「燕王計取大寧」說獻疑──兼述燕王取大寧事

Abstract

關於燕王取大寧事，流行的「燕王計取大寧」說疑點重重，並不可信。該說為逐步建構而成，在嘉靖初期《姜氏秘史》、《革朝志》中出現了該說的雛形，後在嘉靖末《吾學編》中出現了該說的一個完整版本，其後在萬曆前期《皇明書》中又出現了該說的另一個完整版本，這兩個版本的「燕王計取大寧」說皆為後世所承襲。實際上，燕王取大寧事的發展與朝廷、燕王和寧王三方勢力的互動有關。建文帝即位後，朝廷試圖控制大寧軍隊，但處置不當，使得大寧軍隊中寧王勢力和朝廷勢力相互不信任。燕王趁機進攻大寧，使得寧王勢力倒戈，從而輕而易舉地征服了大寧地區。其後，燕王為掌控大寧軍隊，脅迫寧王南行，並對軍隊進行改編，融合燕王勢力和寧王勢力，奠定了帝業的基礎。  As for the historical account about “The Prince of Yan Plots the Overthrow of Daning” with respect to the actual events of the overthrow there are many doubtful points that undermine its credibility. This particular story was constructed gradually over a period of time. In the early Jiajing reign (1522-1566) the rudiments of the story appeared in Jiangshi mishi (The Inside History [of the Jianwen Reign]) and in Gechao zhi (A Chronicle of Dynastic Reform). The first complete account of the incident was written at the end of the Jiajing reign in Wuxue bian (My Learning). During the Wanli reign, a second different account was published in Huangming shu (History of the August Ming). These two later accounts of this incident were inherited by later generations of scholars. In fact, the development of the conquest of Daning was related to three centers of power, the imperial court, the Prince of Yan’s forces, and the Prince of Ning’s forces. After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, the imperial court tried to control the Daning army, but this was badly mishandled and only created distrust between the forces of the Prince of Ning, the imperial court, and the Daning army. The Prince of Yan took the opportunity to attack Daning, which forced the Prince of Ning’s army to surrender to him and thus he easily conquered the Daning area. Later, in order to control the army of Daning, the Prince of Yan forced the Prince of Ning to flee to the south while he reorganized the army by integrating the forces Yan and Ning, thus laying the foundation for the Yongle Emperor’s achievements.