What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Zhu Gaozi was the eldest son of Zhu Di, the ancestor of Ming Cheng, and married a native of Yongcheng, Zhang. In the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Gaozi was given the title of Shizi of the Yan King, and Zhang Shi was made the concubine of the Shizi.
In the second year of Yongle after Zhu Di seized power, Zhu Gaozi was made crown prince and Zhang Shi was made crown princess.
In the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Gaozi's main task was to defend Beiping, and he did a good job. But his temperament is relatively weak, the biggest drawback is too fat, "waist and abdomen number of circumference", and the legs and feet are not very good, the movement is very inconvenient, not to mention riding archery.
If it is an ordinary son, Zhu Di will not care too much, but the crown prince is the future emperor, to be able to write and martial arts, how can Zhu Gaozi be qualified? Therefore, Zhu Di became more and more dissatisfied with this crown prince.
At the same time, Zhu Di's other two sons, Zhu Gaoxu the King of Han and Zhu Gaoxuan the King of Zhao, were like wolves and tigers, eager to try. Compared with them, Zhu Gaozi seemed stupid and incompetent. This made Zhu Di even more angry, and he once scolded him in front of Empress Xu.
Of course, Empress Xu had to be kind to persuade her, and Zhu Gaozi was also very afraid of losing the position of crown prince.
However, what really worked was Zhu Gaozi's concubine Zhang Shi.
Crown Princess Zhang was respectful, filial, and very knowledgeable about etiquette, and gave birth to a good son, Zhu Zhanji, so Ming Chengzu Zhu Di and Empress Xu liked her very much. Zhu Di once said very clearly: "I do not die as a daughter-in-law, and I will be ruined for a long time." ”
At another palace banquet, Ming Chengzu scolded Zhu Gaozi again, and after scolding, he said: "Daughter-in-law is good, he is at a loss to my family for support." ”
Thanks to the help of the Zhang clan, Zhu Gaozi finally retained the position of crown prince and successfully ascended to the emperor's throne, that is, Akihito. Unfortunately, Emperor Akihito died after less than a year as emperor, when he was only forty-eight years old.
When Emperor Akihito died, crown prince Zhu Zhanji was not in Beijing, and Empress Zhang ordered her second son Zhu Zhanbiao and fifth son Zhu Zhanyuan to jointly supervise the country and wait for the crown prince.
Zhu Zhanji rushed back to Beijing and succeeded to the throne, that is, Ming Xuanzong, and his mother Empress Zhang became the empress dowager. Ten years later, Emperor Xuanzong died, and the crown prince Zhu Qizhen was only nine years old at this time, so there were rumors at that time that Emperor Akihito's fifth son, Zhu Zhanyuan the Prince of Xiang, would inherit the throne.
Zhu Zhanyuan was also born to Empress Zhang. However, Empress Zhang summoned the ministers to the Qianqing Palace, pointed to the crown prince Zhu Qizhen, and cried, "This new Tianzi is also." ”
The ministers shouted long live together, so the crown prince succeeded to the throne, that is, Ming Yingzong, and honored Empress Zhang as the empress dowager.
Before his death, Emperor Xuanzong left a last word, asking all major matters to obey the instructions of the empress dowager, so the ministers asked the empress dowager to bow the curtain and listen to the government, but she refused, saying: "Don't break the rules of the ancestors." ”
In the end, the empress dowager died in the seventh year of orthodoxy.
Zhang Taisheng had two brothers, one named Zhang Chang and the other named Zhang Sheng, who once assisted Zhu Gaozi in guarding Beiping, and later became military generals. Ming Chengzu once warned Zhang Chang to abide by the law and if he committed a crime, he would be punished twice.
During the reign of Emperor Akihito, Zhang Chang became Peng Chengbo. In the time of Emperor Ming Yingzong, Zhang Chang was already dead, and the title was not passed on. Empress Zhang gave Zhang Sheng a Hui Amber.
Empress Zhang always reminded the two brothers to be cautious and law-abiding and not to interfere in the affairs of the dynasty. This is actually protecting them, so the brothers have not had any major incidents in their lives.
At the beginning, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di once asserted, "In the future, my family's affairs will all be due to the support of the Zhang family." ”
Obviously, Zhu Di's vision was quite accurate, and Zhang Shi helped the three generations of emperors Akihito, Ming Xuanzong, and Ming Yingzong before and after, sincerely fearful and cautious.