600 years ago today, on May 29, 1425 (May 12, 1425, the 1425 lunar calendar), Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty passed away. Zhu Gaochi (August 16, 1378-May 29, 1425) was established as the heir of King Yan in the 28th year of Hongwu (1395). He is calm by nature, knows his words and deeds, and likes reading. Because of his elegance and benevolence, he was deeply loved by the emperor's ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang. However, because Zhu Gaochi likes to be quiet and loathe to move, he is fat and has difficulty moving. He always needed the help of two chamberlain to move, and he always stumbled. Therefore, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, who had a lifelong passion for martial arts, did not like this son. Chengzu raised an army in Jingnan and ordered Zhu Gaochi to stay in Beijing. Zhu Gaochi united his subordinates and successfully blocked the 500,000-strong army of Li Jinglong, a general of Emperor Jianwen. Zhu saved Beijing. This battle was of extremely great significance to the entire Jingnan, and it was also Zhu Gaochi's most dazzling stroke in Jingnan. During this period, Emperor Jianwen sent a letter to Zhu Gaochi, promising to grant him the title of king and seeking Zhu Gaochi's submission to the court. Gao Chi did not read the letter after receiving it, and sent it to Chengzu intact, causing Emperor Jianwen's counter-plot to fail. After that, because he was fat and was inconvenient to fight with the army, Chengzu left him behind in the rear, so that the emperor's second son Zhu Gaoxu came to the front desk. Zhu Gaoxu was quite similar to Chengzu. He fought bravely and had high prestige among generals. In battle, he saved Chengzu many times and when he was in danger. Chengzu also made a wish and said,"Your brother is sick, and the throne will surely be yours in the future." Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu's enthusiasm became even higher and made great contributions to the entire Jingnan. After the success of Jingnan, Zhu Di ascended the throne, but he hesitated again on the issue of establishing a crown prince. Zhu Gaochi was deeply supported by civil ministers because of his benevolence and elegance. Moreover, he was the son of Yan personally chosen by Emperor Taizu for Zhu Di. He was the legal heir to the throne. In feudal society, this was very important; Zhu Gaoxu's character was quite similar to Chengzu. He was brave and handsome, and he made great contributions in Jingnan. Moreover, Chengzu also personally made a wish to pass the throne to him. As far as Chengzu himself was concerned, he hoped to establish Zhu Gaoxu. He felt that Zhu Gaochi was too benevolent and weak and would be coerced in the future. However, in the end, Chengzu made Zhu Gaochi the crown prince, because the Ming Dynasty's cabinet system and the Han Dynasty's feudal society restricted the emperor to a certain extent. Moreover, Zhu Gaochi did not make any major mistakes when he was the heir, so he was abolished without name. A very important point was that Zhu Gaochi's eldest son, Zhu Zhanji, was exceptionally sensitive and wise and was deeply loved by Zhu Di. The famous civil minister Xie Jin once persuaded Chengzu with the words of "good holy grandson". Chengzu finally made up his mind and made Zhu Gaochi the crown prince in 1404 AD. The second son, Zhu Gaoxu, did not surrender like this. He refused to become a vassal and stayed in the capital to wait for an opportunity to act. He first slandered Xie Jin, the first meritorious official to establish the crown prince, was demoted. A few years later, he was brutally killed. Then he privately raised many samurai to plot evil. Fortunately, Yang Shiqi and Empress Xu persuaded Zhu Di to cut off some of Zhu Gaoxu's guards and forced him to become a vassal. The dispute between Gao Xu and Gao Chi was temporarily over. Unexpectedly, another Cheng Yaojin appeared halfway through the road. Zhu Gaosui, the third son of the emperor, had plotted to kill Chengzu while Chengzu was ill, and then forged an edict and ascended the throne. Fortunately, someone informed him that a disaster did not happen. Afterwards, because Zhu Gaochi pleaded for Zhu Gaosui, Chengzu finally did not pursue it again. On July 18, the 22nd year of Yongle (1424), the 65-year-old Emperor Yongle died of illness on his way back to Beijing during the Northern Expedition. In order to prevent Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui from taking the opportunity to cause trouble, the British Duke Zhang Fu and the cabinet minister Yang Rong kept their funeral secret. The lacquer ware in the general melted into a large coffin, and the body of Chengzu was put into the coffin. They still ate and paid respects every day as usual. However, the curtain of the emperor's carriage was never lifted again, and the emperor never spoke again. Everything in the army was as usual. At the same time, Yang Rong and eunuch Haishou were sent to Beijing to report secretly. After learning about this, Zhu Gaochi immediately sent his son Zhu Zhanji to Beijing to welcome the funeral. Due to the careful arrangements of the ministers, no rebellion broke out and the regime was able to transition smoothly. After Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, he changed his year name to Hongxi and began a series of reforms. First, he pardoned the old ministers of Emperor Jianwen and the families of officials who were imprisoned and exiled to the border during the Yongle period, and allowed them to return to their original places. He also rehabilitated the unjust imprisonment, allowing many unjust cases to be cleared, such as the unjust case of Fang Xiaoru, a loyal minister of the Jianwen Dynasty. The unjust cases of Xie Jin in the Yongle Dynasty were all rehabilitated during this period. It also restored the official ranks of some ministers, thus easing conflicts within the ruling clique. Secondly, Zhu Gaochi selected virtuous ministers, eliminated redundant officials, and appointed three people, Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, and Yang Pu (known as the Three Yang in history), to assist the government. Ancient palace punishment was abolished, treasure ships were stopped sailing to the West, and the royal family's purchase of jewelry was stopped; Following Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty as a model, he established principles and disciplines, and loved the people like a son. He ordered tax exemptions, provided free relief to the disaster-stricken areas, opened up some mountains and swamps for farmers to fish and hunt, and changed the usual penalties for refugees and adopted proper resettlement. All of this enabled the people of the Hongxi Dynasty to fully recuperate, and the productivity developed unprecedentedly. The Ming Dynasty entered a period of stability and prosperity, which was also the beginning of what was known in history as the "Rule of Benevolence and Xuan". Ideologically, he advocated Confucianism and praised loyalty and filial piety. During his rule, Confucianism was fully developed. Renzong also built a Hongwen Hall outside the Sishan Gate in the capital, and often talked about classics and history with Confucian ministers all day long. Renzong was very good at accepting remonstrances. He once gave Yang Shiqi and others a small seal to encourage them to remonstrances. Therefore, the politics of Hongxi Dynasty was very clear, courtiers could express their opinions, and the emperor could choose and act well. Zhu Gaochi did not fall in love with women in the harem. Apart from Empress Zhang, only Consort Tan was. Empress Zhang was very virtuous and respected and loved Zhu Gaochi; Consort Tan was also a virtuous wife. After Zhu Gaochi died, he hanged himself and was posthumously named Consort Shun of Zhaorong Gongxi. Zhu Gaochi also made important contributions to the imperial examination system. At that time, because southerners were smart and hard-working, most of the Jinshi were southerners. However, northerners were simple and loyal in nature, and were also an indispensable pillar of the royal family. However, northerners had outstanding literary talent. In order to ensure that northerners could pass the Jinshi exam, Zhu Gaochi stipulated that the middle ratio of "sixty in the south and forty in the north" was used until the Qing Dynasty. May 29, the first year of Hongxi (1425). Zhu Gaochi died suddenly in Qin 'an Hall in the palace. After his death, he was posthumously named Emperor Xiaozhao and his temple name was Renzong. Some people once suggested that Renzong was in power for less than a year, so they questioned his contribution. However, they did not know that most of his time during Chengzu's reign was in the northern expedition, and the government affairs of the court were always handed over to Zhu Gaochi. Therefore, he had sufficient time to implement his own policies and lay a good foundation for his accession to the throne. If this period of time was added, Zhu Gaochi's contribution to the Ming Dynasty would be beyond doubt. Zhu Gaochi, Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty, deserved the title of benevolent king.