How did Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty escape the ambush of Uncle Zhu and succeed to the throne smoothly?

1925 On May 29th, Zhu Gaochi, who had just been emperor for 10 months, collapsed unexpectedly. After the news spread, the death of this honest man made many people very sad, except his own brother Hanwang Zhu. Comrade Zhu is an ideal middle-aged uncle He has always wanted to be an emperor since he was young.

Unfortunately, this grandson is a soldier. Although he has a close relationship with Xun Gui, he never deals with literati. As we all know, we should not only be thick-skinned, but also have enough heart. Hanwang, who offended the literati, was mentally retarded in the process of seizing the official position, so he loved to lose his official position and was thrown to Jiufan, Shandong Province.

However, things are so fickle. Eldest brother Zhu Gaochi just arrived at 10 and died. It was not his turn to be emperor, but it happened that Prince Zhu Zhanji was not in Beijing at this time and was sent to Nanjing on business. So Mr. Zhu had a plan in mind.

Since the prince is in Nanjing, Lao Tzu is in Shandong and the capital is in Beijing, it can be inferred that Shandong is close to Beijing and Nanjing is far from Beijing, so the prince can't know the news of the emperor's death before me. Then we can get the second inference: the prince must rush back to Beijing to succeed to the throne, and he must go through Shandong to return to Beijing; Finally, he came to the conclusion that I just need to squat in the grass in Shandong and hang up the prince, and the throne is still mine! The plan worked!

Face-stuck reality

Mr. Zhu, who found the hope of life, immediately arranged a large number of troops, led by himself, lurking in the grass beside the only way to Beijing, waiting for his eldest nephew to shout "Demacia" when riding by, then picked up the knife and embarked on the peak of his life.

Zhu, squatting in the grass, has been looking at the middle-aged people in the south with a greasy smile. He waited and waited until late June, when the grass covered with lice finally fell from the sky. Prince Zhu Zhanji arrived in Liangxiang (now Fangshan District) on June 18, 2008, and people prayed for the throne!

Turbid tears dripped on the ground from Zhu's trembling face. He couldn't remember how many times it was in vain, how many times hope rose, how many times it was suppressed by cruel reality, and how unfair fate was! How helpless life is! Tianchang, why are you thinner than me! ?

Eternal mystery

Mr. Zhu's tragic experience not only caused his own self-destructive rebellion, but also left a mystery for future generations. Why didn't the prince be stopped by him? All the known conditions are there. The prince could not have got the news earlier than Zhu, and there was no secret not to send out obituaries. Otherwise, Zhu will not be arranged to intercept. Besides, there are so many insiders in his palace that he can't hide them at all.

So was Mr. Zhu so excited that the ambush was late or was it a mistake? Obviously, the possibility is not high. Although this guy is stupid, he is a soldier after all, and the ambush is still very slippery. Moreover, there were only a few ways to go in ancient times, and the probability of making mistakes was very small.

In the absence of results, later generations began to think of conspiracy theories. Since Zhu Zhanji can't escape the interception, there is only one possibility. He knew his father's death in advance. As it turns out, Zhu Zhanji is not a fortune teller, and there is only one truth that can't predict with fingers! He murdered his father!

The speculation of tucao machine

Tucao machine has never been a supporter of conspiracy theories, and this time is no exception. Psychologically speaking, Zhu Zhanji has no motive at all. That position will be his sooner or later. His father has been in poor health, and he is still very young. There is no need to take such a big risk to kill his father.

My personal point of view is that the truth is actually hidden in the history books. About this period of history, it is recorded in Ming History:

In summer and April, Nanjing was repeatedly surprised and ordered to stay. In Chen Geng in May, Injong was unprepared and the imperial edict was recalled. In June, he was ugly, returned to his hometown, and was sent to the palace to mourn. Geng Xu, the throne.

In April of that year, Zhu Zhanji was sent to Nanking. On May 28th, Emperor Injong had physical problems and sent him back to Beijing. Injong died the next day. /kloc-in June of 0/8, Zhu Zhanji returned to Beijing, accepted the testamentary edict, went to the palace to mourn his father, and then acceded to the throne.

There are two very important messages in this paragraph. First, Liangxiang is in the southwest of Beijing. Normally, when returning to Beijing from Nanjing, you have to enter from the southeast or due south, and taking the west side is definitely a detour. In the absence of the monarch, Zhu Zhanji should usually avoid rock the boat and go directly to Beijing.

Secondly, it is the time to enter Beijing. On May 28, Injong recalled the Prince by imperial edict. Such an emergency usually takes 600 miles to rush (there should be no condition of 800 miles in the Ming Dynasty). The distance from Nanking to Beijing is about 2,200 Li, so Zhu Zhanji should receive the imperial edict on June 2nd at the latest.

From the 2nd to 18, he left 16 before arriving in Beijing. As a prince, he has the conditions to change horses in a post. The running speed of an ordinary horse is about 30 miles per hour. Even if he only runs eight hours a day, it's 240 miles. We are eliminating all interference factors. He can run 200 miles a day, which is one third of the speed of delivering letters.

At this rate, he can return to Beijing before June 12. What about the remaining six days? Or where is the remaining 1200? Tucao machine made a gesture on the map, starting from Nanjing to Kaifeng, then passing through Taiyuan to Baoding, just entering Beijing from Liangxiang, the whole journey is about 3200 miles, which is more than returning to Beijing in a straight line 1000 miles. ...

Therefore, Tucao's thinking on this issue is: Zhu Zhanji knows or speculates that it is not safe to enter Beijing from Shandong, so he chooses to bypass the area where Hanwang forces are located. The reason is that simple.