In the thirty-first year of Hongwu (A.D. 1398), Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, died of illness, and Zhu Yunwen officially acceded to the throne, changing his country name to Wen Jian. It is not difficult to see from the title that an emperor of Wen Jian and an emperor of Hongwu have different personalities, and one of the important reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang is unwilling to set up an emperor's grandson is that Zhu Yunwen, like his father, is too weak, too kind, and too seriously influenced by Confucianism, and I am afraid he can't manage his ministers in the future.
After Zhu Yunwen acceded to the throne, he reused Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai, Fang Xiaoru and other literati, rebelled against Ming Taizu's practice and carried out a series of new policies. First of all, we should pay attention to morality and keep punishment, aspire to run the country by culture and advocate ethics. As a result, the number of prisoners in the punishment department has decreased by two thirds compared with previous years. At the same time, 24 courtiers were selected as journalists to tour the world, observe customs and set up things that benefit the people. Secondly, they are all tax-free. Rent reduction and exemption over the years and world rent. In view of the heavy taxes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Emperor Wen Jian specially ordered that "heavy taxes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang should be reduced, and there should be no dispute over per mu." Most of the forces that restrict Buddhism and Taoism occupy fertile land. In the imperial court, Wen Jian punished eunuchs very strictly, and at the same time, he issued letters to local officials. Once eunuchs are found to be violent, they are arrested and sent to Beijing for severe punishment. This also aroused the dissatisfaction of illegal eunuchs, who either took refuge in Judy, the prince of Yan, or served as domestic servants in the battle of Jingnan in the future.
Wen Jian has also reformed officials, redefined the official system, greatly streamlined the organization and eliminated redundant staff. During the four years of Wen Jian's rule, nine states, thirty-nine counties and a large number of redundant officials and tax agencies were abolished, which increased the revenue of the central government and reduced the burden on the people.
It can be said that a series of measures taken by Wen Jian fully reflected his thought of governing the country with benevolence, courtesy and joy, reformed many disadvantages in Hongwu period and brought a breeze to the society. It has created a relaxed environment for the people and officials, eased social contradictions and played a positive role in social stability. For a time, the government was harmonious, so later generations had the reputation of "four years of leniency and severe frost".
When Wen Jian carried out the New Deal, the Ming Dynasty was in trouble. The reason is that after Wen Jian ascended the throne, due to the situation of "armed to the teeth and lawless" of the captaincy (that is, his uncle), he was worried that it would lead to the chaos of the Seven Kingdoms in the Western Han Dynasty, so he adopted the suggestion of Qi Taihe, the minister of the Ministry of War, and decided to divide the world. However, Zhu Yunwen made serious mistakes in making decisions on major issues. He didn't behead the most powerful prince Judy first, but started with other prisoners, and successively abolished five kings, including Zhou Wang Zhu Su and Qi Wang Zhu Fu, as Shu Ren, making the prisoners in jeopardy and terrified, making the prince step up preparations. When Zhu Yunwen decided to operate on Judy, it was too late.
Judy, the prince of Yan, is the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Judy became a vassal of Beiping (now Beijing). With the continuous growth of Judy in the war against Mongolia, he has become the greatest threat to imperial power. 1July, 399, after making full preparations, Judy fought for the throne in the name of "killing the Yellow Emperor and clearing the monarch" and under the banner of "restoring the old system of her ancestors". History is called "the Battle of Jingnan".
Emperor Wen Jian deployed troops to suppress the rebellion. In the first battle, the imperial army occupied an absolute advantage, but due to the improper command of General Li Jinglong, the Ming army suffered repeated battles and defeats. Although the Yan army was aggressive and occupied the city, it lost its rotation. Therefore, after three years of fighting, the Yanjun only took Peiping, Baoding and Yongping as strongholds, and the war was deadlocked. During this period, a number of outstanding generals emerged in the Ming army, and their tenacious resistance posed a great threat to Judy. At this time, some illegal eunuchs who were punished by Wen Jian revealed the empty information of the capital to Judy, and offered to be the back office of the Yan army. Judy correctly analyzed the situation. As long as Emperor Wen Jian was in power for one day, local troops would rebel for one day, and they themselves would rebel against the king. But if Nanjing is captured and becomes the king of a country, I believe there are not many people who oppose it, because everyone is watching. So Judy changed the previous strategy of attacking the city and seizing land and led the army to Nanjing.
In June of the fourth year of Wen Jian (AD 1402), Yan Jun crossed the Yangtze River and Enemy at the Gates. At this time, the Wen Jian imperial court has been in a mess, and many local generals are on hold. Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng left Beijing for Guangde and Suzhou on the grounds of recruiting soldiers. Xu Zengshou, the commander-in-chief of Zuodu, conspired with Judy as an insider and was found by Zhu Yunwen, who personally hacked him to death. Zhu Sui, the valley king guarding Jinchuan Gate, and Li Jinglong, the general, opened the gate privately to let the Yanjun enter the city. Zhu Yunwen heard the newspaper and said with tears: "I have never wronged Zhu Sui, Li Jinglong and others, but they betrayed me at a critical moment." The imperial adviser loyal to Wen Jian surrendered to Judy in a false way, but was not killed by Judy when he approached Ma Hangthorn. Hearing this, Zhu Yunwen sighed, "It's my fault that I'm too loyal, but I don't value it. It's too late to regret. I might as well die for my country. " Say that finish draw out a sword will commit suicide, being Siming resistance, Zhu Yunwen helpless, see alarm again and again, ordered to set fire to the palace, Judy killed into the palace, search for three days, never found Zhu Yunwen. After asking the housekeeper, they didn't know whether Zhu Yunwen was alive or dead, except that he ordered the arson and then disappeared. Ma Huanghou and most of his concubines were burned to death. The attendants were afraid that Judy wouldn't believe them, so they found a wreck and said it was the bone of his emperor. Judy ordered people to separate the wreckage from the ashes. He is burnt all over, his limbs are incomplete, and he can't tell the difference between men and women. He had to arrange a ceremony to bury him.
At this time, Judy declared victory in the battle of Jingnan, and he himself ascended the throne with the title of Emperor Yongle. As Judy expected, there was little local opposition. However, in the imperial court, the situation is different. Only 24 civil servants surrendered, while thousands of others fled or committed suicide. There are almost no available people in Yongle court, which shows that his position in the minds of literati is quite high.
Emperor Wen Jian's trip to the emperor ended four years later. As an emperor, he is too kind and sometimes indecisive. If he is made a courtier, I believe he can love the people like a son and remain uncorrupted, but unlike being an emperor, the emperor is doomed to be inseparable from blood, and he wants to exclude dissidents. He wants to establish imperial power. If he can't do this, the emperor will eventually be eliminated by history, and Wen Jian is such a tragic figure.
There is a saying about the life and death of Emperor Wen Jian. After the emperor ordered the arson, he and several followers escaped from the tunnel, took a boat to Yunnan, cut off their hair, put on monk's clothes, and called themselves Wen, wandering around the world. After hearing the news, Judy always suspected that Emperor Wen Jian was still alive and might be living overseas, which would be a future trouble. He ordered Zheng He, the eunuch, to lead a huge fleet to the Western Ocean to find out, and at the same time to promote national prestige and communicate with other countries. As a result, still can't find him.
Zhu Yunwen was known as the Emperor of Wen Jian in history, and was honored as the Emperor Jean of Hui Zong in Hongzhi period of Nanming. During the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, he was canonized as Emperor Gongminhui, so Emperor Wen Jian was also called Ming Huidi in history.