As many true fans know, the ancient Chinese emperors always had a lot of concubines. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang was no exception after the founding of the Ming Dynasty. However, Zhu Yuanzhang never had an empress again after his first wife died in 1382. He deeply loved Empress Ma in his heart.
Empress Ma’s original name was Ma Xiuying. We can easily find that Zhu Yuanzhang loved the Empress Ma deeply when we look back at the process of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. Ma Xiuying was both his wife and assistant for Zhu Yuanzhang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang initially resisted the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, he offended his commander. After that, he was detained. At this time, Ma Xiuying hid the hot cake under her clothes and secretly sent it to Zhu Yuanzhang, fearing that his husband would be hungry, which indicated that Ma Xiuying was in deep love with Zhu Yuanzhang.
In 1360, Chen Youliang’s army began to attack Zhu Yuanzhang. To avoid the harm of war, many people who followed Zhu Yuanzhang began to move. The emergence of these behaviors has made Zhu Yuanzhang’s army morale very low. At this time, Empress Ma donated his savings for several years to appease the people and boost the confidence of the army. Although Empress Ma was a woman, it helped Zhu Yuanzhang at the crucial moment of the war so that he could safely plan how to deal with Chen Youliang’s offensive.
In 1368, to consolidate his authority, Zhu Yuanzhang always punished those who did not submit to him. Zhu Yuanzhang’s personality made many people feel afraid that they would not dare to criticize Zhu Yuanzhang. At this time, Empress Ma always reminded Zhu Yuanzhang to control his temper and not to punish anyone casually.
In August 1382, Zhu Yuanzhang’s first wife, Empress Ma, was dying. To save his wife’s life, Zhu Yuanzhang convened a lot of doctors to see his wife, but all the doctors seem incompetent. It appeared that Zhu Yuanzhang was going to have no time with his wife.
When Zhu Yuanzhang’s wife was sick in bed, she often asked Zhu Yuanzhang not to blame the doctor after she died. Because life itself is limited, people cannot be healthy for a lifetime, and doctors are not omnipotent.
After Zhu Yuanzhang’s first wife died, Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely sad and issued an order to stop setting up the empress in the future, which showed that Zhu Yuanzhang loved his first wife very much.
