Zhu Di was a wise king of the Ming Dynasty
During his reign, Zhu Di led troops to the Northern Expedition five times, eliminated the remaining Yuan forces, stabilized the northern border, and eventually died of illness on his fifth successful return. On the way, it can be said that Zhu Di truly achieved "the emperor guards the gate of the country, and the king dies for the country", setting an example for future generations of kings.
Zhu Di conquered Mongolia in the north, conquered Annan in the south, and sent Zheng He to the Western Seas seven times to promote the power of the Ming Dynasty. During Zhu Di's reign, more than 60 countries came to Beijing to pay tribute, and 30 countries were canonized by the Ming Emperor. For the rest, it can be said that Zhu Di used his own ability to interpret what is "not angry but self-power" and what is "subduing others without fighting". He ordered many countries to become vassals of the Ming Dynasty when they rarely launched foreign wars. I think this kind of national pride is more meaningful than those that are obtained at the cost of millions of lives. Being able to make enemies dare not take the initiative to invade or even be willing to surrender is truly powerful, and Zhu Di has achieved this.
But Zhu Di's achievements are by no means limited to foreign policy. On the domestic front, Zhu Di took measures such as dredging canals, rewarding farming, and reducing taxes to vigorously develop the people's livelihood economy. Therefore, I believe that Zhu Di is a rare wise king who is versatile in both civil and military affairs, is both lenient and strict, knows people well and uses troops like a god.
Zhu Di's achievements
Compiling the Yongle Dadian
The "Yongle Dadian" was originally named "Dacheng Dacheng". In July of the first year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1403), Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, ordered Xie Jin, Yao Guangxiao, Wang Jing, Zou Ji and others to compile large-scale books. In November of the second year of Yongle (1404), the "Dacheng of Documents" was compiled.
"Yongle Dadian" is a large-scale book compiled in ancient my country. The books included in "Yongle Dadian" have not been deleted or changed. It is a precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation and the largest encyclopedia in ancient China. . "Yongle Dadian" contains as many as 7,000 or 8,000 important ancient classics, ranging from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty. At that time, it could really be said to "cover the vastness of the universe and unify the similarities and differences between ancient and modern times." There are many lost secret texts before the Song and Yuan Dynasties that can be preserved and circulated. The contents included include: classics, history, Zi, collections, Shizhuang, Taoism, drama, Pinghua, engineering, agriculture, medical divination, literature, etc., all-inclusive. The compiled books are not word by word, and are compiled according to the original works in their entirety, entire chapters, or entire paragraphs, which further enhances the documentary value of the preserved materials. The style of the whole book uses rhymes to unify words and words to tie things together, making it very convenient to search.
"Yongle Dadian" is a large-scale book compiled in ancient my country and a precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. The book consists of 22,877 volumes of text, 60 volumes of table of contents, and is packed into 11,095 volumes with a total word count of approximately 370 million words. The book preserves the lost secret codes of our country from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Song and Yuan Dynasties. There are more than 8,000 kinds of various classics and materials from the early Ming Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty. It is the largest encyclopedia in ancient China.
Zheng He's voyages to the West
On July 11, 1405 (the third year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty), Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty ordered Zheng He to lead a huge fleet of more than 240 ships and 20,000 people. The fleet of 7,400 crew members went on a long voyage and visited more than 30 countries and regions in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, deepening China's friendly relations with Southeast Asia and East Africa. Each time he set out from Liujiagang, Suzhou, until 1433 (the eighth year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty), he made as many as eight voyages in one year. The last time, when he returned to Guli in April of the eighth year of Xuande's reign, he died of illness on the ship. The folk tale "The Popular Romance of the Three Treasure Eunuchs in the West" refers to his travel adventure as the Three Treasure Eunuchs' Voyages to the West.
Zheng He once visited Java, Sumatra, Sulu, Pahang, Chenla, Kuri, Siam, Adang, Tianfang, Zofar, Khrumos, Mugudushu and other 30 countries. Many countries, reaching as far as the east coast of Africa, the Red Sea, Mecca, and possibly Australia. Zheng He brought giraffes from Africa in 1414 AD (the twelfth year of Yongle). The accompanying illustrations of Shen Du's "Ode to the Ruiying Qilin" were painted by a Ming court painter.
The definition of "Western Sea": In the early Ming Dynasty, Borneo and Brunei were used as the boundary. The east was called Dongyang, and the west was called Xiyang. Therefore, what were called the South China Sea and the Southwest Sea in the past were called the South China Sea and the Southwest Sea in the Ming Dynasty. North Korea is called the East Ocean and the West Ocean, and the sea in the Gulf of Siam is called the Rising Sea.
Reforming the Administration of Officials
During the reign of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, the prime minister system was abolished and the emperor directly led the six ministries. All matters, no matter how big or small, had to be handled by the emperor personally, so the emperor was very tired. During the Chengzu period of the Ming Dynasty, the civil service system was improved, and the prototype of the later cabinet system gradually formed in the court. This cabinet system was later imitated by Western countries and continues to this day. However, the rank of the cabinet is not high, and it usually needs to be trained by the Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy. Later, an unspoken rule was formed that "non-Shujishi cannot enter the cabinet".
Moving the capital to Beijing
The event when Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing (formerly known as Peking). It was named because it happened during the Yongle period. Peiping was the place where Zhu Di became king. He had been operating here for more than 30 years and his rule was relatively stable. In addition, Peiping was located at the border of northern agricultural areas and pastoral areas, with convenient transportation and dangerous situations. It was the center of trade between the Han and Mongolian ethnic groups and the political and military center of the north. Land, setting the capital here can not only fight against the Mongols invading from the north, but also further control the northeastern region, which is conducive to maintaining national unity. Therefore, after Zhu Di ascended the throne, he began to prepare to move the capital. In the first year of Yongle, the imperial edict was made to make Peiping the capital of Beijing and to change the name of Beiping Prefecture to Shuntian Prefecture. In the fourth year, the imperial edict was issued to build the Beijing Palace in May next year. In the ninth year, Song Li, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and others were ordered to build a monastery to connect the river. In May of the 13th year, Pingjiang Bo Chen Xuan and others excavated Qingjiangpu near Huai'an to reopen the long-abandoned canal. In September of the 18th year, the imperial edict was issued to change the capital to Nanjing and Beijing as the capital from the next year. In December, the temple was completed in the suburbs of Beijing. In the first month of the 19th year, Zhu Di went to the Imperial Fengtian Palace in Beijing to pay homage to all the officials in the southern suburbs. The capital relocation policy has been basically completed. From then until the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Beijing remained the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Tombs are located at the southern foot of Tianshou Mountain in Changping County, north of Beijing, about 50 kilometers away from the capital Beijing. The tomb area covers an area of ??more than 120 square kilometers, and thirteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty are buried there. , collectively known as the Ming Tombs. The first of the Thirteen Tombs is the Chang Tomb of Emperor Yongle.
In the fourth year of Yongle (1406 AD), officials in Peiping began to recruit millions of craftsmen and civilians to formally build the Beijing Palace. The large-scale buildings such as the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Ancestral Temple (Working People's Cultural Palace) that tourists see today were built one after another since then. His decision objectively left a precious cultural heritage for future generations.
In the fifth year of Yongle, Queen Xu (the daughter of the founding general Xu Da) died. After careful consideration, Zhu Di did not build a mausoleum in Nanjing for burial. Instead, he sent the Minister of Rites and the Jiangxi Feng Shui master Liao Junqing to go there. Beijing is looking for "Ji soil", which is commonly known as Feng Shui treasure land.
Building the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City in Beijing covers an area of ??724,250 square meters, not counting the green belts of the moat and city walls. The total building area of ??the palace reaches 163,000 square meters. The Forbidden City is a rectangular city, 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west. It is surrounded by a city wall more than 10 meters high. The outer perimeter of the city wall is 3428 meters. There is a moat 52 meters wide outside the city wall, which protects the Forbidden City. Important facilities. There is a gate on each side of the city wall, the Meridian Gate in the south, the Shenwu Gate in the north, the Donghua Gate in the east, and the Xihua Gate in the west. There are four exquisitely designed turrets at the four corners of the city wall. The palaces in the Forbidden City are all wooden structures, with yellow glazed tile roofs, blue and white stone bases, and are decorated with magnificent colorful paintings. Its plane layout, three-dimensional effect, and majestic, grand, solemn, and harmonious form can all be said to be rare in the world. It is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese architectural art and a concentrated expression of the imperial power ideology of China's autocratic society for more than 2,000 years. Like the imperial palaces of all dynasties in China, the overall planning and architectural form of the Forbidden City completely obeyed and reflected the requirements of ancient patriarchal rituals, highlighting the supreme imperial authority.
The Forbidden City in Beijing was planned to be built in the fifth year of Yongle (1404-1424 AD) of the Ming Dynasty, and was built in the 15th to 18th years of Yongle. The entire construction project was supervised by Marquis Chen Gui, and the specific responsible person was planner Wu Zhong. Starting from the fifth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1407), Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty gathered craftsmen from all over the country and recruited 200,000 to 300,000 migrant workers and military workers. After 14 years, he built this large-scale palace complex, which became world history. One of the most famous buildings in the world.
Expand knowledge
During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di was stationed in Beijing very dutifully, and defended the Mongols conscientiously in Yandi. He never did anything transgressive,? Jing Before the Battle of Difficulty, Zhu Di was a very qualified vassal king. He perfectly fulfilled Zhu Yuanzhang's wish to enfeoff them as kings in various places and protect the country for the Zhu family. It has to be said that among Zhu Yuanzhang's many sons, Zhu Di is the most like him. The prince Zhu Biaoren is filial and has a too weak temperament. Most of the other sons are addicted to wine and sex, and almost all of them are vulgar. Only Zhu Di is the most diligent in government affairs and down-to-earth in the fiefdom. The Ming Dynasty worked hard and made great military exploits for the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di exuded extraordinary courage and courage, so Zhu Yuanzhang gave Zhu Di the most important land of Yan in the Ming Dynasty, and married him to the first founding hero of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Da's eldest daughter is a princess, which shows that Zhu Yuanzhang valued Zhu Di very much, and Zhu Di did not live up to Zhu Yuanzhang's high expectations. Therefore, for Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di should be his most proud son.
Of course, Zhu Di usurped power and killed many old Jianwen ministers. This was a stain that he could never wash away in his life. If Zhu Di was an ordinary person, then he would definitely be criticized by future generations for killing so many people. He was scolded, but Zhu Di was a king, and all evaluations of him should not be viewed only from the perspective of a "family" but from a "country" perspective, especially in the feudal era, the limitations of this era, and the ideological The limitations determine that someone as ambitious as Zhu Di and capable of becoming a generational hero must make many sacrifices on the way to the top of power. Moreover, Zhu Di's rebellion was really forced by Zhu Yunwen. If Zhu Di had really had the intention to rebel a long time ago, then he would not have waited until Peking was taken over by people sent by Zhu Yunwen before raising troops, nor would he have waited until his troops were transferred away under the pretext of Zhu Yunwen. To raise an army again, in history, has one's base camp been occupied by others, his troops were transferred by others, and then he launched a rebellion? If there is, it is only Zhu Di. Look at the several battles Zhu Di fought after he raised his army. Many times he was defeated and he was almost killed. Although it only took four years to fight from Beijing to Nanjing, it was a lot of time. This time, dangers abounded, and this kind of embarrassment really didn't look like it had been planned for a long time, but more like a hasty launch of troops.
Zhu Di was a wise king and a qualified son. He did what a king should do and what a son should do. Whether he was a king or a son, he was worthy of his family. Worthy of the country.