Zhu Yuanzhang was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China, and his life can be divided into three phases:
Youth:
Zhu Yuanzhang was born in 1328 in Zhongli, Haozhou, the son of a poor family.
His father died when he was young and his mother went through a very difficult time with him and his siblings.
Zhu Yuanzhang began helping them earn a basic living allowance as a teenager, while also learning read, writing and basic arithmetic at a local Buddhist monastery, and he even became an acolyte.
At the temple, he learned soft skills, such as encouraging teamwork and matching words with deeds, skills that would be useful in his later wars and nation-building.
Later, in 1334, Zhu Yuanzhang, along with some of his brothers, joined the Red Turban Army, an uprising organization against Yuan rule.
A few years later, he was recruited by Guo Ziyi, the leader of the Red Turban Army, and became a team leader, leading the army to attack, occupy, and manage several towns.
In the process, he learned the basic skills of military command and management of the army, and gradually showed his outstanding military talent.
War breakthrough in pursuit of hegemony:
Due to the controversy caused by Guo Ziyi's management and leadership, he was not able to transform the Red Turban Army into a unified and orderly army, which led to some divisions and destabilizing factors.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang recognized an opportunity and thought that he could use the situation at that time to break his relationship with Guo Ziyi and set up his own door.
So, he left the Red Turban Army in 1356 and began his war breakout plan.
Zhu Yuanzhang's war breakout plan was very successful, and he led his troops to defeat other anti-Yuan rebel groups and eventually proclaimed himself emperor.
In the process, he created many successful military strategies, such as his ability to win more with less, and keeping his troops and food in a very high condition.
In addition, he was able to take in many idle homeless people, white evil elements, and various people, and improve the composition and combat effectiveness of his leadership team.
The period of the emperor who unified the country and implemented the New Deal:
After Zhu Yuanzhang became the first emperor of China's Ming Dynasty, he focused on implementing new policies to consolidate his power and unify the country.
His policies included redressing the situation, developing agriculture, reviving the country's economy, improving the lives of ordinary people, and sending officials to various regions to oversee, manage, and develop resources.
These policies led to one of the longest and most emotional periods of rule in history.
This article will analyze the life of Emperor Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang from three aspects: politics, economy and military.
Political aspects:
United China:
Rising from a series of wars and political struggles, Zhu Yuanzhang successfully led peasant uprisings in the south, overthrew the Yuan dynasty, and ascended the throne in Nanjing in 1368.
After that, he led the Ming Dynasty to resist foreign invasion and eventually unified all of China.
Implementing political reforms:
Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to political reform, and he abolished the Mongol Code of Law of the Yuan Dynasty, promulgated the Daming Law and the Daming Drum Edict, and established the laws and institutions of the Ming Dynasty.
He also introduced the imperial examination system and established a strict examination and selection system to encourage the emergence of talent.
These reforms made Ming politics more effective and just.
Rebuilding the economy:
Zhu Yuanzhang rebuilt the economy by reducing the tax burden, stabilizing the currency, building water conservancy projects, and strengthening agricultural production.
He also built new commercial centers and bazaars, which boosted economic growth.
These measures had a positive impact on the economic development of the Ming Dynasty.
Building and cultural construction:
Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to cultural and artistic construction, and he ordered the construction of many magnificent buildings, such as the Forbidden City, the Ming Xiao Mausoleum, and the Nanjing City Wall.
He also encouraged the flourishing of culture and art, and supported the creation and publication of literati.
These buildings and cultural arts have had a profound impact on the development of Chinese culture and art.
Rectifying corruption:
At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang carried out a large-scale rectification and corruption campaign.
He believes that eradicating corruption is an important prerequisite for achieving a strong country and national rejuvenation.
The main measures taken by Zhu Yuanzhang are:
Strengthen the supervision system, enact anti-corruption laws, enrich the ranks of innovative officials, and strictly limit the power of the privileged class.
Especially in the selection of officials, he vigorously advocated the principle of "selecting meritocracy and appointing ability", and all talented, courageous, and honest people, regardless of their poor origins, had the opportunity to be promoted and reused.
Implementation of agricultural policies:
Zhu Yuanzhang believed that agriculture was the foundation of the country, so he implemented various agricultural policies.
For example, reducing peasants' taxes and burdens, strengthening the construction of irrigation and water conservancy projects, and popularizing advanced planting techniques have enabled the development of agricultural production and the rural economy.
These measures not only raised the standard of living of the population, but also provided stable income for the state treasury.
Establishment of a frontier defense system:
Facing the threat of foreign aggression, Zhu Yuanzhang established a tight defense system in the frontiers, set up border guards and beacon towers, and strengthened his rule over ethnic minorities in the four directions to maintain the country's border security.
Promoting diplomatic trade:
Zhu Yuanzhang's exploration and diplomatic trade, he grasped the control of international trade, and effectively promoted China's trade with Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Economic aspects:
Reform of the land system:
During his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang reformed the feudal land system through a series of measures and implemented agricultural taxation and land distribution policies.
It has increased farmers' land ownership and income, improved the efficiency of agricultural production, and promoted the production and supply of agricultural products.
Implementation of the monetary system:
During his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang created the first official currency in Chinese history, the melon seed money, and ensured the stability of the currency and standardized the standards for minting money by manufacturing copper and silver coins.
This monetary system stimulated commodity exchange and capital accumulation, boosting economic development while raising people's living standards.
Improving transportation:
During his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously rebuilt and built canals, post stations and roads, strengthened the connection and organization of transportation, accelerated the speed and time of circulation of commercial materials and resources, and promoted commercial development.
Conduct of Chincha Chancellor trade:
During his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang took the special product channels of various places into his own hands, and ordered his personal attendants and imperial relatives to go to various places to collect special products.
At the same time, he also approved the Chincha minister to do business in China and overseas, which greatly promoted the prosperity of commercial trade.
Construction of irrigation works:
Cleaning up river systems, implementing water control policies, and developing water conservancy projects can increase arable land and promote agricultural development.
Zhu Yuanzhang also vigorously built water conservancy projects, such as the flood discharge of Taihu Lake and irrigation projects such as Jinghang Street.
It effectively solves the problem of water scarcity and helps to improve the level of agricultural production and people's living standards.
Carry out shopping malls and clean up municipalities:
In order to improve the lives of citizens and promote commercial development, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the construction of markets, the establishment of industrial monopolies, the regulation of market transactions, and the prevention of commercial monopolies.
At the same time, it also cleans up the municipality, including sewage discharge, pollution control, and construction of public toilets, creating a good environment for urban development.
Reform of the bureaucracy and personnel appointments:
Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated redundant officials by reforming the official system, evaluating officials' performance, promoting capable officials, paying attention to equal opportunities, and absorbing new upstarts, so as to improve the quality and ability of officials and promote economic management and development.
Encouraging handicrafts and foreign trade:
Zhu Yuanzhang encouraged handicraft production and processing, and expanded the commercial market by opening up foreign trade.
These measures have contributed to the promotion of handicrafts and foreign trade, and have contributed to economic growth.
Military aspects:
North Upper Varyuan:
After Zhu Yuan became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
He established his power in the south, growing in the struggle with other princes.
By the beginning of the 14th century, he began the Northern Expedition, which was to completely eliminate the power of the Yuan Dynasty and establish his dominance in China.
The main purpose of Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition was to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty and restore China's independence and autonomy.
Breaking the Division:.
At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the country was in a chaotic period of division between domains and towns, and Zhu Yuanzhang commanded his army to capture Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and other places.
Finally, it captured Nanjing in 1368 and became the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
In the ensuing battles, he gradually captured large areas of land and unified the country.
Governing the frontier:
Zhu Yuanzhang established a number of military border defense agencies, such as the Grassland Frontier Defense Xiaokang An Department, the Border Town Guard Department, and the Frontier Xuanwei Department, to maintain stability in the border areas.
He led the Northern Expedition many times, recovering and stabilizing Central Asia, Tibet and other regions.
Improvement of the military system:
After unifying the world, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty began to rectify the army, strengthen military discipline, reform the military system, and check the army personnel, making it more organized, disciplined, and more combat-effective.
Under his rule, the Ming army not only had internal unification, but also showed superior combat effectiveness and ability externally.
Successfully repelled the northern nomads:
Zhu Yuanzhang successfully repelled the invasions of northern nomads, such as the Mongols and Jurchens.
He employed a series of strategies, including building the Great Wall, expanding the size of the army, and training to enhance the Ming Dynasty's military superiority in the north.
Innovative Military Strategy:
Zhu Yuanzhang also made many innovations in military strategy, such as alliances, attacking hearts, and defending Qin.
He successfully forged alliances with other countries and expanded his military power;
He is good at finding weak links in the enemy's thoughts and actions, adopting an offensive strategy, and making the enemy waver;
He also adopted a strategy of defending the Qin Dynasty, attaching importance to military defense and border security, and rebuilt fortifications such as the Great Wall and beacon towers.
Pay attention to the improvement of military strength:
Zhu Yuanzhang believes that the strength of the army depends not only on its quantity, but more importantly on the improvement of its quality.
He paid attention to cultivating the morale of the army, making the soldiers' will to fight stronger and stronger, and also paid attention to the development of science and technology, improving the manufacturing level of weapons and equipment, so that the strength of the army was continuously improved.
Epilogue:
To sum up, Zhu Yuanzhang's life is a very great historical story.
He was born into an ordinary family and grew up in a difficult environment.
He demonstrated his leadership skills and military acumen under difficult circumstances, and eventually became a successful national leader.
His life proves that a person can succeed in any situation, as long as he is determined, willing to move forward and constantly striving.