Later, San Yisheng asked Lü Shang to come out of seclusion, and the three of them decided to offer beautiful women to King Zhou, and only then did they rescue Ji Chang. Ji Chang was honored as the Grand Master by Lü Shang, and secretly planned to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. By improving internal governance, making friends with foreign princes, and attacking Chongguo, the strength of the Western Zhou Dynasty was greatly enhanced. He became king in the 44th year of his reign, and King Wen of Zhou Ji Chang died in 1056 BC.

The fifth is King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, who was the second son of Ji Chang. He inherited the throne after Ji Chang's death and continued to appoint Lü Shang as the Grand Master and his brother Duke Zhou as the Grand Chancellor. He also established Haojing on the east bank of Fengshui River to continue Ji Chang's unfinished cause of destroying the Shang Dynasty. Four years later, Ji Fa met with the princes in Mengjin, and the Duke of Zhou brought him to the court, but Ji Fa and Lü Shang thought the time was not yet ripe, so they returned to their country to become his apprentices.

Soon, Ji Fa learned that King Zhou had killed Bigan, and thought the time was right, so he sent 5 troops to attack Shang. He met with the princes in Mengjin and held a swearing-in ceremony, marched to Chaoge, and fought a decisive battle with the Shang army in Muye, 70 miles away from Chaoge. The Shang army was said to have 70 people, but faced with 5 Zhou troops, they turned against them and surrendered. King Zhou was hopeless, so he burned himself to death. Ji Fa proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven, enfeoffed the princes, and died three years after destroying Shang.

The sixth is Fei Zi. In the Investiture of the Gods, he and his son Fei Lian were ministers of the King of Zhou. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the father and son surrendered to Jiang Ziya and were deified because there was a vacancy in the Investiture of the Gods. Jiang Ziya beheaded them and deified them. In history, Fei Zi was the ancestor of the Qin and Zhao states. His wife Fei Lian was famous for her bravery and died in battle when King Wu conquered the Shang Dynasty.

His descendant Fei Zi made contributions to the Zhou Xiao Wang in raising horses and was granted the title of Qin, becoming the first king of Qin. Fei Zi also had a son named E Lai. After E Lai died in battle, Fei Zi lived in seclusion on Mount Huotai with Ji Sheng. E Lai's grandson Zaofu was favored by Zhou Mu Wang and was granted the title of Zhaocheng, becoming the ancestor of Zhao.

So which character in "Investiture of the Gods" do you like the most? Please leave your opinion in the comment section.

[Who can take the first photo of the founding emperor? A little historical knowledge]

Since the unification of China by Qin Shi Huang, there have been 24 dynasties in Chinese history. Among these 24 dynasties, there are grass-roots emperors who rose from poverty to rule the country, there are also cowardly emperors who relied on krypton gold to do their job and did not do anything to live in a corner, there are also benevolent emperors who took the throne through nepotism, and there are also wise rulers who relied on their elder brothers to work hard to become powerful.

Who was the first emperor to create a new country? In this video, we will review all the founding monarchs of the past dynasties.

In 1046 BC, as the Zhou Dynasty grew stronger, King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, led 5 troops to fight against the 17 troops of the Shang Dynasty in Muye, and finally won a great victory with fewer troops. Since then, the Zhou Dynasty came into being. As time passed, the deterrent power of the Zhou emperor became weaker and weaker until the rise of the Qin Dynasty. In 221 BC, Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng waved his hand, destroyed the six kingdoms, and unified the world.

As a second-generation emperor who grew up in the slums, he built infrastructure after unification, not only building the Great Wall, but also starting to build the Afang Palace, and finally even started to seek immortality. But he didn't expect that he would be set up by Zhao Gao, who came to power after his death and civil unrest broke out in the Qin Dynasty.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang sent people to serve as yamen runners. Unexpectedly, the guards were not good enough and the people ran away. He also ran away first to show respect. When he fled to the ravine, the beautiful and rich woman Lu Zhi, whom he married, came to deliver food. She also helped Liu Bang to learn metaphysics, saying that she came to deliver food because she found him following the auspicious clouds. In 209 BC, Liu Bang decided to take advantage of the situation to start a business. After all, Liu Bang was already 47 years old at this time, and it would be too late if he didn't start a business.

Later, Liu Bang joined Xiang Yu, entered Xianyang first, destroyed the Qin Dynasty, and got the first share of the uprising - the reward of the King of Han. But he was not satisfied, after all, he wanted the position of his good brother Xiang Yu. So he appointed Han Xin, and defeated Xiang Yu in "Ten Sides of Ambush" so that Xiang Yu could not face the elders of Jiangdong. He also successfully ascended the throne in 202 BC and established the Western Han Dynasty.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped the throne. As a member of the Liu clan, Liu Bosheng decided to take back the throne. Liu Xiu, as his assistant, rode a horse at the age of 8 and fought on the battlefield at the age of 10. Cao Pi's life seemed to have been accelerated. With the cooperation of his father, the dragon throne of the Han emperor finally became a family heirloom of the Cao family.

In 220 AD, Cao Pi was crowned emperor. But Cao Pi was not the only emperor during the chaotic Three Kingdoms period. Liu Bei and Sun Quan also took the road to becoming emperors. Then the three great male groups of the Three Kingdoms, led by Cao Pi, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, began to fight, and Cao Wei finally won.

As ministers of the Cao Wei, the Sima family fought diligently for the country. After all, they knew that the country was not fought for the boss, but for themselves. In 266 AD, Sima Yan turned the tables and established the Western Jin Dynasty, successfully reenacting the drama of Cao Wei usurping the Han Dynasty. At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Eight Kings Rebellion broke out, and then the shaky Western Jin regime collapsed.

It was Sima Rui who founded the Eastern Jin Dynasty in 317 AD. In fact, Sima Rui was not originally destined to be the emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, after all, he was just a small fry. However, Sima Rui's skill in making friends was perfect, and his best friend turned out to be Wang Dao, the mainstay of the Wang Clan of Langya.

After the Eight Princes Rebellion, Sima Rui followed Wang Dao's advice and crossed the Yangtze River to Jiankang, where he ascended the throne with the support of the Langya royal family. The Eastern Jin Dynasty showed weakness, and many heroes emerged in China, marking the beginning of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

The one who ended this period was Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian. He became the grandson of the emperor through a marriage, and the little emperor sitting in the wheelchair was his grandson. In 581 AD, Yang Jian, who had a relationship with the Northern Zhou Dynasty, pulled his grandson off the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. During his reign, in order to stabilize domestic affairs, he abolished the Nine-Rank System, so that officials could no longer rely on their fathers.

He also created a method of selecting talents through subject-based examinations, allowing people to learn and change their fate. At the same time, Yang Jian used his experience of usurping the throne to formulate the three-province and six-department system, which put power in the hands of the emperor.

However, Yang Jian, the founding emperor, was eventually defeated by his own son. His son Yang Guang pretended to be a good son, but in fact he was a warmongering tyrant, and the Sui Dynasty fell in his hands.

If Emperor Wen of Sui was a relative of Northern Zhou, then Li Yuan was a relative of Sui. Emperor Wen of Sui was Li Yuan's uncle, and when Li Yuan was born, his starting line was at the finish line of others.

However, Li Yuan, who had no experience in long-distance running, was dissatisfied in his heart. He decided to set the end point farther away, such as the throne. But Emperor Yang of Sui was not without defense against his cousin. In order to dispel Emperor Yang of Sui's defense, Li Yuan had to occasionally send gifts to the emperor and pretend to be corrupt and accept bribes, so as to save his life. When the world was in chaos and heroes emerged, others competed with their fathers in the troubled times, while Li Yuan hired his son. His second son, Li Shimin, was good at fighting and conquered half of the Tang Dynasty.

In 617 AD, after Li Yuan entered Chang'an City, he immediately brought out the mascot Emperor Gong of Sui and placed him on the throne to decorate the appearance. It was not until his cousin Yang Guang passed away that Li Yuan took over the throne from Emperor Yang of Sui. However, Li Yuan, who relied on his son to ascend to the throne, was forced to dethrone by his son Li Shimin in the Xuanwu Gate Incident not long after, marking the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in the late Tang Dynasty.

Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin was originally a capable general of Chai Rong, the Five Dynasties hero, but unexpectedly, Chai Rong, a good brother and a good boss, died young. However, good things should be shared by brothers, such as the throne.

So in 960 AD, the Chenqiao Rebellion took place, Zhao Kuangyin put on the yellow robe and led the army to conquer the Later Zhou without a single drop of blood. After that, he made his generals give up their power after drinking a lot of wine, and his policy of conquering the south first and the north later made all the heroes flee in panic.

Emperor Taizu even achieved the feat of conquering two cities in one day. Unfortunately, like his good brother Emperor Shizong of Zhou, Chai Rong, he died before he could unify the Central Plains, leaving behind the mystery of the candlelight and the sound of the axe. After that, the Song Dynasty faced the Jin Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty and other regimes and was very unsuccessful. In 1127 AD, after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty was established.

The founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou, was an incompetent man who lived in seclusion in the south. He prevented Yue Fei from conquering the north and filled the treasury with tribute from the Jin Dynasty until the iron hoof of the Mongol Empire crushed the Southern Song Dynasty's seclusion.

When talking about Mongolia, we have to mention Genghis Khan. This emperor was a poor boy when he was young. His father was killed and his wife was robbed. But the fact that his wife was robbed unlocked the seal of Genghis Khan's fierce general.