He achieved this in 1507 by bribing the eunuch Liu Jin, who effectively controlled the Beijing government at the time, despite opposition from the Ministry of War.
[4] In 1514, he once again requested for troops, this time with the backing of Lu Wan (1458–1526), the new Minister of War since December 1513 and a long-time political ally.
Despite this obstacle, the prince managed to gain support from Qian Ning, the commander of the imperial guard, Zang Xian (臧賢), the emperor's favorite musician, and several influential eunuchs.
[4] Meanwhile, the local authorities had been voicing their complaints about the prince's behavior, which included seizing land, imposing taxes, and intimidating officials.
[5] In his pursuit of power, he attempted a non-violent approach by exploiting the emperor's lack of an heir and promoting his own son as the successor to the throne.
[2] In the spring of 1516, Zhu resorted to bribery, persuading Qian and other influential members of the emperor's entourage to bring his eldest son to Beijing as a potential crown prince.
[6] However, fearing their statements, the prince ordered his men to attack the city and free the prisoners, causing the authorities to lose control over the countryside.
It was during this time that his favorite general, Jiang Bin, and the eunuch, Zhang Yong, convinced him of the prince's and Qian Ning's misconduct.
[10] On 9 August, the prince's main forces finally arrived at Anqing, but their attempt to capture the city failed and resulted in heavy losses.
Due to the majority of the prince's forces having withdrawn to the north, the city was weakly defended, and on 14 August, Wang Yangming successfully occupied it.
[11] The troops that accompanied the emperor from the north, under the command of his confidants, Jiang Bin and eunuch Zhang Yong, were sent to Jiangxi to suppress the rebellion.
Jiang and Zhang attempted to sabotage Wang Yangming's success by planning a fake battle in which the prince would be "captured" by the emperor.
[12] Zhu Chenhao was stripped of all his ranks and titles as early as 1519, but the decision on his fate was not made until January 1521, when the emperor allowed him to commit suicide.