Counting the more than 400 emperors in ancient China, there are few self-made people, but there are two people I admire, one is Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, and the other is Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of Ming Taizu. The experiences of these two emperors are quite similar, both are self-made and are grassroots counterattacks. Zhu Yuanzhang, in particular, was even poorer, and when his parents died, he did not even have a cemetery to bury his relatives. However, the cruelty of reality did not crush Zhu Yuanzhang, but after exerting great efforts, he killed a bloody road and became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, after Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon chair, he still maintained a hard and simple living habit, thrifty and thrifty, and even required his ministers not to eat three meals a day without extravagance and waste, it is said that Zhu Yuanzhang entertained the ministers that is, ordinary "four dishes and one soup". In a word, only those who have suffered know that some things are not easy to come by.
In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang was a lonely old man, fierce in heart, and became suspicious. The meritorious minister who was born and died with him was killed by him, and staged a classic case of "rabbit dead dog cooking", especially after the death of Empress Ma, his wrist became more iron-blooded and ruthless.
Compared with Zhu Yuanzhang's viciousness, Empress Ma Xiuying appeared to be benevolent. Although Zhu Yuanzhang will repay the favor, he is a good husband and a good father. He can be said to be very attentive to The Crown Prince Zhu Biao. Old Zhu designed the route and person for Zhu Biao according to the standard of "successor".
Zhu Yuanzhang can be cruel to everyone, but he has a special love for his wife and son. This is also the only warmth that exists around him when he stands at the peak of power, on the lonely and lonely throne.
Unfortunately, life was uncertain, Empress Ma fell ill and died, and soon after the crown prince Zhu Biao also died young. This hit him very hard, and coupled with the rebellion in the court, his heart was cold again. However, he eventually transferred his love for his son to his grandson Zhu Yunjiao, and made Zhu Yunjiao the crown prince, hoping that he would inherit Daming's Jiangshan.
Speaking of Empress Ma, it can be said that she was a great nobleman in Zhu Yuanzhang's life. I think that in those years, when Zhu Yuanzhang was not full of food and had no place to live, he defected to Guo Zixing's Red Turban Army. Because of his outstanding performance, guo Zixing later married his adopted daughter Ma Xiuying to Zhu Yuanzhang with the mediation of Lady Xiao Zhang (Guo Zixing's second chamber, Zhang Shi). This Ma Xiuying was the future "Bigfoot Horse Empress" (Empress Xiaocigao of the Ming Dynasty).
In September 1382, the death of Empress Ma had a great influence on Zhu Yuanzhang, the two met from humble times and came hand in hand, although after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, there were many harem concubines, but for Zhu Yuanzhang, those concubines were just tools for breeding offspring, and only Empress Ma was his beloved. After Empress Ma's death, Zhu Yuanzhang never made an empress again, and by the time of his death at the age of 71, Zhu Yuanzhang had been emperor for a total of 31 years. Regarding how long Zhu Yuanzhang could be emperor, he himself once asked "half immortal" Liu Bowen. There is also an interesting historical allusion.
Jiang Taigong fished, and the willing one took the bait. This is a famous historical story. Jiang Ziya's fish hook, in fact, can not be called a hook, because it is straight at all. Moreover, there was no bait on the hook; moreover, his straight hook without bait was three feet high from the surface of the Weishui water. Therefore, the person who can be caught cannot be a fish, it can only be a person, and this person is King Wen of Zhou. Coincidentally, a thousand years later, there is also an angler at the edge of a pool of water, and this person is our protagonist Zhu Yuanzhang. According to the famous scholar Lü Yi (bì) of the Chongzhen period, before he became a beggar or a monk, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was thirteen or fourteen years old, was fishing by a small lake. It's just that he doesn't have the ability of Jiang Taigong, and his hook is both curved and sharp. His eyes are sharp, his heart is heavy, and his technique is very good. In one day, he caught 35 fish, all of them carp, and put them in the basket (sound: sporadic) and jumped around alive, as if it were a dragon gate! After catching so many fish, Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy and thought that he could have a good meal. He was about to finish his work and go home when a small friend named Chen Si came.
Chen Si saw that Zhu Yuanzhang had loaded so many fish, so he started the idea of fishing. He chatted with Zhu Yuanzhang first, giggling, and suddenly he took a big straw hat and covered Zhu Yuanzhang's head hard, covering his eyes. By the time Xiao Zhu ripped off his straw hat, Chen Si had already slipped away with a cigarette. Zhu Yuanzhang returned home, opened the fish cage to see, poured out the fish, counted several times, and there were only 30. He knew that Chen Si had stolen it, and ran to the Chen family to ask for it, but Chen Si denied it. Zhu Yuanzhang rolled up his sleeves and was about to fight, and Chen Si had no choice but to return the fish to him.
Suddenly, decades have passed, and Zhu Yuanzhang's small partner has been replaced by Chen Si to sincere Bo Liu Ji and others who have known each other for five hundred years. In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicions became more and more serious, and he was always worried that Jiangshan would be taken away, and he was afraid that his life would soon be over. One day, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Bowen, how many years can I be an emperor? Liu Bowen pinched his fingers and replied to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Originally it was 35 years, but it was only 31 years." ”
When he heard thirty-five, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered the fishing when he was a child, and his anger suddenly rose from his heart. "If the guy hadn't stolen my fish, I would have lived a few more years." Come on people, quickly find me to see if Chen Si is still there? Bring him to the capital, and I'll teach him a good lesson. Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily. This time, Chen Si was actually still alive. The soldiers took Chen Si to Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang asked angrily, Do you remember when you stole my fish? Chen Si said, "How dare the minister forget?" Chen Si then told how the two of them were chatting, how they put their hats on his head, and how they stole the fish. Chen Si's eyes were moist when he heard Chen Si's words. A long memory... Can't go back... Thinking of this, where does Lao Zhu still have a killing heart?
Old Zhu asked, "Remember what the place where we fished was called?" Chen Si said, "Oolongtan." Zhu Yuanzhang thought, no, although I don't remember what the name was there, but it was definitely not these three words, he felt that Chen Si was lying. Chen Si continued that when I used a straw hat to cover a oolong, I named it Oolongtan. Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was even happier and asked him, do you want to be an official? Chen Si said, of course I want to. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang arranged for Chen Si to be the Head of the Jiangxi Silangzhong Household Department. This is equivalent to the current directors of the divisions in the ministries of the State.
From this point of view, Lao Zhu is still very interesting. But the clear-eyed people knew at a glance that Chen Si was slapping the right ass. Maybe it was all doomed in the dark, before and after, Zhu Yuanzhang really only served as emperor for 31 years. After His death, Old Zhu passed his throne to his grandson Zhu Yunjiao.
Four years after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, launched the "Battle of Jingnan" under the banner of "Qing Jun's Side" and seized the dragon chair of his nephew Zhu Yunjiao (Emperor Jianwen). It was no coincidence that Zhu Yunjiao had only been emperor for 4 years, and he was ousted by his uncle. On the first day of July in the ninth year of Yongle (1411), Zhu Di ascended the throne. After ascending the throne, Zhu Di did not recognize the Jianwen era name, and on the first day of July (the first said June 18), he changed the years of Jianwen Yuan, 2, 3, and 4 to Hongwu 32 to 35 years, and the following year to the first year of Yongle.