Zhu Yuanzhang called the empress dowager a purge hero, but these 4 people lived comfortably and grew old, only because of this common feature
Talking about Zhu Yuanzhang in the eyes of many people, he is a very controversial emperor, some people think that he is a diligent and impartial sage, but some people also think that he is a cruel tyrant, after all, after he got the Jiangshan, he killed meritorious heroes, in addition to inventing many tortures.
To say that Zhu Yuanzhang is a person, it is undeniable that there are a thousand Zhu Yuanzhang in a thousand people, but there is really no need to refute this point of Zhu Yuanzhang's purge of heroes. Among the 34 brothers who accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang to fight the world, they were all killed after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, leaving only 4 people behind after Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong, and Deng Yu, who died of illness.
It is said that blessed are the same as the difficulties, but why did Zhu Yuanzhang not enjoy it with his brothers who had suffered together after being blessed? You really can't blame him for that. The reason why he killed the heroes, most of these people were still proud of their merits, and they did not have the courtesy of the king. The four who enjoy their old age in peace actually have such a characteristic.
Here I will talk to you about these 4 first.
Soup and. Speaking of Tang He, the Duke of Xinguo, presumably Zhu Yuanzhang also had a bright eye, after all, this person and he played from childhood to adulthood. Tang He even joined the rebel army before Zhu Yuanzhang, and later with the help of Tang He, Zhu Yuanzhang won the support of the soldiers and became the boss all the way. Later, after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he began to be rewarded, and he could have obtained higher official positions according to his seniority and military merits, but in the end he was only made a marquis, but Tang He still laughed. Nor did he participate in any factional fights after that. When Zhu Yuanzhang had not yet opened his mouth to ask for military power, Tang He took the initiative to hand it over, and directly requested to go home for the elderly, because of the low-key method of eliminating things, so in the end he enjoyed his old age in peace, and was posthumously sealed.
2. Guo Ying. Guo Ying was very loyal after Zhu Yuanzhang raised an army and has always served as Zhu Yuanzhang's guard. During the years that Guo Ying served Zhu Yuanzhang, he was also cautious and basically did not make any mistakes. And because he was The younger brother of Concubine Ning, Zhu Yuanzhang also had great trust in him, and Zhu Yuanzhang had never killed in the face of such a loyal person.
3. Hou Muying. Hou Muying was adopted as a righteous son by Zhu Yuanzhang at the age of eight, and after he was twelve years old, he accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang on the Northern Expedition to the south, and in many years of military service, Zhu Yuanzhang always regarded Hou Muying as his own son. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he accompanied Fu Youde and Lan Yu to pacify Yunnan, and since then he has been guarding Yunnan, and far away from Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang may not have any doubts about him.
4. Geng Bingwen. In his lifetime, he experienced a hundred battles of all sizes, and even in the more than ten years of garrisoning Changxing, he did not lose it. It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang is very much in favor of such a loyal Geng Bingwen, and in the face of such an old minister, Zhu Yuanzhang also understands that it is better to keep him and guard the Jiangshan.