Surprisingly, there are only four sons, namely, Zhu, Zhu Gaoxie (who died young). After he proclaimed himself emperor, the eldest son was named prince, the second son was named Hanwang, and the third son was named prince of Zhao.
As the eldest son, it is natural for Zhu Gaochi to inherit the throne. However, Hanwang Zhu has been very dissatisfied with this. First of all, Zhu Gaochi is obese and often needs help when walking. Even Judy couldn't stand it, and once ordered Zhu Gaochi to lose weight. In Zhu's eyes, the image of his brother is not worthy of being an emperor at all.
Secondly, Zhu is good at military affairs. He made great achievements in the battle of Jingnan and saved Judy in times of crisis. In his mind, he is the greatest hero, but in the end, his brother enjoyed the success and became the Crown Prince just because he was the eldest son and the second son.
Finally, at the beginning of the battle of Jingnan, it was suggested that Zhu would be chased as a prince in the future, which brought hope to Zhu. Therefore, in future wars, Zhu always tried his best to show himself, hoping to leave a good impression. But in the end, he proclaimed himself emperor, but he didn't make himself a prince, which made Zhu very disgusted.
When he was alive, Zhu didn't dare to be too obvious, but he insisted on refusing to be a vassal, which aroused suspicion. Finally, under the pressure of the government, Zhu had to go to Le 'an to become a vassal. But he was unconvinced and kept thinking about how to rebel. I wrote to persuade him many times, but Zhu was unmoved.
In the 22nd year of Yongle, Judy died of illness, and Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne as Emperor Renzong. Zhu Gaochi was a kind emperor. He didn't want to kill his brother, so he recalled Zhu to Beijing and gave him many jewels. At the same time, Zhu's eldest son was made a prince, and the rest of his sons were made county kings. I want to influence Zhu and hope that he will behave himself in the future.
But where will Zhu be satisfied with this? All he can think about is the dragon chair. As a result, Zhu Gaochi suddenly died of illness before the next plan came out. On his deathbed, Zhu Gaochi ordered Prince Zhu Zhanji to succeed him. At that time, Zhu Zhanji was in Nanking. After hearing the news, he hurried to Beijing, and Zhu planned to take the opportunity to intercept him.
Zhu Zhanji is not as kind as his father. He knew his uncle was unfaithful long ago and kept on his guard. Zhu wanted to kill him, which had long been known, so he didn't succeed this time. Zhu Zhanji returned to Beijing smoothly for the sake of Ming Xuanzong's succession to the throne.
This time, Zhu Zhanji did not dispose of his uncle, but greatly improved him. Historical records show that:
"When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, he gave Gao Xu and Wang Yi of Zhao a very thick house."
Not only that, in the early days, Zhu's requirements were always met one by one. Zhu thought his nephew was a pustule, and gradually relaxed his vigilance and began to plan rebellion.
In August of the first year of Xuande, Zhu formally started his army. He thought he had a very detailed plan, but he was betrayed. After Zhu Zhanji knew it, he did not send troops directly to suppress it. Instead, he wrote a letter to his uncle, trying to persuade him to give up. After reading the letter, Zhu poured out all the old grievances, but the messenger dared not tell them truthfully.
Zhu Zhanji knew he couldn't convince his uncle, so he had to take the last step, that is, use personal expedition. Zhu was very happy to know that my nephew was personally involved, thinking that he could be removed by himself to see who dared to oppose his accession to the throne. As a result, under his command, all Zhu's henchmen were captured and he himself had to surrender.
At this time, ministers played in succession, hoping to severely punish Zhu. Zhu Zhanji thought twice and never agreed. Finally, Zhu and his son were ordered to be sent to prison.
Before the mutiny and assassination, Zhu Yi rebelled twice. Arguably, rebellion is a heinous crime, and no matter what the royalty is, it is inevitable to die. But Zhu Zhanji didn't kill him twice, he just imprisoned him, which is very puzzling.
As we all know, Zhu in history was indeed killed and roasted alive. However, he was not killed in two rebellions, and now he is imprisoned. Why did you burn him alive in the end?
It turned out that one day I went to visit his uncle, but Zhu deliberately tripped him. This incident made him furious in an instant, and immediately ordered someone to move a copper cylinder, throw Zhu in, and then ordered someone to light a charcoal fire, thus roasting Zhu alive.
Arguably, rebellion is the biggest sin, and tripping people is just a trivial matter. Why didn't Zhu be put to death before, but he was roasted alive for a trivial matter?
In fact, Zhu didn't want to put him to death before he rebelled, but he had just acceded to the throne. If he kills his uncle like this, he must be a cruel emperor who ignores his family. So when Zhu couldn't stop him, he didn't get rid of him, but gave him a lot of property.
Later, Zhu rebelled again and did not conquer him for the first time. Instead, he wrote to persuade him. After no results, I chose to use personal expedition and imprisonment. Zhu Zhanji did this because he wanted everyone to know that it was not that he didn't care about his family, but that Zhu pushed him too hard.
Zhu's plot was repeated and he was tolerated. In this way, in the eyes of the world, Zhu is an unforgivable traitor, but a good emperor who values affection and righteousness.
But in Zhu Zhanji's heart, I have long wanted to dismember this uncle. At this time, Zhu tripped him and just gave him a good excuse. At this time, the people will only support it, and they will not even think that the means of roasting Zhu to death is too cruel. This is an emperor's skill of seeking power.