The emperor who worked hardest to rule—Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty

Historical introduction: The Ming Dynasty was the last dynasty in Chinese history that was ruled by the Han people. In the 28th year of Zhengzhi, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Yingtian Mansion, and the country was named Daming, officially establishing the Ming Dynasty. . The Ming Dynasty lasted for nearly three hundred years and passed down sixteen generations of monarchs. Some of them are content with enjoying themselves, while others are working hard to succeed. The third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was a good emperor who worked hard to govern. It must be said that Zhu Di was talented and strategic, worked hard to govern, and focused on economics and politics. During his reign, he developed China's economic strength to a new high in history, and is known in history as " Zhu Di was also called the "Yongle Emperor". Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was born in Yingtian, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. Originally, according to the inheritance rules of establishing the eldest rather than the young, it was not Zhu Di's turn to become emperor. . Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son, Prince Yiwen, Zhu Biao, died early, and Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to his grandson Zhu Yunwen, who was Zhu Di's nephew. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang's goal was to establish a formal principle for the legal succession of the throne to avoid future disputes due to the throne. Necessary disputes. However, after Zhu Yunwen came to the throne, the situation was not stable. Zhu Yuanzhang had twenty-six sons, that is, Zhu Yunwen had too many uncles. It is inevitable that these people would have some ideas about the throne. Zhu Di, the uncle of Yan, was also eager to take the throne, which led to the famous Jingnan Battle in history. In order to strengthen his defense, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, twice ennobled various princes as vassals during his reign. At that time, all the vassal kings held heavy troops to intimidate one party, especially the kings of Qin, Jin, Yan, and Ning. The first thing Zhu Yunwen did when he came to power was to cut down the vassal, so everyone in the vassal kings was in danger. Zhu Di saw that. Seeing that the fate of each vassal king was extremely miserable, Zhu Di started to rebel. At that time, Zhu Di only had more than 40,000 soldiers and horses, and it was difficult to resist the Ming Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of troops, so he united with the 80,000 troops at that time. King Ning was actually a coercion, because he promised King Ning that after the matter was completed, you and I would divide the world equally. In the name of the emperor, he launched the famous battle for the throne in history - the Battle of Jingnan. Afterwards, Zhu Di successfully rebelled. In this game for the throne, he won the final victory. His nephew Zhu Yunwen was unknown in the sea of ​​fire. His whereabouts and life and death are a mystery; his brother Ning Wang also failed to share the world with him, and finally ended up in a small mansion in Nanchang to retire. Although Zhu Di was the emperor who usurped the throne, it has to be said that he was the emperor in Chinese history. A rare good emperor. During his reign, the country's economy further developed and the country's unified situation became more stable, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent "Reign of Renxuan". Strengthening the imperial power after Zhu Di ascended the throne was the first priority The task was to appease people's hearts and strengthen the imperial power. He knew that the major vassal kings would threaten the imperial court if they held heavy troops, so he eliminated the vassal kings and firmly held the military power in his own hands. He came in a disgraceful way, and needed to stabilize his throne, so he set up supervisory agencies in various places, encouraged officials to complain to each other, and used eunuchs to secretly spy on the affairs of his subjects, thus developing and strengthening the autocratic rule of the cabinet during Zhu Yuanzhang's reign. The prime minister system was abolished, that is, the emperor directly led the six ministries, and everything had to be handled and made by the emperor himself. After Zhu Di came to power, he improved the civil service system on the basis of Zhu Yuanzhang and established a cabinet system. This cabinet system was also imitated by many Western countries. , and is still used today. Moving the capital northward Moving the capital was a major event with far-reaching influence no matter which dynasty it was in. Few people agreed with this move at that time, but Zhu Di was very discerning and he insisted on moving the capital despite all opinions. And Zhu Di's decision also had a huge impact on our future generations. The place where Zhu Di wanted to move the capital was Peiping, now Beijing. Peiping was the place where Zhu Di became king. He had been operating here for many years and his rule was relatively stable. Moreover, geographically speaking, Beiping has a dangerous situation and convenient transportation. Being entrenched here can not only control the northeastern region, but also resist the invading Mongolian army, which is conducive to the unification and jurisdiction of the country. Of course, after moving the capital to Beijing, Zhu Di carried out a lot of construction work to build the city of Beijing. Zhu Di also attached great importance to the city's construction planning, keeping the buildings in order and building a complete drainage system. The Forbidden City and other buildings that our descendants see today are all thanks to Zhu Di's efforts and dedication.

Now when future generations look back at Zhu Di's decision-making at that time, they have to sigh that Zhu Di's vision and choice were correct! Exploring the Ocean The famous Zheng He's voyage to the West also took place during this period. Zhu Di's decision can be said to be a very important and far-reaching historical decision in the history of Chinese navigation. Zheng He's voyages to the West not only carried out cultural exchanges through Southeast Asia, India, Africa and other countries, but also showed them China's strong national power, improved China's status in Western countries, and strengthened the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the southwest countries. Friendly exchanges encouraged many countries to pay tribute. This feat has had a profound impact on China's economy, diplomacy, culture, and politics. Expedition to Mobei Zhu Di was proficient in military strategy throughout his life and had five expeditions to Mobei. Zhu Di knew very well that if he wanted the Ming Dynasty to be impregnable and stable and unified, he must ensure that the border defenses were stable. During Zhu Di's twenty-two years in power, he launched five conquests against Mobei, all of which were conducted personally. Under his personal leadership, the Ming army seriously attacked the harassment of the Mongolian army and ensured the security of the border areas. Peace also stabilized the Ming Dynasty's rule over the Central Plains. Yongle Dadian The Yongle Dadian has more than 22,900 volumes, and is divided into more than 11,000 volumes. There are 1370 million words, all of which were hand-copied word by word. The editor-in-chief of this book was the first Ming Dynasty official. A talented man Xie Jin. The content of Yongle Dadian records a series of classics, history, astronomy, geography, yin and yang, medical skills, divination, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, drama, crafts, and agriculture from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty. The revision of this book is extremely precious and is a precious resource of the Chinese nation. cultural heritage. The Feudal Ming Tombs are the mausoleums of the emperors of the Zhu Dynasty. After Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, Feng Shui masters selected sites on the Loess Mountains around the Ming Tombs to be the tombs of the Ming Dynasty emperors. A very precious cultural heritage for future generations. Summary Zhu Di's achievements and contributions to later generations are very numerous, but he was still frightened when he sat on the throne. After all, his nephew, the previous emperor Zhu Yunwen, disappeared in the sea of ​​​​fire. Zhu Yunwen was a legitimate emperor, and he was deeply loved by his subjects. Heart, it is not impossible if he calls on everyone at the border to raise troops to overthrow him. It is said that Zhu Di had selfish motives in letting Zheng He sail to the Western Seas, not only to develop China's navigation industry and strengthen foreign cultural and economic exchanges, but also to allow Zheng He to secretly explore Zhu Yunwen's traces. But it may be precisely because of this that Zhu Di had more motivation and pressure to develop his career, stabilize the imperial power, strengthen his political status, develop the domestic economy, and make the country more prosperous. This is indeed the case. In March of the 19th year of Yongle, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, held the most famous military parade in the history of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, Zhu Di asked the carefully selected troops to perform military projects such as cavalry outflank, infantry assault, infantry and cavalry combined attack, infantry crossbow volley, spear infantry assassination and other military projects. Twenty-seven national envoys attended the military parade, representing the testimony of twenty-seven countries. This military parade demonstrated the comprehensive national strength of the Ming Dynasty and had far-reaching influence, subtly expanding the country's influence in the world. To sum up, we have to admit that Zhu Di is one of the most outstanding emperors in Chinese history. Looking at the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty, there are too many unreliable and weird emperors, and many emperors are not doing their jobs properly. On the other hand, Zhu Di worked hard to govern, knew people well, and had the world in mind. During the more than 20 years of Zhu Di's reign, the country's economic strength has developed and progressed by leaps and bounds. The country is peaceful and the people are safe, the borders are stable, and the people are prosperous. Having such a wise monarch is A great blessing for my subjects.