The Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.
Crown Prince Zhu Biao passed away.
The court and the public were shaken, and the whole world mourned!
Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, was deeply affected and suddenly seemed to have aged many years.
After emerging from his grief, he would eventually have to face the political situation and the fate of the nation.
They also face the same question: who should be chosen as the crown prince!
Zhu Di seemed like a good choice, but he had two older brothers.
Zhu Yuanzhang was worried that if he made Zhu Di his heir, his two older brothers would be dissatisfied and cause trouble in the future.
So they decided to choose from Zhu Biao's sons.
Zhu Biao had five sons. His eldest son, Zhu Xiong Ying, born to Crown Princess Chang, died young. He also had a third son, Zhu Yun Tong.
The second son, Zhu Yunwen, the fourth son, Zhu Yunxuan, and the fifth son, Zhu Yunxi, were all born out of wedlock to a concubine, Lady Lü.
Logically speaking, Zhu Yunwen, the only son of Lady Chang, should have been made the Crown Prince.
Unfortunately, his mother, the Crown Princess, passed away not long after his birth.
Concubine Lü became the Crown Princess, and her son naturally became the legitimate heir.
In addition, Zhu Yunwen was older than Zhu Yunwen, so he became the successor to the throne!
Speaking of Zhu Yunwen, I don't know if he was good at acting, but he usually behaved as a gentle and refined person, with excellent learning and talent. He also tried to imitate his father's benevolence and righteousness, giving people the feeling that he was very much like Zhu Biao.
In addition, he is good at expressing his filial piety.
This made Zhu Yuanzhang value it highly.
So although he was making a choice, he had already chosen Zhu Yunwen in his heart.
Before the memorial tablet of the late Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang, whose hair had already turned gray, still had tears welling up in his eyes.
“Biao’er, we… have decided to make Yunwen the Crown Prince. We know that Yunwen is still young and inexperienced.”
But that's alright. As long as he's benevolent, filial, and magnanimous, he can be a good emperor. As for those troublesome thorns, we'll help him remove them!
At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang, as if answering his own question, continued:
"My son, you will surely understand why we didn't make Yunhu the heir. He is the son of the Chang family, and the military power associated with the Chang family is too great..."
Yuntong is still young, lacks the necessary skills, and his performance is subpar. He has absolutely no chance of controlling his military relatives.
"Establishing him as crown prince would further strengthen the already powerful military forces behind him, making interference in politics by the empress's relatives absolutely unacceptable!"
This can actually be considered Zhu Yuanzhang's personal motivation.
Compared to Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yunwen's mother's family had far greater influence.
If he is made crown prince, he will not be able to suppress his mother's family power, and he will be suppressed instead.
Therefore, making Zhu Yunwen, the son of Lady Lü, the crown prince would not only not boost the power of military officials, but would even weaken it.
At least, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little more at ease.
What he didn't know was that Zhu Yunwen, after becoming emperor, did indeed favor civil officials over military ones.
Ultimately, this resulted in Zhu Di having no military officers available when he rebelled. Meanwhile, a group of civil officials, known as the "Sixth Prince," directly hastened Zhu Yunwen's downfall.
...
Zhu Yuanzhang was still satisfied with his brilliant decision.
However, at this moment, Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, hurriedly entered and knelt down:
"Your Majesty, news has arrived from the Eastern Palace that the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen has suddenly fallen seriously ill and is on the verge of death..."
"What?"
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly turned around, his face trembling slightly. He then glanced at his son Zhu Biao's memorial tablet and felt an overwhelming sorrow in his heart.
"Come on, take us there to see... Has the imperial physician gone?"
…………
The Eastern Palace!
Inside a sleeping quarters.
A group of people anxiously surrounded a fifteen-year-old boy.
After taking the boy's pulse, the imperial physician lifted his eyelids to examine him, and finally turned back with a tense expression, sighing to a woman dressed in elegant and dignified attire.
A flicker of joy flashed in the woman's eyes, but she immediately rushed to the bedside, crying out in utter despair:
"My son Yunwen... open your eyes and look at me..."
Beside him, a man a year older than the handsome young man on the bed had a clear smile on his lips.
However, he quickly covered it up and threw himself on Zhu Yunwen's body, crying and even managing to squeeze out a lot of tears.
This moved all the palace maids and eunuchs around them.
Just then, a hurried figure rushed in, shouting:
"How is our grandson? Huh?"
Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward and saw a room full of people kneeling before him, weeping. He was immediately shaken.
My son died not long ago, and now my grandson has died too...
This founding emperor, who started with a broken bowl and built an empire, could no longer hold back.
Tears streamed down his old face as he roared:
"How could our grandson suddenly... how could he... become the imperial physician?!"
The imperial physician was already terrified and knelt down to say:
"Your Majesty... His Highness's illness has come on strangely, and this humble subject is powerless to save him..."
"Quack doctor! Quack doctor! Men, drag him out and behead him!"
As expected of Zhu Yuanzhang, he was quick to kill without hesitation. The imperial physician begged for mercy, but to no avail.
Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward and gently stroked his grandson Zhu Yunwen's cheek with trembling hands, his face filled with heartache and sorrow.
“Our grandson…”
...
"Boom..."
Suddenly, a strong wind arose outside, dark clouds filled the sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and the whole world suddenly darkened, with only streaks of electricity illuminating the sky.
Everyone was surprised by this sudden celestial phenomenon.
Zhu Yuanzhang slowly walked out the door, looked up at the sky and shouted:
"God, what have we done to wrong you?"
The pain of losing his beloved son over the past few days, coupled with the agony of losing his grandson today, brought him to the brink of despair.
At that very moment, an even more dazzling bolt of lightning struck the entrance and roof of the sleeping quarters, startling Zhu Yuanzhang.
Fortunately, the lightning did not harm him, but when the lightning subsided, a book appeared on the ground.
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked; a book fell from the sky like lightning?
He squinted as he stepped forward, picked up the book, and glanced at it. Two characters were prominently displayed on the cover: *History of Ming*.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the back again, and in the corner were a few small characters: Priced at 219 yuan!
...
And along with the thunderbolt, not only this book fell, but also Zhu Yunwen of the 21st century!
At that moment, on the bed in the palace, Zhu Yunwen's hand twitched slightly.
He then struggled to open his eyes, looking at the antique-style solid wood luxury canopy bed, and hearing the crying of women and effeminate men in the room, feeling somewhat bewildered.
Wasn't I reading the History of Ming under the tree?
What are you doing here?
Where is this?
It looks like a tree was suddenly struck by lightning. Did the lightning strike me and make me dizzy?
Sure enough, you shouldn't be under a tree during thunderstorms.
As he was thinking this, a wave of drowsiness washed over him, and he closed his eyes.
Just before he fell into a deep sleep, he heard a maid shout:
"Your Majesty, His Highness just opened his eyes, then closed them again..."
Then, a voice suddenly rushed to the bedside, followed by a domineering and urgent voice:
"Yunzhen is awake? Why are his eyes closed again? Quick, where's the imperial physician? Where the hell is he???"
Jiang Huan hurriedly and cautiously began to speak:
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician has just been beheaded on your orders..."
Zhu Yuanzhang was furious: "How could you cut them down so quickly?"
...
...
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