The Battle of Jingyan was a key battle for Zhu Di, the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, to seize the throne. In this civil war that decided the fate of the Ming Dynasty, there was a general LinkedIn who was brave and fearless, and repeatedly made war achievements, and was personally praised by Zhu Di as "the first meritorious hero of Jingjing". However, this highly decorated general eventually died in battle to protect Zhu Di, which makes people sigh. Who is he, why did he receive this honor, and what fate did his descendants have? Let's find out.
Zhang Yu's background and early experience
Zhang Yu, whose name is Shimei, was born in the third year of Yuan Zhizheng (1343), and was a native of Xiangfu County (now Kaifeng City). His father, Zhang Tianyou, was an official of the Yuan Dynasty and had a prominent family background. Zhang Yu has read poetry and books since he was a child, and he was appreciated by the Yuan court and awarded the position of privy council.
In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Yu witnessed the decay of the dynasty, the government was dark, and the people were struggling to make a living. Although he is in a high position, he is deeply helpless about the status quo, and secretly hopes that there will be a hero who can sweep away the shortcomings of the old dynasty and open a new era.
In the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385), when Zhang Yu was forty-three years old, he took his wife Wang Huiming and son Zhang Fu and other family members to resolutely leave Mobei and defect to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhang Yucai was highly knowledgeable, so he kept him by his side as a strategist.
In the following year, Zhang Yu accompanied the Ming army to conquer the savage tribes, made great achievements, and was awarded the Jinan Wei Deputy Thousand Households. In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu (1391), he expelled the Yuan army that invaded the realm, pursued it until Jihan Mountain, and was transferred to the left guard of Yanshan.
After Zhu Di ascended the throne of Yan, Zhang Yu was assigned to him. Although he was over half a hundred years old, Zhang Yu was brave and good at fighting, giving advice, and soon won Zhu Di's appreciation. Zhu Di regarded Zhang Yu as a confidant and reused him as the mastermind of the Yan army.
In the first year of Jianwen (1399), Zhu Di launched the Battle of Jingnan, and Zhang Yu accompanied him. With his extraordinary wisdom and bravery, he established outstanding feats in the early days of Jingjing, and cleared the first obstacle to Zhu Di's march by seizing the Nine Gates of Beiping and controlling the whole city.
In the following months, Zhang Yu made many miraculous achievements. He set up the Fuyueyang Bridge and captured two generals of the Southern Army; he personally spied on the enemy camp and formulated an offensive strategy for Zhu Di to directly capture Zhending; and in the Battle of Zhending, he captured 30,000 enemy troops, forcing Geng Bingwen, the commander of the Southern Army, to change his defense.
In the Battle of Jingyan, Zhang Yu can be said to be Zhu Di's right-hand man, and his heroic performance and outstanding achievements laid a solid foundation for Zhu Di to seize the throne. However, just when the Jing Martyrdom was coming to an end, this veteran who was over the age of sixteen died on the battlefield at the age of 58 in order to protect Zhu Di, which made people sigh.
Zhang Yu's outstanding achievements in the Battle of Jingjing
At the beginning of the Battle of Jingjing, Zhang Yu showed outstanding military talent. At that time, Zhu Di's Yan army only had 30,000 horses, and the Jianwen court mobilized 300,000 troops to suppress the border. The situation is very different, and the Yan army is at an absolute disadvantage.
Zhang Yu knows very well that the key to whether Jingnan can succeed lies in taking the initiative and taking a ruthless initiative. He suggested that Zhu Di take the lead in launching an attack when the enemy army had just arrived in Yandi and had an unstable foothold. Zhu Di obeyed it and ordered Zhang Yu to personally lead the troops and go straight to the Nine Gates of Beiping.
The Nine Gates of Beiping is the choke point leading to the Beijing Division, and once it is controlled by the enemy, the Yan army will be passive. Zhang Yu boosted morale, personally charged into battle, and finally conquered the Nine Gates of Beiping overnight. This made a good start for the Battle of Jingyan, and also laid the foundation for the Yan army's later success.
Subsequently, Zhang Yu offered another plan to help Zhu Di take Jizhou, Zunhua, Yongping and Miyun, and replenished a large number of elite troops for the Yan army. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Yu personally led the elite soldiers, set up the Fuyueyang Bridge, and captured the two generals of the Southern Army, Pan Zhong and Yang Song, the pioneers of the Southern Army.
On the eve of the Battle of Zhending, Zhang Yu personally spied on the enemy camp and found that the southern army was negligent in defense, so he suggested that Zhu Di take advantage of the victory to take Zhending. Sure enough, the Yan army won a complete victory in the Battle of Zhending, capturing more than 30,000 people of the southern army, forcing the commander of the southern army, Geng Bingwen, to be withdrawn.
After that, Zhang Yu followed Zhu Di to aid Yongping and proposed to go north to attack Daning. After commanding the Chinese army, he defeated Li Jinglong, the main force of the Southern Army, twice in the Battle of Zhengcunba and the Battle of Baigou River.
Passing all the way, Zhang Yu can be said to be an absolute hero in the Battle of Jingjing. He took the lead, commanded the battle, and repeatedly performed miraculous feats, making great contributions to Zhu Di's seizure of the throne. If it were not for Zhang Yu, the wise and brave mastermind, it would have been difficult to achieve such a decisive victory in the Battle of Jingjing.
Zhang Yu was martyred to save Zhu Di
In the later stages of the Battle of Jingyan, Zhu Di's Yan army had already achieved a decisive advantage. But just as the Jingjing tribulation was coming to an end, a tragic battle made Zhang Yu sacrifice his life for the country.
At that time, Zhu Di led the main force of the Yan army to launch a general attack on Emperor Jianwen's camp. Zhang Yu led the Chinese army as the vanguard and personally rushed to the forefront. The two sides encountered each other in the area of Dongchang Province, and the battle was on the verge of breaking out.
At the beginning of the war, Zhang Yu's Chinese army occupied favorable terrain and attacked repeatedly, defeating the southern army one after another. At this moment, Zhu Di's Yanwang camp was sniped by the Southern Army, Zhu Di was besieged, and the Yan army was in chaos.
After Zhang Yu learned that Zhu Di was in a desperate situation, he didn't say a word, and immediately turned the main force of the Chinese army, fought bravely out of the encirclement, and went straight to the place where Zhu Di was besieged. He personally rushed to the front line, took the lead, and opened the way for Zhu Di.
The two sides launched a life-and-death fight under Dongchang City. Zhang Yu is invincible, and all the enemies will lose their fear. But just as he rushed to Zhu Di's tent, a sneak arrow hit him in the chest.
Zhang Yu covered his wounds, stood upright, and shouted, "Long live King Yan!" Then he used his last breath to escort Zhu Di out of the encirclement. At this moment, Zhang Yu completely fell and died a heroic martyr at the age of 58.
Seeing this, Zhu Di burst into tears, and personally helped Zhang Yu up, grief-stricken. He was extremely saddened by Zhang Yu's death, and personally praised Zhang Yu for "being talented, wise and brave, and being the first in terms of appeasement."
After the victory of Jingnan, Zhu Di ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, posthumously named Zhang Yu as the "Duke of Rongguo", and included his daughter in the harem and canonized as a concubine. Zhu Di regards Zhang Yu as a close friend, who lives and dies together during his lifetime and will never forget it after his death.
Zhang Yu's descendants are glorious
Although Zhang Yu died young, his exploits opened the way to glory for future generations. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he not only posthumously crowned Zhang Yu as the Duke of Rongguo, but also included his daughter in the harem and canonized as a concubine.
Zhang Yu's eldest son, Zhang Fu, is also a brave and warlike general. He made many military exploits in the Battle of Jingyan and was appreciated by Zhu Di. After Emperor Jianwen was captured, Zhang Fu led an army to conquer Annam, swept all the way, won a great victory, and was named the Duke of England.
During the Yongle period, Zhang Fusi was in peace, suppressed the rebellion in Annam, and consolidated the rule of the Ming Dynasty there. Zhu Di praised his merits and hereditary the title of Duke of England to him. Since then, the descendants of the Zhang family have been passed down from generation to generation until the ninth generation of Zhang Shize.
The British dukedom was extremely prominent in the Ming Dynasty, second only to Prince Yipin. As a British family, the Zhang family has thousands of assets and a full house of children and grandchildren, and has become the first noble of the Ming Dynasty. Not only did they have vast hereditary lands, but they also had a large number of officials and armies in charge.
By the Wanli period, the power of the Zhang family had gradually declined. But even so, they are still nobles in the dynasty, and their family prestige is far and wide. Emperor Wanli personally wrote a memorial for Zhang Shize's son Zhang Shiyou, which shows the high status of the Zhang family in the Ming Dynasty.
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Although Zhang Yu was a poor scholar during his lifetime, his heroic deeds and loyalty and courage opened the road to glory for future generations. In the battle of Jingyan, Zhang Yu gambled his life for Zhu Di, and finally exchanged for the glory and wealth of his descendants for hundreds of generations.