Although Ming Chengzu Zhu Di reigned for only twenty-two years, his contribution to the development of Chinese history was greater than that of any emperor in history. He made great contributions to the reunification of the country, the development of the economy, the integration of nationalities, and especially to the development and consolidation of China's land and sea frontiers. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di's setting up of a "guard" in Hami, Xinjiang, is a very typical example. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, and when Zhu Yuanzhang divided the kings, Zhu Di was enfeoffed as the King of Yan and sat in Beiping.
Both the Jin and Yuan dynasties built their capitals in Beiping, which was a link between the people of all ethnic groups in the north and south of the great desert, both inside and outside the Great Wall. Zhu Yuanzhang let Zhu Di be the king of the domain here, which shows how much Zhu Yuanzhang loved Zhu Di. In addition, the wife that Zhu Yuanzhang originally chose for Zhu Di was the eldest daughter of Xu Da, the first hero of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, which shows that Zhu Yuanzhang attaches great importance to Zhu Di. In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty were still the biggest threat to the north of the Ming Dynasty, but fortunately, Xu Da presided over the defense affairs, and Weng and his son-in-law cooperated closely to effectively prevent the remnants of the Yuan forces from harassing the south.
In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang declared himself emperor in Nanjing, and made his eldest son Zhu Biao the crown prince. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was not very satisfied with Zhu Biao, the prince, and felt that he was too weak and did not have his own domineering spirit. In 1392, crown prince Zhu Biao died of illness, and according to the patriarchal system of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunjiao was made crown prince. For Zhu Yunjiao, Zhu Yuanzhang was still not at ease, he believed that Zhu Yunjiao was weak in Confucianism and could not control the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang thought in his heart that Zhu Di was the best candidate to be an emperor, but Zhu Di ranked fourth and did not conform to the rules.
In the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Di's second brother Zhu Zhu the Prince of Qin died, and in the thirty-first year of Hongwu, Zhu Di's third brother Zhu Di died again, and Zhu Di had become the eldest among the brothers, and if Zhu Yuanzhang decided to make Zhu Di the crown prince at this time, he would not be blamed ethically. However, the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunjiao had been established for five or six years, and there was no fault, and the elderly Zhu Yuanzhang was no longer able to abolish it. Realizing that he might be in trouble after his death, he summoned Mei Yin to him and secretly ordered him to assist the Emperor's grandson.
Zhu Yuanzhang himself failed to solve the problem before his death, and Mei Yin was even more powerless. Once Zhu Yuanzhang died, there was a three-year war between Zhu Di and Zhu Yunjiao's uncle and nephew. After the "Battle of Jingnan", Ming Chengzu took the throne as emperor of the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he introduced a policy of relocating rich people from all over the country to settle in Beijing, and he also went all out to dredge the Grand Canal and build the city of Beijing at great expense to prepare for his own relocation of the capital to Beijing. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di's choice of Beijing as the capital was very purposeful, and the capital beijing could effectively defend the remnants of the Yuan forces southward, and more pacify the Jurchen tribes in the Heilongjiang River Basin in the northeast, and the Ussuri River Basin, and also control a large area in the northwest.
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di's biggest achievement in running the northwest is the setting of Hamiwei, which is called Hami City in Xinjiang today, Hami City in the Han Dynasty called "Yiwulu", in the Tang Dynasty called "Yizhou", Hami is the westernmost "Wei" of the Ming Dynasty, and the large and small areas in the territory have one out of ten. The main local residents are "Uyghurs, Hui, Kazakhs, Mongolians and so on." In March 1406, Ming Chengzu decided to set up Hami Wei, with his leader Mahamasa as his commander, the chief of thousands of households, and other officials, and Zhou An as the zhongshun king Changshi, and Liu Zhishan.
The hamiwei jurisdiction includes Lop Nur and Qaidam Basin, and the establishment of Hamiwei is not only of military and national defense significance, but also promotes the development of local economy and culture.