Zhu Yuanzhang was not grateful to the Yuan Dynasty, but only acknowledged that the Yuan Dynasty had indeed existed as the orthodoxy of the Central Plains, which was one of the reasons why he later asked people to revise the history of the Yuan Dynasty and put Kublai Khan in the imperial temple.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not only a born military man, but also a born politician.
The reason why he was able to single-handedly start the Ming Dynasty was because he went to Haozhou in 1352 to join the Red Turban Army.
The Red Turban Army is of a religious nature, and the easy-to-use use of the military mouth is also "Maitreya was born, the Ming King was born", and Zhu Yuanzhang's starting capital was also the Red Turban Army in the final analysis.
However, when Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, what attitude did he adopt towards the Red Turban Army? He denounced Maitreya as "demons" and the Red Turban Army as a "thief army."
Zhu Yuanzhang's identity and status are different, and his political stance is also different, so his attitude towards Maitreya and the Red Turban Army will be different.
When he became emperor himself, he couldn't have hoped that others would once again use religion to create his own rebellion, right? Therefore, he would spare no effort to suppress Maitreya Sect and position Maitreya Sect as a cult, and han Lin'er, the "Xiaoming King" who had once made him subservient, also died at his hands.
It was in his own political interest to do so, and it was easier for him to maintain his political position.
Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude toward the Yuan Dynasty was actually similar to his attitude towards maitreya and the Red Turban Army.
He knew that if he continued to use religion as a political slogan like the Red Turban Army, then all his own efforts would only be in vain to cheapen others and make wedding dresses for others.
Therefore, with the help of his advisers, he came up with a more appealing political slogan - to expel hu yu and restore China.
Compared with the Red Turban Army's "Maitreya was born, the Ming King was born", this slogan not only has more practical significance, but also played a non-negligible role in Zhu Yuanzhang's later integration of all forces.
However, when he integrated all the forces that could be integrated in the south and went north, the strength of the Yuan army was still not to be underestimated, and the north was occupied by "Yidi" for many years, and if he wanted to annex the north as quickly as possible and digest it, he had to adjust his policy.
Therefore, in the "Edict of Zhongyuan Zhongyuan", while saying that he wanted to "expel hu yu and restore China", he also said that "although the Mongols and Semu are not of the Chinese ethnic group, between the heavens and the earth, there are those who can know etiquette and righteousness, and are willing to be subjects, no different from the people of the Middle Xia", in order to eliminate the resistance of the northern peoples to the Ming Dynasty.
Only in this way can he absorb the newly occupied territory as soon as possible and thus consolidate his rule.
Not only that, Zhu Yuanzhang did later say that "although the Yuan Dynasty is Yidi, it is the monarch of China, and it will be a hundred years, and the parents such as Yuan and Qing will depend on his birth and maintenance."
Is he really "thanking" the Yuan Dynasty for his kindness to his own life? Of course not, he grew up poor, he didn't have enough to eat and sleep well, his parents died without even a graveyard for burial, and in order to live, he had to be a monk as a beggar, what gratitude did he have to the Yuan Dynasty!
For the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang scolded Hu Yu and Yi Di, not only did he have no gratitude, I am afraid that he only hated.
The reason why he said that "parents such as Shuo and Qing depend on their birth and maintenance" is not to be grateful, but only to recognize the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty, which is a political need.
Only by acknowledging the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty can he be said to have exhausted the qi of the Yuan Dynasty, and it is my turn that he can justifiably take over the territory of the Yuan Dynasty.
Therefore, ming replacing yuan is the destiny of heaven.
Since it is the Destiny of Heaven, the people under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, and the people of the Ming Dynasty, of course you must maintain the Mandate of Heaven well, but you can no longer create the rebellion of the Yuan Dynasty like the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and you must conform to the Ming Dynasty well.
In a word, I Zhu Yuanzhang got the country zhengye! Whether it is a southerner or a northerner, the Yuan Dynasty has exhausted its strength, so don't help the Yuan Dynasty to resist.
The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang said this, in addition to telling everyone that the Yuan Dynasty had run out of qi and that the Ming Dynasty was destined by heaven, was also to win people's hearts.
Although the Yuan Dynasty was dominated by Yidi, after all, Guozuo lasted for nearly a hundred years, so from the people to the landlords and gentry, they all had a certain sense of belonging to the Yuan Dynasty, especially the landlord class that controlled land resources and the intellectuals who mastered the pen, Liu Bowen was once an official of the Yuan Dynasty.
The people are good at fooling around, but the landlord class and intellectuals are very shrewd, and they are afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang will harm their own interests, so after the death of the Yuan Dynasty, they regard themselves as the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty and ignore Zhu Yuanzhang and the Yuan Dynasty.
After Zhu Yuanzhang created the Ming Dynasty, who was the most lacking person under his hands? Of course, he is a reader who can become an official, but if the reader ignores him, what can he do?
At the beginning, he still spoke well, I used to be a citizen of the Yuan Dynasty, and I also received the grace of the Yuan Dynasty, but now that the Yuan Dynasty has exhausted its strength, this allows me to establish the Ming Dynasty to relieve the Si people, and I am not a rebellious thief, I am obedient to the Mandate of Heaven! So should you!
He hoped that by acknowledging the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty himself, he would instead gain recognition of the Ming Dynasty by the landlord class and intellectuals.
Unfortunately, at that time, there were still many people who did not give face, so Zhu Yuanzhang took a more extreme approach, I let you come out as an official, you are not right? I see you're tired of being crooked, dragging it out and cutting it!
The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang recognized the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty was, in the final analysis, for political purposes, one was to tell everyone that he obeyed the Mandate of Heaven and won the righteousness of the country; the other was to be able to better receive the various political legacies left by the Yuan Dynasty, including territory and people's hearts.
Every change of dynasties in history is the case, and only by acknowledging the legitimacy of the previous dynasty can we make the replacement of the former dynasty legitimately in the position of orthodoxy.