明洪武年間，皇室子女普遍與功臣子弟結為姻親，而功臣子弟大多是以徐達、李善長為首的「淮西集團」成員。明代歷時三百年，鮮少出現外戚之禍，追根究底是太祖時就訂下的規矩，他非常重視歷史經驗的教訓，對外戚有嚴格限制，制定各種措施防止外戚專權。廣義的外戚指的不僅是后妃家族，駙馬家族與王妃家族也包含在內。雖然明代對外戚的約束十分嚴格，但在洪武朝卻大量與實力龐大的「淮西集團」聯姻，助長外戚的勢力，也證明了「淮西集團」對太祖的重要性。 然而洪武十三年後與太祖結為兒女親家的「淮西集團」紛紛獲罪，隨著政治情勢的改變，太祖為了鞏固皇權與為後世子孫鋪路，先後興起「胡惟庸案」與「藍玉案」，與太祖結親的「淮西集團」俱坐黨禍，誅死者眾多，史上將胡、藍兩案稱之為「胡藍之獄」。 本文將透過「淮西集團」形成背景之分析，與成形過程之考訂，詳加了解與太祖子女結親之「淮西集團」成員，帶給太祖的實質益處與穩固局勢之作用，並探討太祖與「淮西集團」結親之背後原因，還有對明代之政局深而遠的影響。 ;During the Hongwu Era of the Ming Dynasty, it became common for children of the imperial household to enter into marriage with the children of the most decorated courtiers in the Huaixi Clique led by Xu Da and Li Shanchang. During the three centuries of the Ming Dynasty, subversive incidents caused by maternal relatives were rare, and it has been attributed to the preventive principles and restrictions set down by Ming Taizu against this particular line of the imperial household. A broad definition of maternal relatives of the imperial household includes more than the families of the empress and the emperor′s concubines, but also the spouses of the princes and princesses of the imperial family. Although the rules of conduct set down by the Ming Dynasty against maternal relatives were restrictive, the extensive marital ties that Ming Taizu arranged with the powerful Huaixi Clique contributed to their growth in influence, suggesting Taizu′s reluctant dependence upon this group. Following the thirteenth year of the Hongwu Era, however, several figures in the Huaixi Clique came to be viewed by Taizu as potentially obstructive to his hold on imperial power and to his plans of dynastic succession. He generated purges such as the Hu Weiyong Incident and the Lan Yu Incident, through which many members of the Huaixi Clique with marital ties to the imperial household were seized and even executed. These events were later known as the Hu-Lan Incarcerations. This paper discusses and analyzes the formation process of the Huaixi Clique to highlight members who have marital relations with Taizu′s children and how they contributed to Taizu′s interests and his reign′s stability. The aim is to understand further the underlying reasons for Taizu′s marital alliance approach with the Huaixi Clique and how it impacted the political development of the Ming Dynasty.
