How did Xie Jin’s limerick establish Zhu Gaochi’s status as crown prince? At the beginning of the Jing Dynasty, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, led his troops to the south. As the crown prince, Zhu Gaochi was ordered to stay in Beiping. He brilliantly commanded the soldiers to fight bravely and withstood the siege of Li Jinglong's 500,000 troops. Not only did he protect the base for King Yan, but he also This created conditions for Zhu Di to lure the enemy deep, take the opportunity to make a sneak attack and recruit Yongning's elite troops. Zhu Gaochi made great contributions in the battle of Jingnan, but Zhu Gaochi was fat and suffered from foot disease. He needed the support of eunuchs to walk normally, so he rarely achieved military exploits in subsequent battles. Compared with Zhu Gaochi, his younger brothers Gao Xu and Gao Sui followed their father Zhu Di in the north and south, and made outstanding military exploits. Zhu Gaoxu, in particular, was brave and capable of fighting, and was deeply favored by Zhu Di. During the Battle of Jingnan, the situation gradually came under Zhu Di's control. Zhu Gaoxu relied on his high achievements and coveted the position of the crown prince. Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen took advantage of this opportunity and sent Jin Yiwei Zhang An to meet Zhu Gaochi with a secret letter, asking him to surrender to the court and promising to be ennobled by King Yan. Zhu Gaochi saw through Emperor Jianwen's purpose, so he made a prompt decision and sent someone to send the unopened letter together with Zhang An to Zhu Di who was fighting on the front line at night. However, Zhu Gaochi's confidant eunuch Huang Yan acted faster. After he learned about the letter sent by Emperor Jianwen, he reported to Zhu Di before Zhu Gaochi, claiming that the prince had an affair with the imperial court and rebelled. Gao Xu also took the opportunity to slander, falsely accusing Gao Chi of wanting to usurp the throne.
Zhu Di was furious and decided to order the execution of Zhu Gaochi. Thanks to the people sent by Zhu Gaochi, who hurriedly arrived at this time. After reading the letter, Zhu Di realized that he had mistakenly blamed Zhu Gaochi. He was glad that he had not issued the order just now, otherwise his son would have been killed by mistake. In 1402, Zhu Di proclaimed himself emperor, but he still did not establish a prince. The main reason is that Gao Xu charged into battle in the Battle of Jingnan, was brave and good at fighting, and saved Zhu Di from danger many times in the chaos. In addition, he looked similar to Zhu Di, so he was deeply loved by Zhu Di; and during the war, Zhu Di had hints to Gao Xu such as "The prince is sick, please work harder?". Therefore, if you want to give up Gao Chi, you can't bear it, if you want to establish Gao Xu, you are afraid of violating the ancestral system, and it is difficult to convince the subjects.
Xie Jin, a Hanlin scholar, took great pains and contributed a lot to the issue of Gao Chi being established as the prince. He believed that the prince was benevolent and filial, and the world would return to his heart. Xiaozhi used reason. He believed that Gao Chi's son Zhu Zhanji must be a "good saint grandson" and moved him emotionally. He persuaded Zhu Di to make Gao Chi the prince. Zhu Di also asked Huang Huai, Yin Changlong and others respectively. Their opinions were completely consistent with Xie Jin, which made Zhu Di gradually lean towards the prince Gao Chi. A few days later, Zhu Di ordered his ministers to inscribe the "Tiger Biao Picture". In the painting, there is a tiger leading all the tigers (little tigers), in the form of a father and son. Jie Jin borrowed the title and developed it into a five-character quatrain. The tiger is the supreme beast, who dares to offend its anger? Only the love between father and son can be reviewed step by step. ?After reading the poem, Zhu Di was deeply moved, and immediately announced that Zhu Gaochi would be crowned prince, Zhu Gaoxu would be crowned King of Han, and Yunnan would be granted the title.