When it comes to the success of Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, many friends first think of 80% of it as "building walls high, accumulating grain, and slowly becoming king." Unlike what some friends think, this is not said by Li Shanchang, the "first meritorious man", nor by Liu Bowen (Liu Ji), who is "exhaustive".
It is from the "obscure" Zhu Sheng.
Zhu Sheng, zi Yunsheng, a native of Xiuning, Anhui. Although they share the same surname as Zhu Yuanzhang (both from Anhui), they are not a family. Zhu Sheng belonged to the late Cheng dynasty, and he was awarded the Title of Chizhou Lu Xuezheng in the fourth year of zhizheng, but he did not take up his post until the eleventh year of Zhizheng and the age of fifty-two.
After the expiration of three years of office, Dayuan has basically come to the end of the road, and the world is full of heroes. Zhu Sheng did not want to accompany the funeral of this declining dynasty, so he abandoned the official and went into seclusion to avoid disaster.
In the seventeenth year, when Zhu Yuanzhang led an army to pass through Huizhou, he heard Deng Yu say that there was a hermit named Zhu Sheng who was very talented. Zhu Yuanzhang followed Liu Bei's thoughts, and he personally went to Zhu Sheng's house to ask Zhu Sheng for advice.
Zhu Sheng was not as arrogant as Zhuge Liang, and was immediately touched by Zhu Yuanzhang's spirit of "Corporal Li Xian" and immediately agreed to the request for assistance from the mountain. He also presented Zhu Yuanzhang with a nine-character strategy that was no less than that of Longzhong: "Build a high wall, accumulate grain, and slowly become king." ”
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was born in the Red Turban, he realized very early on that there was no future in following the Red Turban Army, which was the main reason why he would rather give up his existing power and power than leave Guo Zixing.
In our present view of history, the rebel armies of the past dynasties seem to represent the vast number of poor civilians and are the force of justice. In fact, many times the disgust and hatred of the low-level commoners is no less than that of the court that oppresses them. For the real purpose of most rebel armies is not to throw away their heads and shed their blood for the well-being of the vast number of poor civilians.
They are more for the purpose of "robbing money, grain, and women." A common feature of these rebel armies is that there is no strict management organization, poor military discipline is only a manifestation, and more importantly, there is no ability to operate the territory and be self-sufficient. They can only wander around like locusts, one is to loot resources, and the other is to strengthen their ranks by robbing civilians (civilians who have been robbed can only follow them in order to eat).
When they deplete the resources of their area, they will naturally collapse (the usual way for dynasties to deal with rebel armies is to besiege a certain area and starve them), or they will collapse due to internal chaos to a certain extent (Huang Chao and Li Zicheng are examples). Although Zhu Yuanzhang knew these drawbacks, he himself had no way to solve them for a while.
Therefore, these nine words are like a lighthouse, pointing out the direction for Zhu Yuanzhang, who is groping in the dark. Overjoyed, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately regarded Zhu Sheng as his own Zhang Liang and Zhuge Liang, and "ordered the secret discussion."
Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy has begun to undergo significant changes. He took the initiative to draw a line with the Red Turban Army, accusing the Red Turban Army of being a thief. He also strictly enforced military discipline and did not allow his generals to rob at will, especially the gentry.
Secondly, although Zhu Yuanzhang did not like the gentry very much, he still took the initiative to show his overtures to the gentry of the world, tried his best to give preferential treatment to them, win them over, and express his willingness to rule the world with them.
In doing so, Zhu Yuanzhang was actually transforming the peasant rebel army with the gentry as the main target into a gentry organization that could create a dynasty. For for a dynasty to rule the world, it must rely on a clique of gentry (i.e., a clique of civil servants). This is also the true meaning of the nine-word mantra.
It can be said that Zhu Sheng laid the foundation for Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty.
In addition to giving Zhu Yuanzhang great help in the overall strategy, Zhu Sheng also played a non-negligible role in important node events.
In August of the 23rd year, the Battle of Poyang Lake, which decided the fate of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youyi, broke out. Initially, Zhu Yuanzhang was at a disadvantage, and Zhu Yuanzhang felt that if he continued like this, he would be destroyed by Chen Youyi.
Zhu Sheng provided Zhu Yuanzhang with key advice, and although Chen Youyu was crowded, he was in full swing and the grain consumption was definitely very severe. As long as you block the mouth of the South Lake and cut off its grain routes, the army will naturally collapse after Chen Youyi's grain and grass are exhausted.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang still had little confidence, because he did not have much grain and grass on his own. Zhu Sheng suggested that there are many local tycoons in the vicinity, and you can find them to "borrow" grain. And if Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't borrow, Chen Youyu will also borrow, why not preempt it?
Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and acted according to the plan. By the end of August, Chen Youyi's grain and grass were exhausted, the army's morale was floating, and the army was in chaos, and was forced to break through. The chaotic army breakthrough was actually a rout, and Chen Youyu himself was killed in the breakthrough. Zhu Yuanzhang thus cleared the biggest obstacle to the unification of the world.
During the battle, Zhu Sheng also saved Zhu Yuanzhang's life. When the battle was in full swing, Zhu Yuanzhang went to the battleship cabin to fight, and the arrows flew outside, and Zhu Sheng hurriedly pulled Zhu Yuanzhang into the cabin. As soon as the man left, an arrow flew right in the middle of where Zhu Yuanzhang was standing.
Zhu Yuanzhang created Daming and ascended the throne as emperor, but Zhu Sheng wanted to go into seclusion again.
In February of the second year of Hongwu, Zhu Sheng wrote to Taizu "Please return to the mountain", and it is quite normal for Zhu Sheng to resign in terms of age, and he is already seventy-one years old at this time. However, Zhu Sheng not only refused Taizu's many retentions, but also refused Taizu's reward for giving him a knighthood.
Even if Zhu Sheng himself has a weak view of official positions and titles, how to say that he has a wife and a shadow is also an honor and can benefit future generations. Why did he insist on not accepting it? Is it really because, "the descendants of the subjects are blessed and do not dare to talk about heavenly grace"?
Zhu Sheng felt that this title was not a blessing, but a scourge.
With the increase of Zhu Yuanzhang's power, Zhu Sheng has realized Zhu Yuanzhang's personality and true psychology – he is unwilling to share the world with the gentry in his heart, and he has pretended before. And with the increase of strength, Zhu Yuanzhang himself was not willing to pretend.
A year before Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, Xu Cunren, a Confucian scholar who had followed him for more than ten years, wanted to resign, but he angered Zhu Yuanzhang and invited misfortune.
He will be on the throne, and Cun Ren will return. Siye Liu Cheng said bluntly: "The Lord should be obedient to heaven and man, and it is advisable for the public to stay a little longer." "Cun Ren does not listen, and the fruit is determined." Cheng Kong Zhao impeached him for his hidden affairs and was arrested and imprisoned. Biography of Xu Cunren of the Ming Dynasty
What scared Zhu Sheng even more was that Zhu Yuanzhang thought that he was the reincarnation of Han Gaozu. For Zhu Sheng, Han Gaozu corresponded to "the death of cunning rabbits, the cooking of running dogs; the exhaustion of birds, the hiding of good bows; the destruction of enemy countries, and the death of plotters." ”
If you don't learn from Zhang Liang, I'm afraid you won't be able to go.
Although Zhu Sheng repeatedly pleaded, Zhu Yuanzhang let him go back, and Zhu Yuanzhang did not treat him well in the future. But that was because Zhu Sheng died of illness the year after Zhi Shi, otherwise whether he could survive the future prison would still be a question mark.
Isn't song Lian, an honest man who returned to his hometown, almost sent to his death by Zhu Yuanzhang?
Moreover, Zhu Sheng was still confused before leaving, and he asked Zhu Yuanzhang for a death-free iron coupon for his son. Later, Zhu Tong was "given to himself" for his involvement in the Blue Jade Conspiracy Rebellion Case, not because Zhu Yuanzhang did not keep his word, but because the endorsement of the iron coupon for avoiding death indicated the crime of not pardoning rebellion.
From the final avoidance, Zhu Sheng still failed to truly become the "Zhang Liang" of the Ming Dynasty.