In the second year of Yongle, that is, 1404 AD, Yongle Emperor Zhu Di wanted to choose his successor.
On the issue of whether his eldest son and second son Zhu should be the prince, he was hesitant and fell into a long examination, so he consulted many ministers. Because it involves the core issue of the transfer of state power, there is internal communication between the monarch and his ministers. From beginning to end, the speeches of the emperor and ministers were kept confidential.
Slowly, however, Judy's remarks about "establishing a reserve team" spread outside the court and even among the people, saying that the emperor intended to "squander his long life" and looked down on the eldest son, wanting his son to become a prince. . According to some historical records, the news did leak out. But it's hard to tell who leaked the information.
According to historical records, the initiator of the leak was an ally of King Zhu of Han. Qiu Fu is a hero who fights side by side with Zhu Di in difficult times. Zhu Di occasionally told his comrade what he thought. This Qiu Fu was also a rather slow military commander. Perhaps he would shout out the Emperor's words.
But some people say that the leaker was Xie Jin, known as "the most talented man in Ming Dynasty" and the first assistant of the cabinet at that time. Zhu Di was proud of Xie Jin and told Jie Jin many truths. It cannot be ruled out that the news was leaked after the Jiejin Politburo meeting.
Because he supported being crown prince, Zhu's second son was disgusted, so he accused him of "leaking secrets" and told his father that this was "leaking Chinese secrets".
What is "banning China"? Also known as the "Forbidden City" in Chinese, it refers to the imperial palace where feudal emperors lived. Today's Forbidden City was once called the "Forbidden City". No one is allowed to come in and out at will, and buying tickets to visit is also unacceptable. The point is that the emperor does not sell tickets. The palace is a deep courtyard, and entry through the palace gate is prohibited, so it is called forbidden.
The "taboo words" refer to the conversations that the emperor said in the palace that should not be made public.
So, in ancient China, was it a crime to "release the Chinese"? What kind of crime is it?
As we all know, the Tang Dynasty was a relatively enlightened dynasty in Chinese history, but it was very harsh on the "banned Chinese language". During the Tang Dezong era, there was a prime minister named Dou Shen who was decisively executed by the emperor for leaking the emperor's opinions on the appointment and dismissal of ministers to all parties in advance.
It can be seen that in ancient China, "interpreting Chinese" was not only a crime, but also a felony.
As for the Ming Dynasty where Xie Jin lived, due to the conservativeness of the rulers, "publishing Chinese" became an unforgivable heinous crime. Shortly after Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, took over the world, he convened a seminar with ministers. The theme is very serious: The Yuan Dynasty was so powerful, why did it perish in less than a hundred years? Ministers generally believed that the Yuan Dynasty's rule was too loose. Zhu Yuanzhang corrected him and said that the Yuan Dynasty was too lenient towards officials!
Zhu Yuanzhang summed up this lesson, and his control over the country and ministers reached its peak. The law of secrecy was constantly being supplemented, especially for the emperor's staff. Strict regulations: "Anyone who leaks secrets and gives important things to others will be beheaded." Anyone who leaks the emperor's last words will be killed without mercy.
Why do Chinese rulers of all dynasties consider "revealing secrets", especially "revealing Chinese secrets", to be an unforgivable crime? Because Han Feizi, the teacher of Qin Shihuang, the ancestor of the Chinese emperor, told them the key to the Eight Characters of the Way of the King in the "Da Ming Law" chapter.
In another article titled "Speaking of Difficulties", Han Fei's "Han Feizi" explained the emperor's secret method in detail: "If you don't see what you want, see what you want." Yeah, just carve it out. If you don’t see the meaning, I’ll show my difference.” The king said he could not let his courtiers guess their state of mind lest they be manipulated. Therefore, it must be kept secret, or even create a mystery so that the courtiers can't figure it out.
Han Feizi’s statement is kingly. On the other hand, he warned the courtiers that the emperor's thoughts were correct and you must go to the guillotine. Those who "uttered forbidden words" revealed the emperor's thoughts to the world, exposed the emperor's background, and achieved their goals. The emperor cannot forgive.
Emperors of all dynasties were very shrewd on this point. They especially listened to Han Han and forbade Chinese-speaking people to go to hell. Even for the emperor's favorite, keeping secrets is a lesson learned. Once it was found out which slave was prohibited from speaking Chinese, the less severe one was alienated by the emperor, and the more severe one was eliminated.
Speaking of which. This kind of leakage during the Yongle period eventually led to serious consequences.
Zhu insisted that it was done. He went to the palace to report to his father Zhu Di that Xie Jin "promulgated a ban on books in China." After listening, Zhu Di did not express her position directly, but after that, he no longer "knew" everything about Jie Jin. The most talented man in the Ming Dynasty gradually fell out of favor.