Zhu Chao accompanied me to watch short videos

Chapter 161 Old Zhu 26 Sons

When Zhu Di was 48 years old, he sent Qiu Fu to lead an army of 10 to the north to face the invasion of Mongolian tribes, but because of underestimating the enemy, the whole army was annihilated. Zhu Di was furious and exiled Qiu Fu's family to Hainan Island.

Afterwards, Zhu Di personally led an army of 50 to expedition to Mobei. Relying on the rich combat experience accumulated during the Prince of Yan period and the training in the Jingnan Campaign, he was able to deal with the Tatar cavalry with ease, defeated the enemy in Nanhe, and won a great victory.

However, the power of another Mongolian tribe, the Oirat, continued to grow. Zhu Di led his army to fight again and defeated Mahamu at Hulan Hushiwen. Zhu Di even led the cavalry charge personally.

But when he returned to the court, something happened that made the whole court panic. It turned out that after Zhu Di's carriage arrived in Nanjing, the crown prince Zhu Gaochi was late to greet him. Zhu Di took advantage of this and threw the officials of the East Palace into the Tianlao, and also punished those who dared to speak for the crown prince. Zhu Gaoxu, the King of Han, who was at odds with the crown prince, took the opportunity to add insult to injury and tried to encourage Zhu Di to depose the crown prince.

But the prince had a trump card in his hand - his son Zhu Zhanji was deeply loved by Zhu Di, and the prince had been helping his father to manage government affairs for many years, so he had a good reputation among civil officials. Therefore, although the position of the crown prince was unstable, the prince could always turn danger into safety.

In 1417, Zhu Di forced the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, to be enfeoffed in Qingzhou, and the Crown Prince, Zhu Gaochi, became the winner of the struggle for the throne. Three years later, after years of preparation, Beijing was finally built, and Zhu Di ordered the capital to be moved to Beijing.

After the capital was moved, Zhu Di's health deteriorated and he stayed indoors, leaving the government affairs to the crown prince. Even so, Zhu Di did not forget the Mongols in the north. In the last three years of Zhu Di's life, he went to the northern desert every year, but the Mongols fled without a trace when they heard that the Ming army was coming.

In 1424, Zhu Di died on his way back from his fifth northern expedition at the age of 65. His temple name was Taizong, and he was buried in the Ming Changling Mausoleum in Beijing. Zhu Di's life was full of wars and conquests. During his reign, the territory of the Ming Dynasty was greatly expanded, and cultural and diplomatic achievements were made, but his rule was also accompanied by brutal purges and extreme control of power.

Nevertheless, Zhu Di's rule laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, and some of his policies and measures had a profound impact on later generations.

——"In the final analysis, longevity is the greatest evil advantage."

——"Zhu Yuanzhang named his children according to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. All his sons had names with the wood radical, and all his grandchildren had names with the fire radical."

——"The person that the entire Ming Dynasty admired most was Zhu Di, and the person that they envied most was Zhu Houzhao."

——"The only Ming emperor with an English name."

[Understand Zhu Yuanzhang's 26 sons in one go. Zhu Yuanzhang's history]

Why is it said that if Zhu Biao had not died, Zhu Di would not have become the emperor? The sons of Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang left a strong and colorful mark in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Some people say they are a disaster, while others say they are evil kings. In this video, let us take an in-depth inventory of Zhu Yuanzhang's 26 sons and take a look at their love, hate, and hatred.

As we all know, Zhu Yuanzhang was born in poverty. His parents died when he was a teenager, and he became an orphan. Therefore, after he ascended the throne, he attached great importance to family affection and doted on his sons. However, each of the nine sons was different, and Zhu Yuanzhang's 26 sons also had different fates. The eldest son Zhu Biao was the son that Zhu Yuanzhang valued most. As the eldest son, Zhu Biao was trained as an heir since birth. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao naturally became the prince, and Zhu Yuanzhang also had high hopes for this son. Zhu Biao was kind and friendly by nature. When his brothers made mistakes, he would speak out to protect them. He also advised Zhu Yuanzhang to kill ministers. He was a monarch who met Confucian standards. However, with the death of Zhu Biao in 1392, the fate of the Ming Dynasty came to a crossroads. Zhu Biao's sons were too young, and it was possible that they would not be able to sit on the throne if they were established, but many of his younger brothers around him could not establish any of them. The most powerful princes at that time were the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan. They were good at fighting, brave and resourceful, and also had the ambition to be emperors. However, the relationship between the two was very bad. No matter which one was appointed, the other would not submit.

In addition, as the second son, Prince Zhu Chong was ahead of the two princes of Jin and Yan in the order of succession. However, Zhu Chong had bad behavior, and Zhu Yuanzhang never considered him. After weighing many options, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to make Zhu Biao's second son Zhu Yunwen the crown prince. However, judging from the final result, Zhu Yuanzhang still made a mistake. After Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he massively reduced the power of the vassal states, which triggered the Jingnan Campaign. After the Yan army entered Nanjing, Zhu Yunwen set himself on fire and disappeared in the fire, and Zhu Biao's surviving descendants were also persecuted by Zhu Di, either dead or imprisoned.

Zhu Chong was granted the fiefdom of Xi'an, which made the second son born to Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma behave badly. He abused palace maids, imprisoned his wife, forcibly abducted women from the people, and killed innocent people. His crimes were too numerous to list. Although Zhu Yuanzhang reprimanded him many times, Zhu Chong ignored them all. The palace maids could not bear the abuse and poisoned the King of Qin to death. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and ordered everyone in the King of Qin's mansion to be buried alive with him. From then on, the cruel system of burying people alive with the King of Qin became a routine in the Ming Dynasty royal family, and it was not abolished until the death of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin, was granted the fiefdom of Taiyuan. His mother, Empress Ma, was beautiful, strategic, and proficient in military affairs. He was one of the princes that Zhu Yuanzhang valued the most. However, his relationship with the Prince of Yan was very bad. Once, when King Zhou was paying homage, he had a big quarrel with the Prince of Yan and sent the Prince of Yan back to Beiping. Zhu Yuanzhang was well aware of the conflict between the two brothers. Therefore, after the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang did not choose either the Prince of Jin or the Prince of Yan. In order to strike the Prince of Jin, his father-in-law and relatives were stabbed to death one after another. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan to check and balance each other, but man's plans are not as good as God's plans. In 1398, the Prince of Jin, Zhu Gang, died, and the Prince of Yan became the head of the clan. No one among the princes could check and balance the Prince of Yan.

Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, was granted the title of Beiping. According to official history, Zhu Di's mother was Empress Ma, but this has always been controversial in later generations. Zhu Di liked military affairs since he was a child. After saving his vassal state, he also fulfilled his duty of guarding the frontier well. He led the army to fight many times and accumulated a high prestige among the nobles and generals. With the death of his three elder brothers, Zhu Di became the most powerful vassal king at that time. After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the newly enthroned Emperor Jianwen regarded Zhu Di as a thorn in his side and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. After Emperor Jianwen abolished five princes one after another, Zhu Di rebelled in the name of clearing the court. After four years of hard fighting, he finally drove Emperor Jianwen off the throne, ascended the throne himself, and changed the reign to Yongle. He died after 22 years in office. Later generations regarded the Yongle period as the heyday of the Ming Dynasty. Five expeditions to Mobei, six voyages to the West, Sun Bin's Annan, the relocation of the capital to Beijing, and the compilation of the "Yongle Encyclopedia" were all completed during the Yongle period. According to the Ming History, Yunwen's achievements were far-reaching and surpassed those of the Han and Tang dynasties, and his accomplishments were remarkable and outstanding.

Zhu Su, the Prince of Zhou, was the fifth son of Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma and was loved by his parents since childhood. Zhu Su was also quite contradictory. On the one hand, he had some bad habits of the princes of the Ming Dynasty; on the other hand, he was also proficient in medicine and was one of the famous medical scientists in the Ming Dynasty. He presided over the compilation of medical books such as "Compendium of Materia Medica for Famine Relief" and "Puji Fang". After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, the Prince of Zhou was falsely accused of plotting against the law by his own son. Emperor Jianwen ordered him to be abolished as a commoner, exiled to Yunnan, and then taken back to Nanjing for imprisonment. After Zhu Di entered Nanjing, he took the Prince of Zhou out. Not only did he restore the throne for his brother, but he also offered him 2 dan, which was far higher than the 1 set by Zhu Yuanzhang. He died four years after Zhu Di's death at the age of 65.

Zhu Zhen, the Prince of Chu, was granted the fiefdom of Wuchang, Hubei, which was once the capital of Chen Youliang. When Zhu Zhen was born, Wuchang was pacified, and Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and granted his son the fiefdom of Wuchang. Zhu Zhen was smart and studious since childhood, and was good at both literature and martial arts. He was quite strategic. After he became a fief, he led troops to quell rebellions of ethnic minorities many times. After his fourth brother Zhu Di ascended the throne, he also went to Beijing to express his loyalty to his fourth brother. He died in the same year as Zhu Di at the age of 61.

Zhu Yuan, the Prince of Qi, was granted the fief of Qingzhou, Shandong. His mother, Concubine Da Ding, was once a concubine of Chen Youliang. This Prince of Qi was a typical example of a man who would not die unless he was courting death. Because of his bad behavior, he was demoted to a commoner by Emperor Jianwen. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he restored him to the throne, but he did not learn his lesson. He continued to do evil in his fiefdom and spoke nonsense in the court. Zhu Di finally could not bear it anymore and issued an order to demote the Prince of Qi to a commoner. He was later executed by Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty.

The eighth son, the Prince of Han, was granted the title of Changsha. He was the brother of the Prince of Qi from the same mother. He was cruel and refused to change despite repeated orders from Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1392, when Zhu Yuanzhang was investigating the case of Hu Weiyong, the Prince of Zhao invaded. Coincidentally, the Prince of Zhao's father-in-law was also listed as a member of Hu Weiyong's party. The Prince of Han was worried that he would be punished by his father for his many evil deeds, so he set a blazing fire in the palace and burned himself to death.

The ninth son, Prince Zhao, died at the age of one.

The tenth son, Prince Lu, was granted the fiefdom of Yanzhou, Shandong, and his birth mother was Consort Guo Ning. This prince's evil deeds were even worse than those of his previous brothers. He and Consort Tang kidnapped the children of the military households in the palace and drowned them in the palace, which frightened the local people so much that they hid their children at home and dared not go out. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and temporarily executed the princess. Not long after, Zhu Tan also died of poison from taking elixir by mistake, becoming the first prince of the Ming Dynasty to gain evil power.

The eleventh son, Zhu Chun, Prince of Shu, was granted the fiefdom of Chengdu. His mother was Concubine Guo, the daughter of Guo Zixing. Zhu Chun was the most famous "Shu scholar" in the Ming Dynasty. After he became a fief, he taught a lot of literature and education in Shu and was called Shu scholar by Zhu Yuanzhang. In the fierce political struggle in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Chun kept a prudent attitude to protect himself. He informed on his brothers and sons in exchange for Zhu Di's trust. He eventually died of illness at the age of 51.

The twelfth son, Prince Xiang, Zhu Bo, was given the fief of Jingzhou. Because his fiefdoms were all in Hubei, he had a good relationship with his sixth brother, the Prince of Chu. Prince Xiang had good character and was good at both literature and martial arts. Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied with this son in his later years. After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Emperor Wen of Jin took a large-scale approach to reducing the power of the feudal lords and wanted to escort Prince Xiang to Beijing to be tried. Prince Xiang did not want to be humiliated and set himself on fire.

The thirteenth son, Dai Wang Zhu Gui, was given the fief of Datong. He was a brother of the King of Shu and the King of Wu from the same mother, and a brother-in-law of the King of Yan and the King of An. They all married the daughter of Xu Da. After Emperor Wen of Jin ascended the throne, he demoted Dai Wang to a commoner and placed him under house arrest in the palace until Zhu Di ascended the throne. Zhu Gui hated the princess Xu and the prince so much that he found a reason to drive the mother and son out of the palace. The prince went to Beijing to complain to Zhu Di, but was persuaded to go back. Zhu Gui had serious mental problems in his later years and often went to the streets to beat people. The local government was helpless against this mentally ill prince. He died at the age of 73, the longest-lived of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons.

The fourteenth son, Zhu Yu, Prince of Su, was granted the fief of Ganzhou, which was later moved to Lanzhou. Due to the poor economic conditions in the local area, the salary of Prince of Su was pitifully low among the princes, only 500 dan per year, which later increased to 1000 dan. Prince of Su did not have the bad behavior of his other brothers, nor did he have any ambitions. He worked diligently in his fief, built houses, raised horses and trained soldiers, and also funded the construction of Lanzhou Academy, Wuwei White Pagoda Temple, Jintian Pass, etc. He died in 1420 at the age of .

The fifteenth son, Prince of Liao, Zhu Zhi, was granted the fief of Guangning, Liaodong. At that time, Liaodong was bitterly cold, and the conditions in Guangning were also very bad. After Zhu Zhi arrived at his fief, he lived in a tent for several years before moving into the newly built palace. However, before he could even get comfortable in the palace, the Jingnan Campaign broke out. The Prince of Liao ran back to Nanjing to express his loyalty to Emperor Jianwen. Unexpectedly, the result of the Jingnan Campaign was that Emperor Jianwen was defeated. The newly enthroned Zhu Di disliked the Prince of Liao very much and changed his fief to Jingzhou. Later, he issued several decrees to make him behave himself, and even caused a farce in which the two sons of the Prince of Liao went to Beijing to denounce their father. He died at the age of 61.

The sixteenth son, Ning Wang Zhu Quan, was born to Yang, and his fief was Daning. Zhu Quan's military strength was quite strong. In addition to Wang Hu's three guards, he also commanded three guards with 8 armored soldiers and 6000 vehicles. Because of the proximity of the fiefdoms, he had a good personal relationship with Yan Wang Zhu Di, and was known as "Yan Wang is good at fighting, Ning Wang is good at planning." After the Jingnan Campaign began, Zhu Quan was forced by his fourth brother Zhu Di to participate in the Jingnan Campaign. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Zhu Quan was transferred to Nanchang. From then on, he wrote books and published nearly a hundred works. He had profound attainments in music, art, opera, history and other fields. He died in 1488 at the age of 71.

The seventeenth son, Prince Ning, Zhu Quan, was born to Zhou, his fief was Linzhou, and later changed to Yunnan. After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he reduced the number of vassal states. Prince Ning was sued by Xiping Hou Mu Sheng to the court for his bad behavior, and Emperor Jianwen ordered Prince Ning to be demoted to a commoner. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Prince Ning was restored to his title. However, the relationship between Prince Ning and Mu Sheng became irreconcilable. Prince Ning falsely accused Mu Sheng to the court, and Zhu Di gave them fifty lashes. Later, on the grounds that Prince Ning's behavior was illegal, he lost his palace guards. After Zhu Di's death, Prince Ning sailed to Wugang and died in 1450 at the age of 72. He was the last of Zhu Yuanzhang's 26 sons to die.

The eighteenth son, Prince Min, Zhu Yu, was born to Zhou, his fief was Linzhou, and later changed to Yunnan. After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he massively reduced the number of vassal states. Prince Min was sued by Xiping Hou Mu Sheng to the court for his bad behavior, and Emperor Jianwen issued an order to depose Prince Min as a commoner. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Prince Min's title was restored. However, the relationship between Prince Min and Mu Sheng became irreconcilable. Prince Min falsely accused Mu Sheng to the court, and Zhu Di gave each of them fifty lashes. Later, on the grounds that Prince Min's actions were illegal, he lost his palace guards. After Zhu Di's death, Prince Min sailed to Wugang and died in 1450 at the age of 72. He was the last of Zhu Yuanzhang's 26 sons to die.

——"To be honest, she is really fertile."

——"Old Zhu is so energetic that one has to admire him."