Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 75: Turning History Upside Down, Zhu Qizhen Was Not a Tyrant
Zhu Di originally wanted to hurl insults at them,

He no longer wanted to know anything about Zhu Qizhen's affairs; it was simply a disgrace to the Ming Dynasty.

But now Tianmu suddenly brought up Zhu Qizhen's affairs again, which really made him very angry.

But he didn't expect that what Tianmu said this time was completely different from before. Zhu Qizhen was actually a great talent in both civil administration and military affairs.

What happened before that?

Zhu Di suddenly became curious; he felt that things were not so simple.

Is there really some hidden story?
Why is it said that Zhu Qizhen was not a foolish ruler?

Moreover, the Tianmu (sky screen) now has a new narrator, and coupled with the Tianmu's sudden malfunction, Zhu Di had a different idea.

This idea was bold, but it was something he had always wanted.

"Could it be that Zhu Qizhen was really not a tyrant?"

Zhu Di was extremely shocked. At this moment, he didn't even want to see Zhu Yunwen anymore.

The sky curtain has changed what it said before.

But the joy in his heart was quickly extinguished.

Tianmu had previously told him that Zhu Qizhen was a tyrannical ruler who had caused the deaths of so many Ming soldiers.

Not only that, but it also caused the deaths of many ministers.

All those meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty were murdered at Tumu Fortress.

Not only that, Zhu Qizhen also became a "gatekeeper emperor," a prisoner of Esen, and was humiliated by various people on the grasslands. These are all facts.

At least that's what the sky said before.

The Heavenly Curtain had never made a mistake before, which made Zhu Di believe in its words very much.

After all, they are people from later generations, and people from later generations will certainly know this history.

So what exactly caused the two people to give completely different accounts of history?

Zhu Di was puzzled.

He seemed about to find the answer, but he just couldn't figure it out for the moment.

He looked at the eunuch beside him and ordered, "Find Prince Qi and the Crown Prince immediately. I want to see them!"

"Yes!" The eunuch accepted the order and set off.

"Wait!" Zhu Di pondered for a moment and said, "There's no need to send Zhu Zhanji here. Let him reflect on his actions at home!"

After giving the order, Zhu Di noticed that Tianmu had not yet spoken.

He continued to speculate in his mind.

What could possibly explain the vastly different accounts of Zhu Qizhen given by the two people from the Heavenly Curtain?

Who is the real one?

To be honest, even though Zhu Qizhen was a member of the Zhu family and his great-grandson, Zhu Di actually believed more the earlier statement by Tianmu that Zhu Qizhen was a tyrannical ruler.

What's even more puzzling is why, even though the fourth prince was made crown prince and was to ascend the throne as emperor, there's still this matter of Zhu Qizhen.

"Could it be that the eldest grandson has successfully rebelled?"

Zhu Di was greatly alarmed; this was the only outcome he could think of.

Because the eldest grandson knew about the Heavenly Curtain beforehand, he changed history and defeated the fourth son by some means.

That's why Zhu Qizhen continued to appear.

But soon, the sky provided the answer.

[According to the Annals of Emperor Chengzu in the History of Ming, the Yongle Emperor died suddenly at Yumu River.]

Emperor Renzong died suddenly one year after ascending the throne.

Emperor Xuanzong died suddenly ten years after ascending the throne.

[After Emperor Xuanzong's death, the nine-year-old Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, and the following year the era name was changed to "Zhengtong".]

Listening to the familiar scenes from before.

Zhu Di instantly understood that this was the Ming Dynasty without a fourth prince.

The Ming Dynasty, without a sky canopy for exposure.

But what about the fourth brother?
He hadn't heard anything about the fourth brother.

why is that.

Although he didn't understand why the Fourth Prince of Tianmu hadn't appeared this time, Zhu Di was now more concerned about whether Zhu Qizhen was a foolish ruler.

The fourth brother probably hid because there was no skylight to expose him.

They might already be at sea.

They no longer concern themselves with the affairs of the Ming Dynasty.

Having learned from what Tianmu had said, Zhu Di now understood just how terrifying the opportunities overseas truly were.

The fourth prince could very well establish an empire no weaker than the Ming Dynasty.

What I'm going to talk about next is called the Tumu Fortress Conspiracy Theory!

What history really is like is something we don't really know. Much of what we know is inferred from ancient texts, but who can guarantee the accuracy of historical records? Too many people have rewritten history; in fact, what many people now consider the history of the Ming Dynasty is actually based on books written during the Qing Dynasty!

The Qing dynasty overthrew the Ming dynasty, and the people constantly chanted "Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming." To strengthen their rule, how could the Qing dynasty's revised history of the Ming dynasty be fair? It was bound to be a smear campaign.

[No one truly knows the full story of history, as none of us were there firsthand. We can only speculate based on clues. After reviewing numerous ancient texts, my conclusion is that Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Zhu Qizhen, was actually a victim of the power struggle among the civil service.]

At this moment, Zhu Di suddenly realized that what he had been unable to understand before was now clear.

That is to say, the history told by these people in later generations is not entirely accurate.

They simply rely on historical records to study history.

But this thing can indeed be modified.

At least.

The fourth prince often did this kind of thing when he was emperor.

"In that case, perhaps Zhu Qizhen really wasn't a tyrant, but rather his story has been distorted by historical records!"

A hint of joy flashed in Zhu Di's eyes.

All the previous doubts came back to mind.

In particular, what that eunuch Wang Zhen did was completely aimless.

Even if his great-grandson is slow-witted, he should be able to tell that many of the decisions were flawed.

But things just happened to develop in the worst possible direction for Zhu Qizhen.

Hundreds of thousands of troops.

Ashes.

Even if there were hundreds of thousands of pigs, the Oirat people couldn't catch them all.

Zhu Di suddenly felt that things might not be so simple.

But why does this phenomenon occur?

He remembered what Tianmu had just mentioned about the civil service group.

"Could it be that the civil service is behind this again?"

Zhu Di frowned. If that were the case, he would never forgive that scoundrel Yang Shiqi.

But he couldn't understand how the civil service could have such enormous power to accomplish this.
How was it accomplished?

Zhu Di was eager to know how Tianmu would explain Zhu Qizhen's situation.

Because of the Tumu Fortress incident, Zhu Qizhen was labeled a "gatekeeper emperor," while historical records state that Emperor Yingzong assumed personal rule at the age of 16.

But in reality, he had already taken control of the government by the age of 14.

That is, the fourth year of the Zhengtong era.

That year saw three significant events: the deployment of troops from at least six provinces to Mingding (Myanmar); the commencement of the Battle of Luchuan; and prior to this, Yang Shiqi, who controlled the Ministry of War, was unwilling to send troops.

[Indeed, at that time, due to the sudden death of Emperor Xuanzong and the young age of Zhu Qizhen, imperial power was still held by the three Yangs of the Grand Secretariat, and Yang Shiqi was unwilling to send troops.]

Prince's Mansion.

Zhu Zhanji, who was confined to his quarters, was initially somewhat emotionally unstable.

Confidence lost.

But upon seeing this scene, he threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Hahaha, I knew my son, Zhu Zhanji's son, couldn't possibly be a good-for-nothing! Sure enough, someone was pulling strings behind the scenes!"

But before he could even feel happy...

The reason for the outbreak of the Battle of Luchuan was actually due to Emperor Xuanzong's abandonment of Jiaozhi!

(End of this chapter)