Chapter 24: Jianwen Emperor

  Zhu Yunwen's biography

  Jianwen's Worries

  Before Zhu Yuanzhang's death, he designated Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen as his successor. At the time of Zhu Yuanzhang's death, he was very much at peace because he believed that Zhu Yunwen would certainly inherit his will and govern the Great Ming Dynasty even better. A man who had been at peace left behind a worried one.

  The huge shadow of Zhu Yuanzhang disappeared from Zhu Yunwen's body, and Zhu Yunwen was finally able to handle state affairs on his own. However, the 21-year-old youth surprisingly discovered that he still couldn't see the sun because the shadows of nine people had again shrouded his head.

  These nine people are the nine sons of Zhu Yuanzhang, from northeast to northwest are Liaowang, Ningwang, Yanwang, Guwang, Daigong, Jinwang, Qinwang, Qingwang and Suwang.

  If the emperor is the largest landlord, then these nine people are the armed forces of the landlord who guards the great landlord.

  Zhu Yuanzhang enfeoffed twenty-four sons and one grandson as kings in various parts of the country. These special individuals were called vassal kings, who had their own palaces and troops. Each king had three guards, but note that these three guards did not refer to three persons.

  The so-called guards are a general term, and the number of guards ranges from 3,000 to 19,000 people, which can be used to understand the military strength of the vassal kings.

  The key to the sentence above is inequality. According to this provision, the military strength that vassal kings can have is between 9,000 and 57,000 people. In practice, vassal kings tend to choose the latter number. Political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Even if you don't want political power, it's good to keep more bodyguards to protect your family and property.

  It's said that this number is actually not many, just over 500,000 people, and it's naturally impossible to surpass the central government.

  It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang was considerate when arranging the military system, but things often go wrong with this word "exception".

  The only exceptions are some of the nine people we mentioned above. They can be exceptions because they bear a heavier task - guarding the border.

  Their defense zones have been introduced, and these nine armed landlords are like the nine major military regions, each with different tasks. The Yan Wang and Jin Wang have the largest forces, each with over a million troops, and can be called powerful armies. However, these two are not the most fierce of the nine kings. The acknowledged number one fighter is Ning Wang, who "has 80,000 armored soldiers and 6,000 war chariots". Although his military strength seems to be less than that of Yan Wang and Jin Wang, he has a powerful armed force under his command - the Doyan Three Guards.

  This is a special army, which can be said to be the International Brigade of the Ming Army, all composed of Mongolians, with extremely strong combat effectiveness. Some people may ask why these Mongols are willing to work for the Ming Dynasty.

  In fact, this answer is also very simple. During the Ming Dynasty, wages were paid on time, so these foreign aids could eat their fill and go to entertainment venues for leisure. However, the Northern Yuan was often fighting on credit, with spoils of war promised before battles, but in reality, they had to hand over their loot to the collective first, and only what was left belonged to them.

  This is clearly a losing deal, fighting to the death for some gains and still having to pay taxes. If one dies, it's likely that no one will even bother with the burial. It's indeed better to be an official in the Ming dynasty, getting paid monthly with welfare guarantees. Countless Mongolians were attracted by such policies.

  It's hard to remain loyal in the face of benefits.

  In addition, King Ning himself was extremely ferocious. It is said that he led the charge in every battle, just like Rambo in First Blood, killing people without blinking an eye, beheading them as easily as chopping vegetables. Even Yan Wang, a ruthless character, would yield to him by three points.

  These armed landlords who garrison the border often hold joint military exercises, with tens of thousands of people brandishing swords and guns along the border, shouting to kill. Once there is such a commotion, the Northern Yuan guerrilla troops will immediately switch to underground struggle.

  In fact, the shouting and killing voices that shocked were not only Bei Yuan, but also Zhu Yunwen, who was sitting on the throne. In his view, this was a demonstration of force.

  That's taken care of.

  Zhu Yunwen is a good person. When he was 15 years old, his father Zhu Biao fell seriously ill, and Zhu Yunwen took care of him with all his heart. His filial piety did not move heaven to save Zhu Biao's life. After Zhu Biao passed away, Zhu Yunwen brought his three younger brothers who were still young to live with him. The purpose was simple: he didn't want these young brothers to go through the pain of losing their father like he did, and he knew they needed family love.

  He was only fifteen years old that year.

  In addition, he also took on the task of caring for Zhu Yuanzhang. Since Zhu Yuanzhang had a bad temper to begin with, those who served him were always worried about losing their heads. Zhu Yunwen voluntarily took on this responsibility and personally attended to Zhu Yuanzhang until his departure from this world. He fulfilled his duties as a good son and grandson.

  He was also a precocious youth, and of course what prompted his precocity was not only the early death of his father, but also those uncles of his.

  There were two things that Zhu Yunwen still remembered vividly:

  Once, teacher Zhu Yuanzhang came up with a riddle: The wind blows the horse's tail into thousands of threads. He asked his students to come up with a matching couplet. Only two students responded, one was the good student Zhu Yunwen and the other was the young socialite Zhu Di.

  Zhu Yunwen first responded, but his answer was not very brilliant. His answer was "rain hitting sheep's wool, a piece of stench", although it barely matched, but was not elegant. At this time, young Zhu Di suddenly had an epiphany and blurted out: "Sun shining on dragon scales, ten thousand points of gold".

  This sentence not only rhymed perfectly, but also highlighted a dragon character, which was absolutely great. Zhu Yuanzhang was very pleased and praised Zhu Di, who didn't miss the opportunity to glance at Zhu Yunwen, implying that this was all he was capable of.

  Although Zhu Yunhe was still young, he understood the meaning of that gaze.

  It was much more serious this time. After school, Zhu Yunfeng happened to meet Zhu Di, a young man from the society. Zhu Di looked around and saw no one, then revealed his ruffian appearance, and actually patted him on the back with his hand, saying: I didn't expect you little boy would have today.

  Zhu Dian's behavior was extremely disrespectful in a feudal society, roughly similar to the bad boys blocking students at school gates and robbing them today.

  Zhu Yunwen did not expect Zhu Di to be so presumptuous, and for a moment he was at a loss, flustered and panicked. Just then, Teacher Zhu Yuanzhang arrived, saw the situation, and flew into a rage, severely scolding Zhu Di. At this time, Zhu Yunwen's reaction was quite thought-provoking.

  He not only did not report to Zhu Yuanzhang, but also spoke for Zhu Di and told Zhu Yuanzhang that it was just a playful fight between the uncle and nephew. Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang not pursue the matter.

  You can't help but admire Zhu Yunwen's reaction. This is a kind of innate ability for the royal descendants in complex environments, but to me, this innate ability seems to be a kind of sadness.

  In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, Zhu Di was a good son, but in Zhu Yunwen's eyes, Zhu Di was a bad uncle. This is not contradictory, just as we said before, Zhu Di originally had two faces, one for his father to see and one for his nephew to see.

  It was under these circumstances that the famous conversation took place.

  After solving the problems of Liang Bow and Walking Dog, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Yunwen with some pride: "I have arranged for several of your uncles to guard the border for you, stand sentry and patrol, and you can be at ease in the palace as emperor."

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, but Zhu Yunwen did not. He fell into deep thought, a rare departure from his usual sycophancy.

  This is an opportunity, some words will be said sooner or later, so take this chance to say them out loud.

  Zhu Yunhe raised his head and said in a worried tone:

  "Foreign enemies invade, let uncles handle it, if uncles have other intentions, how can I deal with them?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been planning in secret for his whole life, was unexpectedly stunned by this question. Could he not even trust his own son? He remained silent for a long time, and then said something that Zhu Yunwen did not expect: "What do you mean?"

  Now it's Zhu Yunwen's turn to be stunned, the ball is kicked back again, do I still need to ask you old man? This grandfather and grandson were so tired of responding to this question, but the problem couldn't be avoided. After a long time of thinking, Zhu Yunwen answered the question with five points in the spirit of writing a thesis: "Firstly, use virtue to win their hearts, then use etiquette to restrain their behavior, if not, reduce their territory, next step is to change the fief, if there's really no way, then we can only draw our swords and fight."

  Zhu Yuanzhang, who had always been meticulous in his plans and calculations, couldn't help but praise the plan when he heard it: "Very good, there's no better way to choose."

  Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed, his judgment told him that the method listed by Zhu Yunwen would definitely solve this hidden worry, but would things really go as smoothly as he thought? Was there any loophole?

  It turns out that there is indeed a loophole. Looking back at this classic dialogue today, we can see that both people make sense. Zhu Yuanzhang's judgment was not wrong, and there is no better method than what Zhu Yunwen said. However, he overlooked a crucial factor - Zhu Yunwen's ability.

  Zhu Yunwen was a very intelligent child. According to historical records, due to his poor head shape, Zhu Yuanzhang was initially very displeased with him. However, Zhu Yuanzhang gradually discovered that this child was extremely intelligent and skilled at reciting books, so he looked at him in a new light and eventually made him the heir.

  This also illustrates the issue of ability. When I was a kid, there was a child in my neighbor's family who could help with household chores like making soy sauce at the age of five and even haggle over prices. People at that time all admired him because he could save one mao (a unit of currency) for his family every time he made soy sauce, earning him the reputation as a prodigy. More than ten years later, I accidentally heard someone mention that he was unemployed and staying at home, unable to find a job. However, he still went to buy soy sauce, with the only difference being that the owner of the grocery store no longer wanted to haggle over prices with him.

  Making soy sauce is just an analogy, the main point here is that reading books and handling problems are two different abilities. Being good at reading books doesn't mean you can handle things well, being able to make plans doesn't mean you can execute them.

  In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang did not throw this complex problem to his inexperienced grandson. He left a group of people to help Zhu Yunwen govern the world, and its main members were three people, who also became the main team of Jianwen Emperor later.

  The first person

  During the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang once told Zhu Yunwen, who had already been confirmed as his successor, that he had chosen a talented person to govern the world for him. However, this person had one shortcoming - being overly arrogant, so he couldn't be used yet and needed to be suppressed first before he could become great in the future. Then he mentioned the name of this person: Fang Xiaoru.

  Everyone should learn a lesson from Zhu Yuanzhang's words. Generally, leaders will suppress you before promoting you. This is what is meant by "tempering". Don't argue with your leader about this, or else it's possible that you'll be suppressed for the rest of your life.

  It's ironic to say that Fang Xiaoru was the son of Fang Keqin, who was wrongly killed in the Empty Fort Strategy case. To kill his father and use his son, I don't know if this is also a kind of oppression for Fang Xiaoru.

  Fang Xiaoru was well-versed in the classics from a young age and was widely praised for his character. His teacher was the renowned Song Lian, and he himself often took "illuminating the Way of the Ming dynasty and bringing about great peace" as his personal mission. However, what puzzled him was that despite his great reputation and his teacher's high position in court, when local governments recommended him to Zhu Yuanzhang twice, in the 15th and 25th years of the Hongwu era, he never received an appointment.

  We know the reason, but Fang Xiaoru did not know the reason at that time. He waited for ten years like this, from which we can see that the leader's idea is indeed profound and unpredictable.

  Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Yunwen that Fang Xiaoru was absolutely trustworthy, and he would devote his life to serving him and help him govern the country, creating a prosperous era of peace.

  What he said is only half true.

  The second person

  During the Hongwu period, the Jingcheng Temple in the capital was struck by lightning because it did not have a lightning rod installed. If this were to happen today, they would probably organize a safety campaign to educate people about weather changes and fix the problem. However, back then, this was a big deal. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that heaven was angry with him, so he decided to go to the temple to offer sacrifices. He probably thought that he had indeed done many wrong things, so this time he chose a group of people to accompany him to make offerings.

  The selection criteria were extremely harsh, that is, there was no fault within nine years (including nine years), which was really difficult to pass in the Hongwu era. At that time, it was good for officials to keep their heads, even if you were not wrong, Old Zhu might be able to find fault with you. It seems that those who meet the requirements need a pure heart and soul, at least being pure to Old Zhu.

  Although not many, there were some, and Qi De was one of them. He was noticed by Zhu Yuanzhang for this matter and remembered it in his heart. After the sacrifice was completed, Zhu Yuanzhang personally changed Qi De's name to Tai, and from then on, the name Qi Tai became his lifelong alias.

  This man was a scholar, although he had not led troops, he was appointed as the Left Servant of the Ministry of War. Zhu Yuanzhang also held a separate examination for him, asking about the names of border generals. Qi Tai answered calmly and fluently, from east to west, from south to north, without missing any, scoring full marks. Then he asked about the situation in various places, Qi Tai did not speak this time, but took out a notebook from his sleeve, with very detailed records. Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely surprised and greatly admired him.

  It turns out that this interview was sudden, and Qi Tai had not made any prior preparations. This shows that he really did memorize these things like a book, even writing them down in a small booklet to read on the go. His enthusiasm for studying is greater than that of today's fourth-grade students who review vocabulary on the bus.

  He will also become a powerful minister of Jianwen Emperor.

  The third person

  This person is quite special, he has been a close friend of Zhu Yunwen since he entered the court as an official, and this person is Huang Zicheng.

  Huang Zicheng was a Jiangxi native. In the 18th year of the Hongwu era, he made a name for himself by achieving the highest score in that year's imperial examination and earning the title of Huiyuan. He was later selected as a reader for the Eastern Palace, which was a promising position since the Crown Prince would eventually become Emperor, and being able to obtain this position showed the depth of his learning.

  When Zhu Yunwen was the crown prince, he had always been by his side, and one thing that happened even deepened the feelings between him and Zhu Yunwen.

  Once, Zhu Yunwen was sighing outside the East Gate when he was seen by Huang Zicheng who happened to be passing by. He went forward and asked for the reason. Zhu Yunwen looked at him as his own man and told the truth. He was worried about his uncles, what if they were going to rebel in the future? Unexpectedly, Huang Zicheng smiled slightly after listening, telling Zhu Yunwen not to worry. He said: "The princes' military power can only be used for self-protection. If they dare to rebel, the court will send troops to attack them and will definitely win!" Then he also listed the story of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion during the Han Dynasty to encourage Zhu Yunwen, indicating that as long as the court sent troops, the rebellion would certainly be quelled.

  Zhu Yun heard these words and suddenly felt greatly comforted. He remembered them in his heart and thanked Huang Zicheng for pointing out a golden path to him.

  This is another typical example of being out of touch with reality and using the past to talk about the present. I ask you, where was Zhou Yafu? Can Huang Zicheng lead troops in battle?

  In summary, these three people have several common characteristics: they are all well-read in poetry and books, they are all literati, they all have grand ideals, and they are all bookworms.

  A scholar's mistake can lead to the downfall of his country!

  After the Jianwen Emperor ascended to the throne, he immediately recalled Fang Xiaoru and appointed him as a Hanlin lecturer, promoted Qi Tai to Minister of War, and Huang Zicheng to Hanlin scholar. These three scholars thus became the think tank for the Jianwen Emperor.

  When Zhu Youwen officially became the emperor, he found Huang Zicheng and asked him a question: "Sir, do you still remember what was said at the Dongge Gate that year?"

  Huang Zicheng solemnly replied: "I dare never forget!"

  Then let's take action! Zhu Di will rebel sooner or later. It's better to strike first and gain the upper hand, rather than waiting and suffering the consequences. My judgment is correct, he will definitely rebel!