What kind of will the prince Xiangning?
In history, emperors from grassroots backgrounds can still open up the world and make great achievements, and Zhu Yuanzhang is a typical representative.
Later generations' evaluation of Zhu Yuanzhang was mixed.
Historically, people evaluate Zhu Yuanzhang as a rare wise monarch, and under his rule, there are three hundred years of glory in the Ming Dynasty.
However, there are also comments that Zhu Yuanzhang is a tyrannical monarch with a cruel heart.
Not only killed the founding heroes, but also asked many maids and concubines to be buried for him after his death, which is enough to show that Zhu Yuanzhang is a ruthless person.
As the saying goes, if you are good or not an official, if you are all good-hearted, how can you become a generation of kings?
Throughout the dynasties, which of these monarchs who can ascend to the throne of God is not guilty of disorder, and if these ancestors are all good people, where did he become the emperor?
Since Zhu Yuanzhang is the emperor of the Ninth Fifth Supreme, he must be ruthless, but Zhu Yuanzhang is a man of great talent, he is not a tyrant, and he treats everyone and everything equally.
At the beginning, after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, and in the face of the 100,000 Mongolian female dependents who remained in the capital by the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's approach could not be said to make many ministers dare not believe it.
So how did Zhu Yuanzhang deal with these 100,000 Mongolian female dependents?
Dark memories of grassroots emperors
Zhu Yuanzhang's family has been very poor since he was a child, not only that, but there are many brothers in the family, often eating the last meal but not the next.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was still very young, he had already followed his father and brother to the landlord's house to do long-term work, although every day was very hard, but at least he could fill his stomach.
At that time, being able to fill their stomachs was the greatest wish of these poor people.
When Zhu Yuanzhang grew up to fifteen or sixteen years old, the environment at home improved slightly, and his parents also planned to tell him about his family.
However, before Zhu Yuanzhang could marry his daughter-in-law, successive droughts completely crushed this family that had just improved.
Days of drought have wiped out crops, and old people and children are starving to death throughout the village.
Zhu Yuanzhang's family was also not happy, and he could only rely on the few Chen Guzi to get by.
However, it didn't take long for a sudden plague to completely push the family into the abyss.
Zhu Yuanzhang's parents were the first to be infected with the plague, and then several brothers in the family were also infected, and not long after, they all died.
Only Zhu Yuanzhang was left alone in this world.
Zhu Yuanzhang had no money to buy a coffin for his family, not even a broken mat, so he silently buried his family and left his hometown.
At that time, his hometown was like a purgatory on earth, full of corpses and cries, and the whole village was immersed in grief.
After Zhu Yuanzhang left his hometown, within a few days, the dry food had already been eaten, and in desperation, he had to rely on begging to get a little food, and it was difficult to survive.
When he is lucky, when he meets a kind master, he may give him a steamed bun and a bowl of porridge, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart is very excited, generally he can't get such a good meal.
He finished the porridge and carried the bun in his arms, if he couldn't get food for several days, this bun could still respond to emergencies.
When you are unlucky, not only will you not get a bite to eat, but you may also be spurned and scolded.
However, born in such a chaotic world, Zhu Yuanzhang did not encounter a few days of good luck, and he had to go hungry almost every day.
One day, passing by a temple, he begged the monks in the temple for food, and the monks gave him some fasting rice.
Although they are all coarse tea and light rice, this is already a rare delicacy for Zhu Yuanzhang.
At this time, a thought flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, it is better to become a monk, at least have a place to eat and sleep.
He begged the monks in the temple to take him in, and the abbot was strange and pitiful to see him alone, so he took him as an apprentice, shaved his hair, and let him stay in the temple to become a monk.
Zhu Yuanzhang finally had a place to stay, and he was very diligent in the temple, chopping firewood, carrying water, and cleaning the courtyard.
However, this peaceful day did not last long, and the days in the temple became more and more difficult.
In the years of famine, there was another plague, and how could the people spare money to offer incense in the temple?
There was also a famine in the temple, and without the money for the lamps and oil offered by the pilgrims, the abbot had to dismiss the monks and let them all go out to separate their lives.
Zhu Yuanzhang had just passed a few days of peace, and now he was called Hanako, and he had to restart his begging career.
Long-term oppression and rebellion
These hardships made Zhu Yuanzhang very disgusted with the rule of the Yuan Dynasty.
The Yuan Dynasty was turbulent and unstable, and the Mongols ruled the Han people, and the Mongols never regarded the Han as people, which is one of the reasons why the Yuan Dynasty eventually perished.
The monarchs of the Yuan Dynasty were all Mongols, and they looked down on the Han from the bones, so during the period of their reign, slavery was implemented.
The slave owners were naturally Mongols, while the slaves were Han.
The court of the Yuan Dynasty had almost no Han officials, and almost all of them were Mongolian nobles, each with their own side.
Therefore, the Han people had almost no political rights or status in the Yuan Dynasty, and were the lowest race.
The Han did not even have the right to personal freedom, and could be bought, traded, or even killed by the Mongols.
The women of the Han people are even more miserable, and they can be spoiled and bought and sold by the Mongols at will.
Han women are more delicate and delicate, more tender than Mongolian women, and naturally loved by Mongolians.
However, the Mongols would not marry Han women, and they would not even give them the title of concubine.
These Han women were just pets of the Mongol nobility, and they could not even raise children, because in the eyes of the Mongols, these Han women were just lowly slave girls.
The Mongols have always been rough, and the Han people are like grass mustard in their eyes, oppressing and exploiting at will, killing a Han is like crushing an ant, and will not be punished at all.
However, after all, the Han people are living people with flesh and blood, and the Han people, who have been oppressed by the Mongols for a long time, finally could not bear it, and they all revolted, launched an attack on the Yuan Dynasty, and rose up against these Mongols.
Most of these Han people are the lowest working masses, and their conviction is very strong, rather than suffering the humiliation of the Mongols, it is better to rise up and fight, even if they die in battle.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was also the toiling masses at the lowest level of oppressed society, resolutely joined the rebel army and rebelled against the Yuan government together with other Han Chinese.
To participate in the uprising, you have to meet nobles
After Zhu Yuanzhang joined the rebel army, he has always been brave and good at fighting, resisting the Mongols many times, and gradually emerging in the rebel army, and later he joined Guo Zixing's rebel army by chance.
At that time, the rebel army led by Guo Zixing was quite strong, defeating the Mongols' soldiers and horses many times, and was a rebel army whose strength could not be underestimated.
At first, Zhu Yuanzhang was an unknown pawn in Guo Zixing's team, and later in many conquests, Zhu Yuanzhang fought bravely and well, repeatedly made battle merits, and led the rebel army to repel the Mongols many times.
Guo Zixing gradually became interested in Zhu Yuanzhang, not only promoted Zhu Yuanzhang, but also entrusted some important military affairs to Zhu Yuanzhang to handle.
Zhu Yuanzhang completed the task assigned by Guo Zixing every time very successfully, Guo Zixing was very satisfied, and he appreciated Zhu Yuanzhang even more, he felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was not only brilliant, but also born a good seedling who could lead troops to fight.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang was favored by Guo Zixing, Guo Zixing relied on Zhu Yuanzhang even more.
After Guo Zixing learned of Zhu Yuanzhang's life, he sympathized with him, so he promised to tell Zhu Yuanzhang a family affair and let Zhu Yuanzhang also become a family.
After Zhu Yuanzhang made battle merits again, Guo Zixing, in order to reward Zhu Yuanzhang, gave his righteous daughter to Zhu Yuanzhang as his wife.
Guo Zixing's righteous daughter was later Empress Ma, and she was Zhu Yuanzhang's original wife.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang followed Guo Zixing, he not only became famous, but also married his wife.
From then on, Zhu Yuanzhang was no longer a begging flower son on the street, but the infantry leader of the famous Red Turban Army.
Guo Zixing gave his righteous daughter Xu to Zhu Yuanzhang, which shows the importance he attaches to Zhu Yuanzhang.
As the saying goes, a son-in-law is half, Guo Zixing's move is to elevate Zhu Yuanzhang's status in the rebel army.
With Guo Zixing's help and weight, Zhu Yuanzhang's road forward can be described as smooth.
Zhu Yuanzhang has great respect for Guo Zixing, and if it were not for the appreciation of Guo Zixing, a nobleman, perhaps Zhu Yuanzhang might not have the opportunity to get ahead.
Later, after Guo Zixing fell ill, his health deteriorated day by day, and Zhu Yuanzhang at this time had already become his right arm.
In order to allow the rebel army to continue to flourish, Guo Zixing entrusted Zhu Yuanzhang with the important task of leading the rebel army to continue to resist the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang's prestige in the army was very high, and only he could take on this great task.
In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang officially became the leader of the rebel army, and it was precisely because he took over Guo Zixing's rebel army that he completely laid down his own world.
Break out of the world and establish the Ming Dynasty
Zhu Yuanzhang's rebel army grew stronger and stronger, so Zhu Yuanzhang led the rebel army to the southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas to gain a foothold.
The Yuan Dynasty court had almost no garrisons in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the management was also very sparse and negligent, which allowed Zhu Yuanzhang to exploit loopholes.
In just a few years of work, Zhu Yuanzhang's forces spread throughout Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the ranks of the rebel army grew stronger and stronger.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not only recruiting troops to expand the ranks of the rebel army, but also looking for talented people all over the world to join his team and fight the Yuan Dynasty together.
Zhu Yuanzhang's call soon attracted many Han people to come and defect, and for a time, Zhu Yuanzhang's subordinates had many military generals, and most of them were brave and resourceful.
In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang gathered an army all the way north to attack the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang's 250,000 rebel army killed all the way to the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, and when the monarch of the Yuan Dynasty learned the news, he abandoned the city and fled for his life, leaving only 100,000 Mongolian female dependents in the capital, shuddering at home behind closed doors.
At this point, the Yuan Dynasty completely perished, and Zhu Yuanzhang established the Daming Dynasty, and he officially became the founding emperor of the Daming.
The Han once again regained power and became the masters of the world.
Where should the 100,000 Mongolian female dependents go?
When Zhu Yuanzhang first ascended the throne, he was naturally confused, after all, there were many state affairs to deal with every day.
Although there are many ministers assisting from the side, the final decision on the case is still with Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Yuanzhang is inevitably a little exhausted.
In particular, where should the 100,000 Mongolian female dependents who remained in the capital by the Mongols of the former dynasty go, the ministers quarreled fiercely, and Zhu Yuanzhang had a headache when he thought of this.
A small number of these Mongol female dependents were officials, and their husbands were all serving as officials in the dynasty, and when Zhu Yuanzhang's rebel army attacked the city, their husbands ran away and had to abandon them here.
The rest of the bulk are handmaids, and the Mongols have never taken women seriously, and when there is a matter of life, women are like clothing, which can be discarded at will.
More than half of the ministers believed that these Mongol women should be executed because they had Mongol blood flowing in their bodies, and the Mongols had always looked down on the Han Chinese, so why should they keep them.
A small number of ministers believed that these Mongol women were weak women who had no chicken power, and that they had not harmed the Han people, and if they were all executed, wouldn't the Han people be as frustrated and ruthless as the Mongol savages.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a long time, and finally made a decision in the upper dynasty.
He did not choose to execute these Mongol women, nor did he degrade all these Mongol women to slavery, but let these Mongolian women make their own choices.
If you want to stay in the Central Plains to live, you must abide by the customs of the Han people, whether it is clothing, hair accessories, or language and writing, you must follow the customs and make changes.
Moreover, since he decided to stay in the Central Plains, he would henceforth be a Han woman, and she could only marry with Han people, and she could never marry Mongolian men again.
If it is found that he has intermarried with a Mongolian man, he is executed together.
If they want to return to their hometown to live in Mongolian women, Zhu Yuanzhang is not reluctant and lets them return to their hometown in Mongolia on their own.
Zhu Yuanzhang's holy decree made 100,000 Mongolian female dependents grateful to Dade, and they never expected that Zhu Yuanzhang would let them go.
Not only the Mongolian female relatives are very grateful to Zhu Yuanzhang, but even the favorability of other Mongolian tribes towards Zhu Yuanzhang has also increased a lot.
Most of these Mongolian women chose to stay in the Central Plains and intermarry with the Han Chinese, and for a while, the population of the Ming Dynasty instantly rose, and the birth rate naturally increased significantly.
Why would Zhu Yuanzhang be soft on Mongolian women? It's also not like his style.
In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang's move was completely his good strategy, the Ming Dynasty had just been established, the dynasty was not stable, if 100,000 Mongolian women were killed at this time, then the Mongols would definitely hold a grudge and continue to organize soldiers and horses to counterattack Daming.
If Zhu Yuanzhang let these Mongolian women go, at least it would not cause these hatreds, and the problem of population loss could be solved.
Such a thing that has the best of both worlds, why not Zhu Yuanzhang.
Resources:
Master's Thesis of Inner Mongolia University, 2016
Ethnic Studies, 1986.05
Academic Monthly, Issue 04, 1980
Jianghuai Forum, Issue 06, 1990