In ancient court, the prince was a "high-risk" profession: the emperor was not satisfied and could depose him; the brothers were not convinced and would challenge him; the courtiers would criticize him if they had opinions. "It is difficult to reconcile the mouths", and those who are princes should understand this truth best.
However, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was an exception. Zhu Biao served as the crown prince for more than 20 years and supervised the country for more than 10 years at the height of Zhu Yuanzhang's Spring and Autumn Period. During this period, he was highly regarded and in a rock-solid position throughout the court, and was a rare "perfect" successor who could be supported by the emperor, brothers, and courtiers.
Unfortunately, before he could take over Zhu Yuanzhang's scepter, he died of illness. This has made many people sigh: if Zhu Biao did not die, the history of the Ming Dynasty might be very different.
Father's preference
Zhu Biao was the first son of Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Shi, a troubled couple. In 1355, when the news of Zhu Biao's birth came, Zhu Yuanzhang was leading an army to attack Nanjing. He was so overjoyed that he ran to a mountain and inscribed, "Whoever comes to this mountain will not suffer from no heirs." ”
Although, Zhu Yuanzhang has had more sons since then. But for the eldest son Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang was particularly favored. Zhu Yuanzhang had just become the King of Wu, and the 10-year-old Zhu Biao was made a son of the world. Zhu Yuanzhang was proclaimed empress dowager, and without saying a word, he made the 13-year-old Zhu Biaohuan the crown prince. When Zhu Biao was 22 years old, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to act as an agent for the government and exercise the right to supervise the country in a down-to-earth manner.
The other emperors all prevented the crown prince from seizing power in advance, but Zhu Yuanzhang took the initiative to send power to Zhu Biao. This move undoubtedly sent a signal to the courtiers and the princes: Zhu Biao was the heir he had identified. Many people said that after going through the history books, they could no longer find an emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang who trusted and loved the crown prince.
Zhu Yuanzhang's preference for Zhu Biao was not without reason.
First of all, Zhu Biao was cultivated by Zhu Yuanzhang and received strict teachings from an early age. Zhu Biaosheng is intelligent and studies very hard. After supervising the country, he also underwent many tests of government and government, and his ability was recognized by the imperial court.
Second, Zhu Biao has a kind personality and good conduct. Because he received a Confucian education from an early age, he behaved in a gentle and elegant manner, treated people very generously, and won the hearts of the people in the imperial court and the people.
Third, Zhu Yuanzhang's father and son got along "harmoniously" in the court. Although Zhu Biao came to power early, he did not exceed everything and did not have a mind on the side. However, because of his completely different personality from Zhu Yuanzhang's (the father was domineering and strong, and the son Was "weak"), there were also differences between father and son because of political affairs.
For example, Zhu Biao's teacher Song Lian was about to be executed because he was implicated, and Zhu Biao tried to intercede for him. After Zhu Yuanzhang was provoked, he threw out a sentence: "Wait until you become the emperor and then pardon him!" Hearing this, Zhu Biao was terrified and actually jumped into the river, and the guards around him tried hard to rescue him. Zhu Yuanzhang saw that his son was scared like this, so he no longer pursued it. But the fire was sprinkled on the guards: anyone who took off his clothes and went into the water to save people was beheaded, and if he did not take off his clothes, he went into the water to save people three levels in a row. In the end, it was his father, Zhu Yuanzhang was also afraid that the rescue would not be timely and miss his son's life.
In fact, it was precisely because of Zhu Biao's "generosity and benevolence" that to a certain extent, the deterrence brought by Zhu Yuanzhang's "killing" to the courtiers was alleviated. This is also complementary in a sense.
Therefore, even though there was a lot of discord between father and son because of political affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang never had the idea of replacing the prince.
Brotherly obedience
Historically, brothers competed and roomed together in the royal family. Zhu Yuanzhang had a total of 26 sons, and once the throne was vacant, the competition would be very fierce. However, when Zhu Biao reigned, no one dared to openly compete for the position of crown prince.
Because Zhu Biao is the eldest son of a concubine, he has been one step ahead since birth. When Zhu Yuanzhang was proclaimed emperor, he told the world that "the state is built and stored, the ceremony is subordinate to the concubine, and the foundation of the world is in Yan." When the other princes became adults, they were divided into other places, and their status and strength could not compete with Zhu Biao.
In addition to these objective factors, Zhu Biao established absolute prestige and was an uncompromising "sage" in the eyes of his brothers: he was capable and received unanimous praise in years of governing the country; he had excellent character, and although he was a prince, he never used his status to oppress others.
Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to family affection, and once made a request to his sons: the crown prince, as the crown prince, should treat his brothers well, and the prince should do his duty to the prince. Zhu Biao obeyed his father's instructions and treated his brothers with generosity and fraternity. The younger brothers made mistakes, and he always rushed to the front to protect them, quite like an older brother.
The King of Qin, Zhu Zhu (shǎng), had many mistakes in his domain, Zhu Yuanzhang knew about it and summoned him back to the capital, it was Zhu Biao who strongly persuaded him, Zhu Zhu was spared; the Jin king Zhu Zhuo (gāng) had an arrogant personality and many illegal acts, and was later reported as intending to rebel, it was Zhu Biao's strong sponsorship that Zhu Biao was spared; even if Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted righteous sons made mistakes, Zhu Biao would ask Empress Ma for help to help these brothers avoid excessive punishment.
Zhu Biao's character made him very prestigious among his brothers, and Zhu Di, the King of Yan, had been fighting outside for many years, with great military achievements and extremely high prestige, and such a bad character was also respectful and respectful in the face of Zhu Biao, and did not dare to make a mistake.
The support of courtiers
Zhu Biao's xianneng is also well known in the court.
Because he grew up following his father from the rain of guns and arrows, Zhu Biao also had prestige in the army. When Zhu Yuanzhang was fighting abroad, Zhu Biao, who remained in Nanjing, became Zhu Yuanzhang's most powerful backing. The generals Xu Da and Lan Yu in the army were all staunch supporters of Zhu Biao; when learning to handle the affairs of the dynasty, Zhu Biao took over the powerful network of Zhu Yuanzhang's meritorious heroes, and handled the relationship with the forces of all sides well, proving that he had the ability to suppress this dynasty.
More importantly, Zhu Biao was generous and benevolent, and practiced benevolent government, so he was very popular. Zhu Yuanzhang treated the ministers very harshly and often used heavy punishments. Especially during Zhu Biao's supervision of the state, major cases such as the Hu Weiyong case, the Empty Seal Case, and the Guo Huan Case broke out one after another, involving a wide range of personnel, and thousands of people were unjustly killed. In order to protect the chancellor, Zhu Biao often intervened to dissuade him.
Historical records record such an incident: Because Zhu Yuanzhang killed too many people, Zhu Biao advised: "Your Majesty has abused too much, and he is afraid of hurting Tianhe." Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak, and the next day threw a thorn staff on the ground and asked Zhu Biao to pick it up. Zhu Biao had no way to start, so Zhu Yuanzhang taught him a lesson: "Afraid of sticking hands, right? I'll help you remove all these thorns, and you'll take them again, won't you be beautiful?" I'm killing all the bad guys now, help you get rid of them, so you don't have any worries. After hearing this, Zhu Biao still insisted on saying, "There are yao shun kings on the top and yao shun people on the bottom." Zhu Yuanzhang was completely angered by one sentence, what kind of emperor is there, what kind of subjects are there? Does the son dare to satirize Lao Tzu like this? So he grabbed the seat and threw it at Zhu Biao...
It can be seen that even if Zhu Biao wants to save people under Zhu Yuanzhang's knife, he also has to take great risks. And it was precisely because of the risk of persuasion that Zhu Biao won the respect of the courtiers, and many people believed that he must be a benevolent prince in the future, who could change the atmosphere of slaughter in the imperial court.
Death of Zhu Biao
However, neither Zhu Yuanzhang nor the ministers could wait for the day when Zhu Biao succeeded to the throne.
Zhu Biao was ordered to go to Shaanxi to investigate, and after returning to the capital, he died of illness at the age of 38.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't have imagined that the heir he had carefully cultivated for many years would actually die like this. He cried out in grief and couldn't help himself. After the mourning period, he still could not bear to take off his mourning clothes. After repeated requests from the ceremonial officer, he took off his mourning clothes and went to the court to handle political affairs. Zhu Biao's nickname was set as "Yi Wen": "Yi", taking the meaning of beauty; "Wen", praising the wise king. This is also Zhu Yuanzhang's evaluation of him.
This year, Zhu Yuanzhang was 65 years old. It took him more than 30 years to cultivate Zhu Biao, and at this time he could not have enough time and energy to start from scratch. Whether he was devastated or desperate in his heart, he must try his best to reduce the impact of Zhu Biao's death. However, the development of events gradually fell beyond his control, and some people even said that the course of history had changed as a result.
If Zhu Biao did not die, Zhu Yuanzhang might be able to hand over power to his son with peace of mind, and the Ming Dynasty should soon usher in a prosperous scene.
If Zhu Biao did not die, Zhu Yuanzhang would not need to rush to sweep away the Xungui clique for his grandson Zhu Yunjiao, who had little political experience.
If Zhu Biao did not die, Zhu Di should not dare to rebel.
……
Unfortunately, history cannot be assumed.
Shiren Fang Xiaoru once wrote an elegy for Zhu Biao: "The Three Dynasties are also the government of Shu, and the benevolence and filial piety are grateful for the baby." Long live a thousand autumns, through the heavens and the earth. Unden Chen was extremely determined, and endured to see Tarzan decadent. The Holy Son inherits the imperial inheritance and can comfort the four seas. "For the imperfect ending of this perfect heir, people can only leave emotions empty.