Xu Da, one of the six founding dukes of the Ming Empire, ranks first in the twenty-four meritorious temples, and deserves to be the first god of war in the Ming Dynasty. He once followed Zhu Yuanzhang to fight in the south and the north, and made great contributions to the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and the most praised by later generations was that Xu Da led the army to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun that the Central Plains regime had lost for 400 years.
And Xu Da and Fa Xiao Zhu Yuanzhang, the stories between the two are endless, from being naughty and mischievous together when they were young, to being born and dying together when they were young, and even to achieving great things after middle age, Xu Da can be said to be one of the few wise and brave people around Zhu Yuanzhang, and at the same time, Xu Da is one of the few people who can get a good death in the early Ming Dynasty (the saying of steamed goose is impossible to verify), which is due to the fact that he has been cautious all his life, always understands his own positioning, and understands Zhu Yuanzhang's temper.
There are many stories that describe Xu Da's timidity and caution in the process of getting along with Zhu Yuanzhang, whether these stories are true or not, but they all prove a truth, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang, the boss, is not easy to get along with, and it also proves that Xu Da, a senior manager, is quick to react when dealing with these things.
Fatal test of drunken sleeping dragon bed
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang started a purge of meritorious heroes, including Hu Weiyong, Lan Yu, Fu Youde and many other civil servants and military generals who had followed Zhu Yuanzhang to fight the world were killed by Lao Zhu for various reasons, Zhu Yuanzhang's purpose in doing this was to prevent these heroes from gradually becoming stronger, and secondly, because of the early death of the crown prince Zhu Biao, for the stable rule of his successor Zhu Yunwen. No matter what the purpose, in short, the heroes of all sizes were almost completely killed, at least at that time, being an official was a very dangerous job, so that the officials had to explain the aftermath before they dared to go, otherwise they were suddenly cut down, and they didn't even have a last word.
And Xu Da, who has already paid homage to the Duke of the Kingdom, has a good understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang's temper, and also understands Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions in doing so, so Xu Da adopts the method of not forming a party and not pulling factions, and at the same time, in various details, he can reassure Zhu Yuanzhang, which allows him to avoid several purges.
But Lao Zhu's suspicion is quite serious, especially for Xu Da, who has outstanding achievements and outstanding strategy, he is even more uneasy, so a fatal test is about to be staged.
One day, Zhu Yuanzhang announced that he would summon Xu Da into the palace, Xu Da originally thought that he was going to discuss some military affairs, but after coming to the palace, he saw Zhu Yuanzhang putting down a number of small dishes and a few pots of wine waiting for him, and Xu Da, who didn't know what was going on, didn't dare to ask more, and Lao Zhu, not talking about business, just pulled Xu Da to start the old mode, from stealing cattle with a bare butt to killing the enemy on the battlefield, anyway, it was a bittersweet memory, and at the same time, this cup of wine did not stop, and Xu Da was saluted one by one.
The emperor toasts, how can there be a reason not to drink? Xu Da had to drink them one by one, and after a while, he was a little drunk, if he had changed others, I am afraid that he would have already put his arms around Lao Zhu's neck and began to call him a brother, but at this time, Xu Da still maintained his last sobriety, and did not dare to make a mistake, after all, this is not before, this person in front of him is already the respect of the Ninth Five, if the behavior is disrespectful, it is a matter of minutes to lose his head.
In the end, Xu Da was too drunk to fall to the ground, and at this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's plan came. I saw that he ordered someone to help Xu Da on the dragon bed, cover it with a brocade quilt, and then left.
This is Zhu Yuanzhang's plan, the dragon bed is a royal thing, except for the emperor, no one else can use it, let alone sleep on the dragon bed, the crime of "trespassing" is quite serious.
Zhu Yuanzhang just wanted to set up this plan to find an excuse to punish Xu Da, I have to say that Lao Zhu's routine is so deep!
And Xu Da's side, after waking up, found that he was covered with a brocade quilt, and when he looked at it again, he was sleeping on the dragon bed, and he was instantly frightened, and he fell off the dragon bed with a rolling belt, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, and still chanting words in his mouth saying that the minister should die, and then knelt on the steps to worship to the north, and bowed three times in a row before leaving.
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied with Xu Da's performance, thinking that Xu Da's awe of the royal family in his haste was enough to prove his loyalty to himself.
Therefore, it was originally a fatal test, which was not only perfectly avoided by Xu Da, but also deepened Zhu Yuanzhang's trust in Xu Da, which was a sign of Xu Da's caution.
What does the story teach us?
This story is recorded in "The Complete Works of the Wisdom Tank", in the book, in a few words, a Xu Da who is loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang is portrayed into the wood, so Zhu Yuanzhang will be "happy!" after hearing about this incident, "Dayue!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's background determines his suspicious character, this kind of character, if he is born in an ordinary family, at most he will be a little sulky, and if he is placed on an emperor, what he will bring is that his head will fall to the ground.
The four major cases in the early Ming Dynasty, behind each case, were caused by Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicious character, although some people, such as Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu, were indeed arrogant and domineering, but the crime did not lead to death, and these people were all born and died for Lao Zhu, but in the end they did not get a good death.
Since ancient times, all the birds have been flying, and the good bow is what the emperors of all dynasties will do, but there are only a few who wantonly kill the founding heroes like Zhu Yuanzhang. And Xu Da, who was able to survive in such a situation, has to say that he is really a person with great wisdom.
It is also Xu Da's wisdom that not only survives himself, but also blesses the descendants of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, Queen Xu, who is the daughter of Xu Da, the king of Zhongshan, and the glory of Xu Da's descendants.