Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 87: The internal strife among Zhu Di’s descendants, is this the case with a good saintly grandson?

After sitting on the throne, Zhu Di couldn't help but have his eyes light up and show joy after hearing Liu Kuan's words.

He didn't quite understand what the hexagonal warrior meant, but "good holy grandson" was undoubtedly a kind word.

Listening to Liu Kuan's previous words, this "good saintly grandson" is not a sarcastic remark like calling Li Jinglong the "God of War".

"According to Liu Kuan, although Gao Chi does not like military affairs, he is very intelligent and is especially good at governing. At least he can defend the city militarily."

"Gao Xu is similar to me, brave and good at fighting, with a high military talent."

Not only were his two sons so outstanding, but even his eldest grandson was recognized by the civil officials as a good and holy grandson, and was even described by later generations as the hexagonal warrior.

"It seems that my offspring, Zhu Di, is not ordinary—at least much better than my elder brother's. Yunwen ascended the throne with a strong foundation left by our father, but he lost to me in just four years. He is truly incompetent."

"So, my success in suppressing the rebellion was destiny, wasn't it?"

Thinking of this, Zhu Di subconsciously glanced at Zhu Biao and suddenly felt guilty.

"How could I have such thoughts? I am so sorry, brother."

"Now that we know what Liu Kuan has said, Xiong Ying will most likely not die of illness next year, and Big Brother will probably not die of illness ten years from now."

"As long as Yunwen doesn't take the throne, I shouldn't have any delusions."

"But what if Big Brother and Xiongying ultimately die before our father?"

Thinking of this, Zhu Di felt both hot and guilty, and almost dared not look at Zhu Biao.

He tried hard to get rid of the bad thoughts in his mind, divert his attention, and listen to the previous conversation...
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "This good saintly grandson, this hexagonal warrior, isn't that a mocking remark?"

Liu Kuan thought about it, but said uncertainly: "Not really."

"What do you mean it's not counted?"

"Your Majesty, after hearing what I have to say, perhaps you will make your own judgment."

"You speak."

Liu Kuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Zhu Zhanji was born in the year of His Majesty's death. It is said that Zhu Di had a dream at that time in which His Majesty bestowed upon him a large jade tablet."

"Therefore, Zhu Di originally liked this eldest grandson very much. Later, as Zhu Zhanji grew up, he showed to be very intelligent and studious, and he was both civil and military."

"In addition, compared to Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Zhanji looked more like Zhu Di, so Zhu Di often brought him with him to teach him."

"In the seventh year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Di brought Zhu Zhanji with him on an inspection tour of Beiping. The following year, when he launched the Northern Expedition against Mongolia, he even left Zhu Zhanji in Beiping. Although the capital had not yet been moved, Zhu Di had already considered Beiping a secondary capital and the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army."

"A year later, in the ninth year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Di announced the appointment of Zhu Zhanji as the crown prince, hoping to use this event to declare the end of the dispute over the crown prince."

"However, given the successful example of Zhu Di's Jingnan Rebellion, the struggle for the throne naturally cannot be resolved so easily."

"In fact, Zhu Gaoxu and his third son, Zhu Gaosui, have not given up and have been plotting to seize the throne of crown prince."

"These two made many small moves during the Yongle era. I can't remember all the details, but one thing left a deep impression on me."

"In his later years, when Zhu Di was seriously ill, some palace guards and eunuchs forged a will, intending to poison Zhu Di, depose Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, and enthrone Zhu Gaosui as emperor."

"Later generations speculated that this was Zhu Gaosui's idea, but Zhu Di didn't want the family scandal to be exposed, so he announced to the public that Zhu Gaosui didn't know about it and removed it."

"Speaking of Zhu Gaoxu—after Zhu Di's death, Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne as the crown prince. Unfortunately, due to poor health, he died within a year."

"Upon hearing the news, Zhu Gaoxu thought his chance had come, and he wanted to emulate Zhu Di and stage another Jingnan Campaign."

"But he didn't expect Zhu Zhanji to have been on guard against him. When Zhu Gaochi died, the Ming capital had already moved to Beijing, but Zhu Zhanji was in Nanjing on official business. The court officials kept the death a secret and urgently summoned Zhu Zhanji to Beijing."

"Zhu Gaoxu also had spies in Beijing. He originally planned to kill Zhu Zhanji on the way, but he never expected that Zhu Zhanji would be very quick and reach Beijing in a few days. Zhu Gaoxu's men were unable to intercept him."

"Zhu Gaoxu once again attempted to collude with Duke Ying of Ying, Zhang Fu, in a rebellion. He sent someone to Beijing to contact him, but unexpectedly, Zhang Fu reported him, putting Zhu Gaoxu in a completely passive position."

"Furthermore, after Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he quickly dispatched troops and surrounded Zhu Gaoxu's fiefdom of Le'an, forcing Zhu Gaoxu to surrender."

"At that time, the ministers petitioned to execute Zhu Gaoxu and his son to set an example and prevent future troubles. Zhu Zhanji refused and instead demoted Zhu Gaoxu and his son to commoners and brought them back to Beijing for imprisonment."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that Zhu Gaosui colluded with eunuchs to poison Zhu Di, his brows frowned deeply - although it was a matter of the fourth son's lineage, he still didn't want his descendants to fight among themselves for the throne.

One Jingnan Campaign was enough.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaoxu actually wanted to launch a second Jingnan Campaign.

After hearing this, he felt that Zhu Gaoxu's lineage would definitely not have a good end. Referring to the royal disputes in past dynasties, they would most likely be wiped out.

Therefore, after listening to Liu Kuan's talk about Zhu Zhanji's handling of the matter, his brows relaxed in surprise, and he nodded and commented: "It seems that the fourth eldest grandson is not only brave and resourceful, but also cares about family affection." After sitting down, Zhu Di also let out a sigh of relief, and his tense face relaxed.

He also frowned when he heard that the third legitimate son had colluded with the eunuchs to poison him, and he was unwilling to believe it in his heart - that was his son, and the legitimate son, how could they think of poisoning him?

When he heard that Zhu Gaoxu was going to launch a second Jingnan Campaign, Zhu Di clenched his fists and felt pained.

Fortunately, the good holy grandson was good enough. He not only resolved the civil strife in the Ming Dynasty, but also spared the lives of Zhu Gaoxu's descendants out of old friendship, thus avoiding internal strife.

But just as he was thinking this, he heard Liu Kuan in front of him say, "Your Majesty, I don't know whether Zhu Zhanji cares about family ties, but there is still a follow-up to this matter."

"What follow-up?"

"After Zhu Gaoxu was imprisoned, he somehow angered Zhu Zhanji again. It is said that Zhu Zhanji ordered his men to cover him with a copper vat as punishment."

"Zhu Gaoxu, relying on his military prowess, lifted the copper vat. Zhu Zhanji then ordered his men to light a fire around the vat, roasting Zhu Gaoxu alive inside. He then killed several of Zhu Gaoxu's sons."

"Zhu Gaoxu's lineage is now extinct."

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, the Fengxian Hall became so quiet that it seemed as if even breathing had ceased.

After your majesty.

Zhu Di was stunned for a moment, then his face was filled with pain and sorrow, and he murmured, "Impossible! How can an uncle and nephew treat each other so cruelly? This must be fake..."

Seeing Zhu Di's mumbling getting louder, Zhu Biao worried that Liu Kuan might hear it, so he grabbed Zhu Di's wrist and whispered, "Fourth brother, calm down. Whether it's true or not, it didn't happen."

Zhu Di glanced at Zhu Biao and lowered his head.

"Liu Kuan, does this come from official history or unofficial history?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked. His tone sounded calm, but he seemed to be suppressing his anger.

Liu Kuan said, "I can't remember clearly—I didn't pay attention when I first saw it. After all, I didn't know I would come to the Ming Dynasty at that time."

After a pause, he continued, "Your Majesty should know that no matter whether it is official history or unofficial history, the records cannot be completely true. For one thing, the passage of time makes it difficult for historians to understand the full picture of events."

"Secondly, for propaganda purposes, a new dynasty, especially one like the Qing Dynasty, where a minority ruled over a large Han population, would inevitably discredit the previous dynasty in order to highlight its own power and virtue."

"However, there is one thing in what I just said that is beyond doubt—after Zhu Zhanji imprisoned Zhu Gaoxu's lineage, he did kill them."

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long time before he said, "If we want to keep our country stable and avoid internal strife, it seems we must firmly establish the eldest legitimate heir!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan glanced at the Emperor with a look of understanding, and said, "Your Majesty is wise. In fact, during the Xuande Dynasty, that is, after Zhu Zhanji, every Ming emperor would appoint his eldest son as Crown Prince when he was a few years old, to prevent other princes from having any aspirations."

"It was only later, because Emperor Wanli favored Concubine Zheng, that he made a fuss about changing the crown prince, but he was unable to change the minds of his ministers."

"Similarly, precisely because of the adherence to the system of passing the throne to the eldest son, the Ming Dynasty has had relatively few cases of imperial conflict among all dynasties."

After hearing Liu Kuan's words, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao and Zhu Di who were hiding behind him felt a little better.

It is indeed distressing to know that later generations killed each other in order to fight for the throne, but it is not so distressing when compared with other dynasties, especially the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the Tang Dynasty.

After several breaths, Zhu Yuanzhang finally spoke: "Zhu Zhanji decisively suppressed the rebellion and saved the Ming Dynasty from civil strife. If we ignore his treatment of Zhu Gaoxu, he can be called a good saintly grandson."

"But what about that hexagonal warrior? Could he be a master of martial arts?"

Liu Kuan pondered for a moment and said, "This is actually a way for some people in later generations to address Zhu Zhanji, just like the nickname of someone in the outlaw community."

"As for why it's called that, I'm actually quite confused. As far as I know, Zhu Zhanji, apart from accompanying Zhu Di on a campaign against the northern desert during the Yongle era, has only toured the northern border three times since ascending the throne, and quelled a rebellion by the Wuliangha tribe."

"In terms of martial arts, he was not only far inferior to Zhu Di, but in some aspects he was even criticized by later generations."

"For example, during Zhu Di's reign, he personally led five expeditions to the northern desert, forcing the Mongols and the Oirat to retreat south."

"At the same time, we actively developed the Northeast and established the Nurgan Regional Administration, bringing the present-day Jurchen tribes, the Wild Jurchens, and a large area of ​​land further north into the Ming territory."

"In addition, Zhu Di seized the opportunity of the civil unrest in Annan to send troops to suppress it and establish the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Commissioner, adding a major province to the Ming Dynasty."

"However, during Zhu Zhanji's short ten-year reign, the Ming Dynasty not only shifted from an offensive to a defensive position on the grasslands, but also significantly reduced its northern borders. Even Annan was lost due to poor governance and failure to suppress rebellions."

Speaking of this, Liu Kuan couldn't help but shake his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang and later Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were surprised, puzzled and disappointed.

Good saint grandson?
Hexagon Warrior?
That's it?

Of course, while Zhu Di was disappointed, he couldn't help but think of the part about his martial arts in Liu Kuan's words - the five expeditions to the northern desert, which made Mongolia and the Oirat afraid to move south, and he also captured Annan!

He never thought that he could be so strong in military and martial arts!
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(End of this chapter)