Guo Zixing, one of the heroes of the late Yuan Dynasty, was a key figure in the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang
In the first month of the third year of Hongwu, Xu Da led a large army to the Northern Expedition again, and in May of that year captured hundreds of Northern Yuan's clan and ministers, and drove the remnants of Northern Yuan back to their northern hometown in one fell swoop. Zhu Yuanzhang, who heard this news, was overjoyed and immediately decided to divide the meritorious men.
But what is surprising is that the first person to be crowned king was not Xu Da, who was the "first hero of the founding of the Ming Dynasty", but posthumously awarded to the leader of the rebel army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Zixing. This puzzled many ministers at the time, who believed that although Guo Zixing was the emperor's father-in-law, this honor was really too high.
However, Xu Da and other founding fathers did not think so, they all felt that this was the honor that Guo Zixing deserved, so how heavy was Guo Zixing's influence on Zhu Yuanzhang, so that even if he was behind him, the reward could still be ranked before Xu Da and other famous generals? Even the "History of Ming" commented that it had a foundation for the Ming Dynasty?
First, the crowd rose up together, and Haozhou raised the flag
In the eleventh year of the Yuan Dynasty, after more than eighty years of brutal rule, the people of the Central Plains had long hated the Mongol rulers to the bone marrow. It was at a time when this ethnic contradiction had intensified to the critical point of outbreak that the Yuan Dynasty once again forcibly recruited 150,000 migrant workers to build a dam to control the Yellow River.
This was probably the "last straw" that crushed the people at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and in May of that year, Han Shantong dug up the one-eyed stone people by digging the river, and fabricated the folk song "The stone people have one eye, provoking the Yellow River to rebel", which set off the prelude to the peasant uprising in Yingzhou.
A stone stirred up a thousand waves, Han Shantong raised his arms, and the people who were oppressed by the Yuan Dynasty everywhere responded in groups, because Han Shantong and other leaders of the rebel army wore red scarves, so the rebel army was named "Red Turban Army". As the revolt became more and more widespread, the Yuan Dynasty began to send generals to counter the rebellion.
But decades of peace and pleasure have smoothed out the edges and corners of the cavalry that once swept the world. The continuous defeat of the Yuan Dynasty army made the people of the world feel that the Mongol regime had run out of gas.
After a year of development, the wave of anti-yuan of the people at the bottom has become larger and larger, almost all over the land of Kyushu. At this time, Guo Zixing, a shandong Heze man known for his righteousness, also germinated the idea of saving the people from water and fire.
Because of the honesty and righteousness of people, when Guo Zixing raised his arm, thousands of people immediately came to respond. Guo Zixing, with these thousands of brothers, captured the city of Haozhou in Anhui Province, and served as the commander of the Red Turban Army in Haozhou.
However, at that time, Haozhou City was not Guo Zixing alone, and at the same time he entered Haozhou City, there were 4 major leaders such as Sun Deya, and all 5 of them called themselves marshals of the Red Turban Army of Haozhou at that time. However, the other 4 are very different from Guo Zixing, they are not only reckless but also selfish, and the uprising is to satisfy their own selfish desires. After occupying Haozhou City, it was often a family raid, which made Guo Zixing very dissatisfied and wanted to find an opportunity to weaken the 4 of them.
In the eyes of Sun Deya and 4 other people, Guo Zixing pretended to be high and pretentious, and also listed Guo Zixing as an "outlier", although on the surface it seemed to be a harmonious Haozhou rebel army, but in fact, it was pregnant with ghosts and deep contradictions.
Second, the bitter fate of the eight to defect, recruited as a virtuous son-in-law Cheng Yuanzhang
It is reasonable to say that if the Red Turban Army in Haozhou has always been in this situation, then without the Yuan government to suppress it, it will be defeated because of the nest fighting. However, just as the so-called "Heavenly Invincible Road", just when the gap between Guo Zixing and the other 5 people was getting deeper and deeper, a monk who came to join the rebel army changed the fate of this Red Turban Army that was on the verge of breaking up.
In the summer of the twelfth year, the world was in turmoil, and a monk named Zhu Zhongba, because he could not spend the money, thought of going to the Red Turban rebels in exchange for a few full meals. After inquiring from many sources, Zhu Zhongba learned that Guo Zixing in Haozhou was the most affectionate of all the leaders of the Red Turban Army at that time, and immediately rushed to Haozhou City to surrender to Guo Zixing's door.
However, the scene that happened next was ironic. Because his family was poor and his parents died early, Zhu Zhongba made a living by begging when he was a teenager, and in the world at that time, people could manage themselves well, and it was good to give alms to others. In this way, the young Zhu Zhongba, in desperation, could only steal some things to fill his hunger, but after a long time, the whole person gave people the feeling of being a bit of a thief.
Although Zhu Zhongba later entered the temple as a monk, he was not able to eat enough, so although this "unique" temperament on his body was improved, he was not completely eliminated. Coupled with many days of running and starvation, when Zhu Zhongba arrived at Guo Zixing's camp, the guards at Yingkou thought that he was a traitor sent by the Yuan army and arrested Zhu Zhongba.
When Zhu Zhongba was tied up by the five flowers and brought to Guo Zixing's face, Guo Zixing even stood up from his chair. Because although this Zhu Zhongba face was indeed a little suspicious, the heroism in his eyes and the heroism in the conversation told Guo Zixing that this person was definitely not a traitor sent by the Yuan Ting. Immediately, Guo Zixing personally untied the unassuming "monk" and asked him to set up a table for him.
After drinking and eating, Zhu Zhongba was very grateful to this discerning hero and wanted to kneel down to give thanks, but Guo Zixing stopped him and told him that he would appoint him as the tenth husband under him, and from then on he would become a member of the Red Turban Rebel Army. Not only that, Guo Zixing also felt that the name Zhu Zhongba was too rustic, and specially changed a name for him, since then, there is no Zhu Zhongba in the world, replaced by an anti-Yuan hero who has a contemporary reputation for military smell.
Soon after Zhu Yuanzhang arrived at the Red Turban Army, the Yuan Dynasty's army that suppressed the Haozhou uprising was lined with soldiers. Guo Zixing was worthy of the chaos of the world, and personally led the Red Turban Army out of the city to meet the Mongol army. Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, but also felt that his choice was correct, in order to repay Guo Zixing's kindness, Zhu Yuanzhang was brave and abnormal in the military formation, and performed extremely brightly in several confrontations.
When the Yuan Dynasty's army withdrew, Guo Zixing felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was indispensable, admired him even more, and consulted with his wife to give his righteous daughter Ma Shixu to Zhu Yuanzhang. Facts have proved that this "chaff wife" with whom Zhu Yuanzhang has been married since he first emerged is a virtuous helper who understands great righteousness and has both moral integrity and ability.
Due to the heavy losses in the confrontation with the Yuan army, the Red Turban Army in Haozhou urgently needed fresh blood to replenish, coupled with the contradictions with Sun Deya and others, the arduous task of recruiting troops and buying horses naturally fell to the "virtuous son-in-law" Zhu Yuanzhang. In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just been newly married, bid farewell to his beloved wife and went to the countryside near Haozhou City to recruit rebels.
It was also in this recruitment that Zhu Yuanzhang encountered which future famous military generals.
Third, the south is slightly fixed, Zhu Yuanzhang "blue out of blue"
When Zhu Yuanzhang, who had recruited elite soldiers, returned to Haozhou City with great joy, he learned from his wife that his father-in-law had been betrayed by Sun Deya and others and imprisoned. Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang could not care about the distinction between superiors and subordinates, and attacked Sun Deya's camp with his subordinates and full of anger, and rescued Guo Zixing.
After this incident, Zhu Yuanzhang's weight in the heart of the Haozhou rebels became heavier, and Guo Zixing also completely trusted him. However, before Guo Zixing and Sun Deya and others could settle the account, Yuan Ting's counterinsurgency forces arrived again. In desperation, we can only temporarily put aside our grievances and be consistent with the outside world.
After five months of perseverance, he finally repelled the Yuan army again. Guo Zixing breathed a sigh of relief and thought that he could "settle accounts after the autumn" with Sun Deya and others, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not think so. Because after this battle, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that if he had been living in the small area of Haozhou, the final result would either be suppressed by the Mongols or annexed by other rebel armies.
Therefore, after a brief rest, Zhu Yuanzhang proposed to Guo Zixing that he wanted to take his direct subordinates to the south to Dingyuan and open up another stronghold for the rebels. In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang took Xu Da and 24 other generals and some soldiers to the north bank of the Yangtze River to work hard. In less than a year, Zhu Yuanzhang gained a firm foothold in Dingyuan and entered the city of Chuzhou, becoming the commander of the rebel army like Guo Zixing and others.
After taking control of Chuzhou City, Zhu Yuanzhang did not stick to the city like Guo Zixing and others, but continued to recruit talents and accumulate strength to prepare for further expansion. The difference is that in this round of recruitment, in addition to the elite general Zhu Yuanzhang, he also recruited Li Shanchang and other strategists.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's forces had become the leader of the rebel army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, while Guo Zixing in Haozhou had been suppressed by Sun Deya and others. In desperation, Guo Zixing had to abandon Haozhou City and go south to Chuzhou.
4. Seduced by others, the two children were killed
When Guo Zixing arrived in Chuzhou, he was stunned by the sight in front of him, the rebel army in Chuzhou was orderly and numerous, and Zhu Yuanzhang's generals were all heroic. And what happened next made Guo Zixing even more relieved. Zhu Yuanzhang always remembered this "Bole father-in-law" who dragged him at the low point of his life, and when he took the wind and dust for Guo Zixing, he handed over all the rebels under his command to Guo Zixing, who was still a general under Guo Zixing's account.
The sudden "surprise" not only made Guo Zixing helpless, but also triggered the selfishness of the greedy people around him. When Zhu Yuanzhang handed over the soldiers and horses to Guo Zixing, Guo Zixing's brother-in-law Zhang Tianyou and son Guo Tianxu tricked Guo Zixing into suppressing Zhu Yuanzhang in time, otherwise it would lead to his prestige being too great to control.
The words of such villains who "cover their ears and steal bells" are clumsy, but they did not expect that Guo Zixing, whose eyes were covered by power, actually believed it. He began to slowly and privately find the strategists and generals under Zhu Yuanzhang's account, wanting them to serve him, and also began to transfer Zhu Yuanzhang away from the military power center and no longer let him lead the army.
Zhu Yuanzhang can still endure these things, only to repay Guo Zixing's kindness in that year. But unexpectedly, Guo Zixing's son actually wanted to kill Zhu Yuanzhang. This made Zhu Yuanzhang really intolerable, and soon after Zhu Yuanzhang took Xu Da and others to bid farewell to Guo Zixing, and then captured Hezhou as his stronghold.
Guo Zixing also died of illness in Chuzhou shortly after, and his son Guo Tianxu became the new marshal of the rebel army, and this new marshal was always angry with Zhu Yuanzhang, and he wanted to kill Zhu Yuanzhang. In desperation, Zhu Yuanzhang could only kill Guo Zixing's two sons through a plot to borrow the hand of another rebel leader, Chen Xixian.
However, Guo Zixing also had a young daughter, and after the death of Guo Zixing's two sons, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered Guo Zixing's old love and took him over to marry him as a concubine. Poor Guo Zixing, although he was a man of great affection and righteousness, he failed to teach his son well, and in the end all his efforts were all "made for his son-in-law Zhu Yuanzhang".
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