Chapter 2 Section 2: Zhu Di's Comprehension

One of the gifts of the great man is the courage to tell a lie and repeat it a thousand times to make it the truth.Ever since he was a boy, Zhu Di has been declaring to the outside world that he is the legitimate son of Empress Ma. Outsiders know very little about the forbidden affairs of the palace.In fact, Empress Ma was sterile all her life and never had a so-called legitimate son.It's just that Empress Ma likes children very much, and it's true that she regards Zhu Di brothers as her own.This lie is meaningful, because in his era, blood relationship is the most powerful reason, directly determining a person's fate.Decades later, when he raised his army to usurp the throne, this lie vindicated him.In his manifesto, he stated:

Emperor Taizu Gao, the direct son of Empress Xiaoci Gao, the closest relative of the empire... After he invaded Yingtian (Nanjing), he even omitted Zhu Yuanzhang in his imperial edict: I am the direct son of Empress Gao. This emphasis on the birth mother is rare.Of course, lying does not prevent him from giving benefits to his real biological mother.After ascending the throne, Zhu Di spent huge sums of money to build the Dabaoen Temple in order to prove his status as a legitimate son and to repay Empress Gao for her kindness in raising children.It's just that this hall is often closed, and it's rare for outsiders to see it.This kind of demeanor of telling a lie without any hindrance or delay is the characteristic of a hero.From this point of view, Zhu Di is worthy of being Zhu Yuanzhang's son.

Although he was born in an emperor's family, Zhu Di did not have the slightest dandyism.When he was born, Zhu Yuanzhang was busy fighting with Chen Youliang, and war was his prenatal education.From birth to nine years old, he was surrounded by wars everywhere, traveling with his father's army. He grew up smelling the smell of war, blood, betrayal and conspiracy since he was a child. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he didn't want his sons to live in the deep palace and become people who didn't know the world.He sent several sons back to his hometown of Fengyang, where they lived for three years.These three years are a critical period for the formation of a person's thoughts, and the folk life has taught Zhu Di a lot of lessons, "Everything in the folk is known."

The experience can be similar, but the perception is difficult to be the same.Among all the brothers, only he stood out in the end, which cannot but be attributed to talent.The buffaloes and farmers covered in mud in the farmland, the flattering smiles on the faces of the officials around him and the conspiracy behind them, the fights and win-wins between brothers, the political news from Yingtian... All these made him understand many aspects of Chinese society. reality.The classics that have been studied hard for many years and these realities are so close, yet so far away.Loyalty and betrayal, truth and lies, desire and taboo, morality and interests, all these are so tangled and intricate, but they can be clearly understood at a glance.

From a very young age, Zhu Di understood an irrefutable truth: one must decorate oneself with the most beautiful virtues, and speculate others with the worst intentions.Only in this way can we guarantee to remain invincible forever. Because of an incomplete excuse, the father started to create the "Hu Weiyong case", which implicated more than 30,000 people and killed many heroes.When the news came out, most of the brothers didn't know why, and secretly discussed whether the father was confused.Zhu Di secretly laughed in his heart: It's true that the rest of the sons are all busy, and the heroes of the world are only the father and me!

Which talented and generous monarch in history didn't kill the grass and roots, and benevolence and softness can only lead to failure.You see, Li Yu, the empress of the Southern Tang Dynasty, had completely become a dead dog after he surrendered to the Great Song Dynasty.But Tang Taizong, the number one Ming emperor in ancient times, did it even more thoroughly. After the Xuanwumen Incident, this emperor who always claimed to be benevolent and righteous killed ten sons of his brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji without mercy.For thousands of years, who dares to criticize more!History has repeatedly proved that only those who do not place hope in others can succeed in the end.

It's just that the father's behavior was too revealing.If it was him, I believe he could handle it more subtly.