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Zhu Gaochi was the eldest son of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, and his mother was Queen Ren Xiaowen Xu. He was born on August 11, the 1378th year of Hongwu (18), when his father was King Yan and he was only [-] years old.According to legend, Empress Ren Xiaowen was born in a dream of a crown holder.

In the 28th year of Hongwu (1395), he was established as the eldest son.

He is dignified and quiet by nature, knowledgeable in words and deeds, and likes to read.During his childhood, he received a formal education in martial arts and Confucian scholarship.

Because of his elegance and benevolence, he was deeply loved by the emperor's grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang; but because Zhu Gaochi likes to be quiet and hates moving, he is obese and inconvenient to move. He always needs the support of two servants to move, and he always stumbles. As far as Cheng Zu Zhu Di was concerned, he didn't like this son.

Although he learned the art of archery to some extent, on the whole he showed little aptitude for martial arts.On the contrary, to the great delight of his teachers, he devoted himself to classics and literature--in fact, this may have been the chief cause of his weak constitution and poor health.

Zhu Gaochi's grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang personally cared for Zhu Di's sons.

Once, Zhu Yuanzhang sent this young man to inspect the army at dawn, and the latter came back to report surprisingly quickly. He explained that it was too cold in the morning, and the inspection should wait until after the soldiers had finished their breakfast.Another time, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to review several official memorials.He methodically separated the civil and military categories and reported accordingly.His grandfather was continually impressed by his literary and administrative abilities.

Zhu Di raised his troops to Jingnan, and ordered Zhu Gaochi to stay in Beijing.Zhu Gaochi united his subordinates and successfully blocked the 50 army of Li Jinglong, the general of Emperor Jianwen, with an army of [-] people, and saved the city of Beijing.

This battle is of great significance to the entire Jingnan, and it is also Zhu Gaochi's most dazzling stroke in Jingnan.During this period, Emperor Jianwen sent a letter to Zhu Gaochi, promising him the title of king, and striving for Zhu Gaochi's submission to the court.Zhu Gaochi didn't even read the letter after receiving it, and sent it to Zhu Di untouched, which made Emperor Jianwen's countermeasures fail.

Since then, Zhu Gaochi was too fat to fight with the army, so Zhu Di left him behind and let Zhu Gaochi supervise the country.He suspected that the prince had some misconduct, and ordered the minister of rites, Hu Wei, to secretly monitor the prince's behavior.

He also told him: "People often say that the prince is immoral. You can go to the capital and observe more. If there is any bad thing, report it quickly." Zhu Di already had a biased opinion on Zhu Gaochi, and Hu Wei was imprisoned by the prince. Honestly, I was convinced, "The seven things about the crown prince's sincerity, respect and respect for Xiaojin are recorded in secret, and the doubts will be explained first."

As Zhu Di himself was a trained commanding general, he favored his two younger and more martial sons, Zhu Gaosui and Zhu Gaoxu, and often took them on campaigns.

Give their eldest son a different type of education.In this way, Zhu Gaochi spent most of his early years on the study of Confucianism and received guidance from scholars selected by his father.Among them were Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Yang Pu, and Huang Huai, all of whom cultivated friendship with him and held important administrative positions after he ascended the throne.

From the first year of Jianwen (1399) to the fourth year (1402), Zhu Gaochi gradually became directly involved in local politics, and when necessary, he would not only stick to words.When his father led an army revolt against Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Gaochi and his advisors were in charge of the affairs of Zhu Di's fief Beijing.

In November of the first year of Jianwen (1399), he had only 1 soldiers, but he skillfully organized the city defense and defeated an attack by Li Jinglong.The sense of responsibility and correct judgment he showed this time helped to change people's views on him. In May of the second year of Yongle (1404), he had become the emperor's father. Make him crown prince.

From then on, whether Zhu Gaochi lived in Nanjing or Beijing, he served as the supervisor of the country when the emperor left.His performance in this role earned him the respect of his teachers, most of whom were Hanlin scholars, and gained him valuable practical administrative experience.

In the following years, however, he became the victim of a plot against him by supporters of his brothers.In September of the 12th year of Yongle (1414), Zhu Di had just returned to Beijing from the Conquest of Mongolia. Zhu Gaoxu slandered his elder brother for failing to complete certain tasks for the emperor.

Zhu Di reprimanded Zhu Gaochi and imprisoned two of his closest advisors, great scholars Yang Pu and Huang Huai.Zhu Gaoxu was finally exiled in the 15th year of Yongle (1417), cleared as a direct threat.

In the end, Zhu Gaochi held no grudge against him; soon after he took the throne, Zhu Gaochi increased the prince's salary and conferred titles on several of his sons.Unfortunately, Zhu Gaoxu never admitted his mistake.

Zhu Gaochi stayed behind, so that the second son of the emperor, Zhu Gaoxu, stepped onto the stage.Zhu Gaoxu is somewhat similar to Zhu Di, and he is brave in battle, and has a high prestige among generals. During the battle, he has rescued Zhu Di many times in times of crisis. Zhu Di also made a wish: "Work hard, the crown prince is not in good health, There are many diseases."After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu's enthusiasm became even higher, and he made a great contribution to the entire Jingnan.

After the success of Jingnan, Zhu Di ascended the throne, but hesitated again on the issue of establishing the crown prince. Zhu Gaochi won the support of civil servants because of his benevolence and elegance, and he was chosen by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang for Zhu Di himself. The eldest son is the legal heir to the throne, which is very important in feudal society;
And Zhu Gaoxu's personality is quite similar to Zhu Di's, brave and handsome, he made great contributions in Jingnan, and Zhu Di personally made a wish to pass on the throne to him. As far as Zhu Di himself is concerned, he hopes to establish Zhu Gaoxu. He thinks Zhu Gaochi is too weak. will be coerced.

But in the end Zhu Di still established Zhu Gaochi as the prince, because the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty and the orderly system of seniority in the feudal society of the Han nationality restricted the emperor to a certain extent.

Moreover, Zhu Gaochi did not make any major mistakes when he was the son of the eldest son, so he was abolished without a name. It is very important that Zhu Zhanji, the eldest son of Zhu Gaochi, is unusually intelligent and deeply loved by Zhu Di. To convince Chengzu, Zhu Di finally made up his mind and made Zhu Gaochi the prince in the second year of Yongle (1404).

The second son, Zhu Gaoxu, did not give in like this. He was reluctant to leave the feudal clan for a long time, and stayed in the capital to wait for an opportunity. He first slandered and made Xie Jin, the first hero of Li Chu, be demoted. After a few years, he was brutally killed, and then raised many Fortunately, Yang Shiqi and Empress Xu persuaded Zhu Di to take away some of Zhu Gaoxu's guards and force him to live in Le'an.The dispute between Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi has finally come to an end.

Unexpectedly, another Cheng Yaojin appeared on the way. The emperor's third son Zhu Gaosui conspired to kill Zhu Di during Chengzu's illness, and then pretended to ascend the throne. Fortunately, someone informed him and a disaster did not come.

Afterwards, because Zhu Gaochi pleaded for Zhu Gaosui, Zhu Di finally did not pursue it.

On July 22th in the 1424nd year of Yongle (65), the [-]-year-old Zhu Di died of illness on his way back to Beijing from the Northern Expedition. Zhu Di’s body was put into the coffin, and he still ate and greeted him as usual every day, but the emperor’s car curtain was never lifted, and the emperor never spoke again. Everything in the army was as usual. Yang Rong and the eunuch Haishou went to Beijing to make a secret report. Zhu Gaochi immediately sent his son Zhu Zhanji out of Beijing to welcome the funeral. Thanks to the careful arrangements of the ministers, no rebellion broke out and the regime was able to transition smoothly.

Zhu Gaochi did not learn of Zhu Di's death until August 22, the 1424nd year of Yongle (25), when the emperor's representative arrived in Beijing with the edict of succession.

He immediately discussed with Jian Yi, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong, academicians.He ordered to strengthen the law and order in the capital, and sent the eunuch Wang Guitong to Nanjing to serve as guard.

The next day, he released Xia Yuanji, the former minister of household affairs; Xia had been imprisoned by Zhu Di in April of that year for opposing the third expedition to Mongolia.

On September [-], he officially ascended the throne, promulgated the amnesty decree, and set the following year as the first year of Hongxi.On the same day, he adopted Xia Yuanji's suggestion, canceled the sea voyage scheduled by Zheng He, canceled the tea and horse trade on the border, and stopped sending missions to Yunnan and Jiaozhi (Annan) to purchase gold and pearls.

He reappointed Xia Yuanji and Wu Zhong, another demoted official, as Minister of the Household Department and Minister of the Ministry of Industry, respectively.With these actions, Zhu Gaochi began to cancel or adjust his father's administrative policies.

After Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, he started a series of reforms. First, he pardoned the old ministers of Emperor Jianwen and the family members of officials who were exiled to the border during Yongle, and allowed them to return to their original places. The “Tragedies of the Ten Clans” and the unjust case of Xie Jin in the Yongle Dynasty were all vindicated during this period), and the official titles of some ministers were restored, thus alleviating the contradictions within the ruling group.

Finally, in the month before his death, Zhu Gaochi took one of the most drastic steps in reversing his father's policies, namely, moving the capital back to Nanking.

The move is said to have been strongly demanded by Yoshihatsu and other senior court officials as part of a strategy to divert resources away from the northern border.Zhu Gaochi had obviously had this intention since he came to the throne; at this time he had set up a garrison in Nanjing, and sent his trusted generals and eunuchs to command it.

Zhu Gaochi was not interested in Zhu Di's Northern Expedition, nor did he like Beijing; in addition, he had served as a supervisor in Nanjing, was familiar with the situation in Nanjing, and felt more comfortable there.

In addition, he was also concerned about the cost of maintaining the northern capital, which not only greatly increased the burden on southeast China, but also made it difficult for various government departments to cope.

On April 1425th in the first year of Hongxi ([-]), he appointed all government departments in Beijing as his presence.Half a month later, he sent Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji to Nanjing to pay homage to Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial mausoleum, and stayed there to take charge.

Despite reports of earthquakes in the Nanking area, the emperor's return and his court's southward relocation was imperative.However, Zhu Gaochi died before carrying out this action.

In addition, his successor, Emperor Xuande Zhu Zhanji, who was closer to Emperor Yongle and less distasteful of policies favoring the north, was not involved in this plan.Beijing is still the capital, and Nanjing has become an auxiliary capital.

Zhu Gaochi was bright in the stars, and suddenly saw a star change overnight, and hurriedly called Jian Yi, Yang Shiqi and others to say: "The destiny is over." Then he sighed and said: "I have been disturbed by slander and evil for 20 years, and my heart is worried. The three of us are the same.

Relying on the emperor's father Renming to be preserved.After I die, who will know the hearts of the three of us? "While speaking, tears were shed, and Jian Yi and Yang Shiqi also shed tears.

Hongxi first year (1425) May 29th.Zhu Gaochi died suddenly in the Qin'an Hall in the palace (this Qin'an Hall is not the Qin'an Hall in the Imperial Garden), at the age of 47.

After his death, he was posthumously named Emperor Xiaozhao, who respected heaven, body, Tao, purity, virtue, Hongwen, Qin, Wuzhang, sage, and Da Xiaozhang, and his temple name was Renzong.

Zhu Gaochi's funeral was extremely brief, but seven concubines were buried for him.

Zhu Di's death in August of the 22nd year of Yongle (1424) on his return from his last expedition to Mongolia marked the end of powerful military expansion and the beginning of an era of internal transformation.These new political attitudes were institutionalized by the successor Zhu Gaochi.

Although he reigned for less than a year, the influence of his Confucian idealism was still felt for a full century to come.

Zhu Gaochi has been in office for less than a year, and some people have questioned his contribution. However, during Zhu Di's reign, he spent most of his time in the Northern Expedition. The implementation of his own policies laid a good foundation for his ascension to the throne. If this period of time is added, Zhu Gaochi's contribution to the Ming Dynasty is beyond doubt.

Zhu Gaochi began his work of organizing the new government by reorganizing the cabinet, conferring dignitary status on some of his confidants, and filling the administrative bureau with famous Hanlin scholars and capable officials.

Many of his newly appointed officials had served him when he was regency in Nanking or Peking, and some had supported him in disagreements with Zhu Di and were punished for this.Therefore, Huang Huai, who was dismissed in the 12th year of Yongle (1414), and Yang Pu, who was imprisoned during the same period, were appointed as Hanlin Bachelor and Grand Bachelor.

His original teacher and closest advisor, Yang Shiqi, became a senior scholar and a young master of the first auxiliary office; Yang Rong and Jin Youzi also remained senior scholars.

In order to compensate for the humiliation they suffered before, each of them was named a high-ranking official and had a part-time job.For example, Yang Shiqi also served as the Minister of the Ministry of War, Yang Rong also served as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Huang Huai also served as the Minister of the Ministry of Households.In this way, they can directly intervene in the administrative affairs and exert political influence of the ministers in office.

Because of his background, Zhu Gaochi had an intimate relationship with these important court officials; unlike his successors, he often summoned them to formal meetings, asking for opinions or suggestions in sealed memorials before he made decisions on important matters .

In this way, the cabinet was no longer an irresponsible advisory body like the previous Ming rulers, and the academicians participated in the decision-making in person.Such collective leadership was essential to Zhu Gaochi's campaign to dismantle his father's unpopular plans and establish a formal civilian government throughout the empire.

In the remaining months of the 22nd year of Yongle (1424), Zhu Gaochi spent most of his time reforming administration.Dispensable officials were dismissed, and others were ordered to retire at the age of 70; dereliction of duty officials were demoted, and outstanding officials were promoted to more important positions.

In order to obtain a frank evaluation and expose corruption, Zhu Gaochi gave Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Jin Youzi, and later Xia Yuanji each a silver seal on October [-], engraved with the motto of "repairing mistakes with cords".He ordered them to use this seal to play cases concerning the misconduct of the nobles, and even the royal family.

Supervisory censors were sent across the country to investigate the performance of officials and to seek suitable candidates for bureaucratic appointments.Zhu Gaochi often asked his ministers to speak out without fear of reprisal, and although he sometimes reprimanded or punished a few officials in agitation, he often regretted it and asked for forgiveness.

When appointing officials, Zhu Gaochi paid special attention to Confucian morality and personal character.An example is Quan Jin, a low-ranking official who entered the cabinet in the first year of Hongxi (1425) solely because of his extreme filial piety.Likewise, Zhu Gaochi appointed talented and disciplined individuals to local administrative and judicial positions.

However, pragmatic people are not left out in the cold.In February of the same year, Zheng He, the eunuch who had just been dismissed from his command position not long ago, was appointed as the garrison of Nanjing. Historians have determined that this marked the rise of eunuch power, but throughout Zhu Gaochi's reign, eunuchs In fact, it was placed under close surveillance.

In order to make the bureaucratic machine more efficient, Zhu Gaochi made some changes to the civil service examination system.Zhu Gaochi believed that this system favored southerners, so Zhu Gaochi set a quota to ensure that northerners accounted for 40% of all Jinshi; this policy was slightly modified and implemented throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties.

As part of this same reform, Zhu Gaochi attempted to correct the ills of the judiciary under Zhu Di.He is concerned that many of those sentenced to death may have been victims of trumped-up charges.

In November of the 22nd year of Yongle (1424), he ordered the cabinet to review the case with judicial officials.He later declared that in some criminal cases even his own judgments could be disregarded or overturned if they had been rendered in anger or without knowledge.

In addition, during his reign, he twice pardoned the families of officials such as Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng who were executed for their loyalty to Emperor Jianwen.The decree of pardon released his family members from slavery and returned the confiscated property.

In April of the same year, shortly before his death, the emperor issued an edict further admonishing the judicial authorities to judge according to the law and to review the charges against the prisoner before the sentence was pronounced, especially before the death sentence was pronounced.

In addition, he prohibited the abuse of corporal punishment on prisoners, and the punishment of relatives of prisoners (except for major treason).These practices, he asserted, seriously violated the Confucian principles of benevolence and filial piety.

Zhu Gaochi selected virtuous officials, eliminated redundant officials, and appointed Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, and Yang Pu (known as "Three Yangs" in history) to assist in the administration.The ancient castration was abolished, the treasure ships sailing to the west were stopped, and the royal purchase of jewelry was stopped;

Take Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty as a model everywhere, set up the rules and regulations, and love the people like children. He ordered tax reduction and exemption, free relief to the disaster-stricken areas, opened some mountains and swamps for farmers to fish and hunt, changed the usual punishment for refugees, and adopted proper resettlement methods. , All these allowed the people of the Hongxi Dynasty to fully recuperate, and the productivity was unprecedentedly developed. The Ming Dynasty entered a stable and strong period, and it was also the beginning of the "Rule of Ren Xuan" in history.

At the same time, Zhu Gaochi pardoned and returned the family members of the treacherous party during the Jianwen Emperor period, and pardoned those who were sent to Jiaofang to be good, and returned them to Nissan.

Zhu Gaochi is most concerned about the financial difficulties of the Li people caused by his father's costly plans.During his brief reign, he issued several edicts abolishing the emperor's expropriation of commodities such as timber and gold and silver, and replacing them with a system of fair purchases.

He also exempted those affected by natural disasters from their fields and provided them with free food and other relief items.What particularly distressed him was the frequent flight of the people, a situation caused by the peasants' inability to pay taxes and cope with various expropriations—a serious problem in the late period of Zhu Di's reign.

Wandering caused the country to lose a lot of income in the late Yongle period.In February of the same year, Zhu Gaochi specially issued an edict requiring the fugitives to return to their hometown, promising to exempt them from the taxes they owed, and to exempt them from the same taxes and labor for another two years after they registered in their location.

In addition, Zhu Gaochi also sent a special team headed by Zhou Gan, the governor of Guangxi, to investigate the tax burden of certain prefectures.They included Yingtian, Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing and Nanzhili and four other prefectures in Zhejiang.Zhu Gaochi did not see the investigation report during his lifetime, but it became the basis of the tax reduction plan implemented by Emperor Xuande Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Gaochi was also very concerned with providing immediate relief; on several occasions he lost his temper at the slowness of his ministers to respond.During a local famine, he refuted the proposal of household officials to only lend grain to the people instead of distributing it for free.Another time, he angrily rejected the request of some academicians asking him to discuss with the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry first, and ordered the immediate distribution of relief food and tax relief to some disaster-stricken areas.

During Zhu Gaochi's reign, he was content to let capable military generals guard the northern outposts against the invasion of the Eastern Mongols, and continued to maintain tribute relations with Central Asian and Southeast Asian countries.But his main concern is Annan, although Annan has been merged for several years, but still not settled down.

He longed for peace and proposed to recognize Le Loi's regime whenever possible; but because the time was not ripe for doing so, he continued to implement his father Zhu Di's policy of luring Le Loi to surrender.

He concluded that Huang Fu was too cautious to continue to serve as the municipal inspector in Annan, so he replaced him with Rong Changbo Chen Zhi.

However, the Ming army was not strengthened, and this situation remained unchanged in the last years of Hongxi.Historians believe that the recall of Huang Fu was the main reason for China's failure in Annan, and that Huang Fu was appointed over the emperor, because Huang Fu had extensive experience in local administration and was respected by the local people.

In terms of ideology, Zhu Gaochi advocated Confucianism and praised loyalty and filial piety. During his reign, Confucianism was fully developed. Zhu Gaochi also built a Hongwen Museum outside Sishanmen in the capital, and often talked about classics and history with Confucian officials all day long.

Zhu Gaochi was very good at accepting advice. He once gave Yang Shiqi and others a small seal to encourage them to submit advice. Therefore, the politics of the Hongxi Dynasty was very clear, courtiers could express their opinions, and the emperor could choose what was good.Zhu Gaochi did not love women in the harem, except for the queen Zhang, there was only Concubine Tan.

Empress Zhang was very virtuous and respected and loved Zhu Gaochi; Concubine Tan was also a virtuous wife who hanged herself after Zhu Gaochi's death and was posthumously named Concubine Zhaorong Gongxi Shun.

Zhu Gaochi also made important contributions to the imperial examination system. At that time, because the southerners were smart and hardworking, most of the Jinshi were southerners, but the northerners were simple in nature and loyal, and they were also an indispensable pillar of the royal family. Less, in order to ensure that northerners can pass the Jinshi examination, Zhu Gaochi stipulated the ratio of "sixty in the south and forty in the north". This system has been used until the Qing Dynasty.

He is unanimously credited with vigorously consolidating the empire and correcting the harsh and unpopular economic programs of the Yongle period.Many of his policies and measures reflected an idealistic and Confucian vision of the way to be a king, but they were also his reaction to some of the tendencies of previous emperors.

The emperor was sometimes criticized for his short temper and impulsiveness, as he occasionally reprimanded and punished officials who appeared indecisive or spoke too irritatingly.But he has enough measure to recognize his own shortcomings and apologize to others.Whatever mistakes he made, they were made up for by his kindness and devotion to the common good.

Untimely death prevented Zhu Gaochi from achieving all his goals, but despite this, his legacy is clear.In addition to his humanitarian social activities, he contributed to the Confucian political ideal of a morally resolute emperor governing the world on the advice of his learned ministers.

During his reign, he placed great trust in Hanlin scholars, elevating them to positions of great responsibility and power.This recalled his cousin, the Jianwen Emperor, but subsequent emperors did not maintain this precedent.

However, the leadership of the three Yangs in the cabinet continued to remain stable in the years after his death; and the cabinet, despite its shortcomings, remained pivotal in maintaining civilian government.Thus, Hongxi's reign experienced an early phase of major changes in the focus of the Ming government.

"When the Jingnan teacher started, Renzong lived with his sons and guarded the whole city. Afterwards, he became the ancestor of Chengyu, went to the Northern Expedition every year, and the East Palace supervised the country. There was nothing wrong with the dynasty. , and finally get everything with sincerity and respect. He is good at telling people, "I know that I am doing my duty as a son, and I don't know that there are people who slander me." Books. In the years of holidays, to rest and recuperate, and to flourish in virtue, wouldn’t it be more prosperous than literature and scenery.”