During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, after the unfortunate death of the crown prince Zhu Biao, according to the practice of the primogeniture system, Zhu Yuanzhang should choose an excellent heir from many sons, and the most powerful of them was Zhu Di, the King of Yan, but Zhu Yuanzhang made Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunjiao the emperor's grandson, and the grudge between his uncle and nephew was also concluded. So today we will explore why Zhu Yunjiao decided to cut the domain, why did he choose to get rid of Zhu Di, the King of Yan, first?
After Zhu Yunjiao ascended the throne, he began to cut the domain, and the main target was his fourth uncle Zhu Di, the King of Yan, but he did not choose to move against Zhu Di first, but turned his spearhead to Zhu Xu, the King of Zhou, what was the reason behind this? First of all, before Zhu Yunxiong became emperor, he had two important courtiers, namely Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng. Both ministers advocated cutting the domain, but their views were very different.
Qi Tai believed that if the thief captured the king first, he should directly target Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and as long as Zhu Di was knocked down, the other clan kings would surrender one after another. Huang Zicheng believed that the strength of Zhu Di, the King of Yan, was too strong, and once Zhu Di could not be suppressed quickly, it would cause a backlash from other clan kings, such a risk was too great, and the result was unacceptable, and it should start from other weaker clan kings.
Secondly, Zhu Di had no merit, and he had been guarding the north to prevent the Northern Yuan forces from moving south. If Zhu Di was to be cut down for no reason, I am afraid that it would cause opposition from some ministers in the DPRK, so we must first reduce the wings around Zhu Di. At this time, zhu Xu, the king of Zhou, happened to hit the muzzle of the gun, because his son Zhu Youyi, the king of Runan, reported his father's ill intentions to the imperial court, which was undoubtedly a good breakthrough.
One of the most important reasons is that according to historical records, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, and Zhu Xu, the King of Zhou, were brothers of the same mother, so among the many brothers, the two were the closest in blood relations. If Zhu Yunjiao had acted against Zhu Di, the King of Yan, Zhu Di would have definitely assisted him, then this result would not be acceptable, so he would have to get rid of Zhu Di, the King of Zhou, first. Therefore, in August of the 31st year of Hongwu, Zhu Yunjiao demoted zhu Xu, the king of Zhou, to a Shuren and exiled his entire family to Yunnan.
Although Zhu Yunjiao's approach seems to have gained an opportunity, it is actually a wake-up call for Zhu Di, the King of Yan. If at the beginning, he had aimed his spearhead at Zhu Di, then in the end he would not have ended up in a dead end.
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