The Poignant Love Story of Ming Chengzu and Empress Xu

This article closely follows historical facts and tells the story of Zhu Di (May 2, 1360 - August 12, 1424), the Ming Dynasty's fourth son, Ming Emperor Chengzu (reigned from 1402 to 1424), the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, with the reign name Yongle, so later generations call it the poignant love story of Emperor Yongle and his only queen, Queen Xu. During Zhu Di's reign, he reformed political institutions and established a cabinet; he conducted five personal expeditions to Mongolia to consolidate the north and south border defenses and maintain the integrity of China's territory; he sent Zheng He to the Western Seas many times to strengthen friendly exchanges between China and foreign countries. During his reign, the Ming Dynasty had a prosperous economy, a strong national power, and great improvements in civil and military skills. It was known as the Yongle Era in history. Hong Chengzu's benevolence, filial piety, kindness and sincerity made Mingzhuang the wife of Queen Xu of Qi Shengwen, the eldest daughter of Xu Da of Zhongshan. She is young and quiet, loves reading, and is called a female student. In the ninth year of Wu Dynasty (1376), she was canonized as Princess Yan, and Zhu Di proclaimed herself emperor and was canonized as queen. Zhu Di and Xu fell in love at first sight, and Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da were common acquaintances. So they got married. Xu Da had four daughters, three of whom were married to Zhu Yuanzhang's three sons, and one became a nun and refused Zhu Di's marriage proposal. Xu Miaoyun started out as a lady with a ladylike temperament. But she was the daughter of a general who helped her husband win the throne in the famous battle of Jingnan. Later, he failed to commit suicide but was rescued by a Mongolian prince, and reunited with Zhu Di on the war-torn battlefield.