Preface
Zhu Wen, a generation of heroes during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, his talent and ability are comparable to Cao Cao, such praise makes people wonder how powerful he is? His ability to command the army is not only breathtaking, but also has left a lasting impact on history.
So, how did he rise in troubled times and dominate the Central Plains? And how to build such a strong army and win the support of his subordinates? What else is there about this little-known generation of heroes that we should explore?
1. Take root in Kaifeng and seize the Central Plains step by step
In 898 AD, Zhu Wen served as the envoy of the Xuanwu Festival, with Kaifeng as the center, and began his journey of unification of the Central Plains. At that time, the Central Plains region was in the chaos of the division of five dynasties and ten kingdoms, and various warlords were in endless disputes, Zhu Wen relied on agile military actions and outstanding strategy, successively seized Huaibei, Shandong and other places, and wrestled with warlords such as Shatuo Li Keyong and Fengxiang Li Maozhen.
It has to be said that Zhu Wen showed extraordinary military leadership skills at that time. He was able to quickly unite and mobilize a large number of elite generals to form a formidable army. For example, during the tenure of the Xuanwu Jiedu envoy, Zhu Wen received the support and allegiance of many outstanding generals such as Niu Cunjie, Zhang Guihou, Wang Tan and so on.
Among these generals, some of them took the initiative to come to Zhu Wen, such as Niu Cunjie, who once explained to his subordinates that "the world is turbulent, and it deserves to be heroic", obviously in his opinion, Zhu Wen is a hero and master worth following. And Zhu Wen also reused these refuge people, such as Niu Cunjie, who was loyal to Houliang until death.
Others were discovered and absorbed by Zhu Wen during the war. For example, Zhang Guihou was originally a general who belonged to Huang Chao, and attracted Zhu Wen's attention because "in order to make good use of the lance, he can hit the crowd with less".
Another example is Wang Tan, who was originally just a small colonel, but showed outstanding bravery in the battle, so that Zhu Wen was surprised and immediately promoted him exceptionally. Wang Tan has been promoted all the way since then, and finally became a party festival envoy.
Zhu Wen's discernment and reuse of talents enabled him to gather a large number of outstanding generals under his command, laying a solid foundation for his unification of the Central Plains in the future.
2. Command the army with an iron fist and establish an authoritative image
While building up his own strength, Zhu Wen also attached great importance to maintaining military discipline and establishing his absolute authority in the army. He has a set of means and strategies to lead the army, so that his subordinates respect and fear him.
For example, on the issue of preventing soldiers from fleeing, Zhu Wen ordered that every soldier be tattooed with a military horn on his face to strengthen control. He also established a punishment system of "slashing", that is, if the commander was killed in battle, his subordinates would be executed.
Sometimes there were even cases where Zhu Wen wantonly slaughtered prisoners because "God is angry, I kill less". Although these methods were cruel, they effectively established Zhu Wen's absolute authority in the army. Although his subordinates feared his killing, they also had to respect his decisiveness and decisiveness.
Under such military discipline, even some fierce generals under Zhu Wen could not escape his accountability. For example, the generals Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin, the two had many disputes in the army, and Zhu Wen has always valued their talents very much and often mediated. But in the end, it was in the incident of Zhu Zhen's unauthorized killing of Li Tangbin, and the angry Zhu Wen ordered Zhu Zhen to be executed.
This move undoubtedly greatly deterred Zhu Wen's other generals, letting them know that even the most proud subordinates could not escape the wrath of the commander. Zhu Wen established this style of "being strict with himself and forgiving his subordinates", and won himself supreme prestige in the army.
However, Zhu Wen did not rely entirely on fear to maintain the morale of the military. He also knows how to use rewards to gain the loyalty of his subordinates. For example, he rewarded Kou Yanqing with horses, and spared no effort to Zhang Guiba, Kang Huaiying and other generals, which won him the support of the soldiers.
Especially when Zhang Guihou and others died on the battlefield for him, Zhu Wen's deep condolences and gratitude made his subordinates feel the importance of the coach to them. This bond of loyalty, which is based on personal affection, is very difficult to break once it is formed. In this atmosphere, Zhu Wen's subordinates naturally preferred to work for him.
3. Cultivate talents and give full play to their respective characteristics
In addition to strict military discipline and a policy of attaching equal importance to favors, Zhu Wen also had a unique way of selecting and training generals. He is good at discovering talents and can make the most of each person's strengths, according to their characteristics.
As mentioned earlier, generals like Niu Cunjie, Zhang Guihou, and Wang Tan were all recognized and promoted by Zhu Wen during the war, and they were not only brave and good at fighting, but also loyal to the Lord.
Another example is Liu Jun, although he was originally a subordinate of the enemy's warlord, Zhu Wen was able to recognize his talent, incorporate it into his command, and reuse it. For those generals with outstanding military achievements, Zhu Wen often gave them praise and praise in recognition of their achievements.
For example, he gave the name "Cunjie" to the Ox Cunjie, which meant to encourage him to preserve his integrity and be loyal to the Lord. He also gave Xu Cong the name of "Xu Huaiyu", which is full of literary atmosphere. These seemingly small actions have also become a means for Zhu Wen to establish the loyalty of his subordinates.
In addition, Zhu Wen is also very good at assigning tasks reasonably according to the characteristics of his generals. For example, he assigned Liu Han, who was "sensitive, sensitive, and dignified", to be responsible for receiving envoys from other warlords, and used his incorruptible tongue to achieve diplomatic goals. Another example is that he sent the "brave and tough" Wang Maozhang to the front line to fight against the enemy, giving full play to the combat effectiveness of this general.
It can be said that Zhu Wen has truly achieved "making the best use of his talents". He is well aware of the personality traits of his generals and is always able to arrange them reasonably to bring out the best in each person. This also enabled Zhu Wen's army to reach a very high level in terms of discipline, combat effectiveness, and coordination.
Fourth, the charisma of the leader wins the absolute loyalty of his subordinates
In addition to all of the above, Zhu Wen also possessed extraordinary leadership charisma, which was able to deeply attract and impress his generals and win their absolute loyalty. This can be seen from the deeds of many generals who died for him.
In a battle, Zhang Guihou, who accompanied the army, fought alone until he died in order to cover Zhu Wen's retreat. After Zhu Wen evacuated safely, he sent people back to look for Zhang Guihou, and found that he miraculously survived, although he had many scars on his body, he was still stuck behind. As soon as Zhu Wen saw him, he immediately cried and praised him, "You are here, what a plan to lose the army!" "
These words undoubtedly greatly encouraged Zhang Guihou and made him feel the attention and care of the coach. From then on, he was even more loyal to Zhu Wen, and made many achievements in the subsequent battles until his unfortunate death.
Another example is in the Battle of Puzhou, Wang Chongshi, who was seriously ill, personally went into battle and finally helped the Liang army conquer the enemy city, but he was also wounded and fell. When Zhu Wen learned the news, he couldn't help but sigh: "Why did I get Puzhou and lose weight!" This heartache and reluctance to his own capable general undoubtedly increased Wang Chongshi's loyalty to Zhu Wen.
This bond of loyalty, which is based on personal feelings, is very difficult to break, once formed. Even after his success, Zhu Wen never forgot the heroes and generals who followed him in his early years. After ascending the throne as emperor, he often lamented the loss of generals who died bravely, such as Huo Cun and others, which shows that he really has a deep affection for these subordinates.
It can be seen that Zhu Wen is not only a military strategist who is good at commanding his subordinates by military means, but also a leader who has won the trust of his subordinates. In addition to his strict discipline, he also possessed a convincing courage and warmth, which was the key to his ultimate success.
5. The tyrant on the other side: brutal and suspicious
However, we cannot ignore the extremely brutal and suspicious side of Juwen's rule. Especially after he finally became emperor and established the Later Liang Dynasty, these dark sides became even more prominent.
Once Juwen decides that someone under him is disloyal or has dissenting intentions towards him, he will show a ruthless side. For example, Wang Chongshi, a famous general, was angered by Zhu Wen for sending troops without authorization, and was finally framed and killed.
For example, Zhu Wen was seriously ill later, and he was even more "unpredictable", and many heroes and generals also died because of some minor mistakes. Under this brutal rule, even the most loyal generals could not fully settle down.
Zhu Wen's defense against potential threats has almost reached the point of paranoia. He is often more wary of his subordinates than he trusts them.
Such an extreme image of a tyrant has undoubtedly affected people's evaluation of the character of Zhu Wen. Later generations of history books often portray him as a brutal and debaucherous warlord, and his military prowess is often overlooked.
Sixth, the military industry is the foundation, and personal charm achieves hegemony
To sum up, the key to Zhu Wen's rise and domination of the Central Plains in the five dynasties of turmoil lies in his unique ability to command troops and control the crowd and his extraordinary leadership charisma.
On the one hand, he was able to carefully train and rationalize the generals under him, and to develop the best potential of each of them, and to build a strong and disciplined army. On the other hand, he was adept at winning the absolute loyalty of his subordinates through favors and inspirations, and this bond based on personal feelings made his army morale high, and both soldiers and generals were willing to die for him.
These two abilities are indispensable, and they are the key to Zhu Wen's hegemony. As Mao Zedong later commented, Zhu Wen's military prowess was no less than Cao Cao's, and it was even better. The process of his rise can be described as a wonderful military legend.
However, we cannot ignore the brutal and suspicious side of Zhu Wen's rule. He is extremely sensitive to potential threats, which makes him appear cruel and ruthless from time to time. Such an image of a tyrant has undoubtedly become an important factor in history's evaluation of him.
Overall, Juwen is undoubtedly a historical figure worth in-depth exploration. He not only demonstrated outstanding military commander-in-chief qualities, but also possessed a charismatic leadership style. Although he could not escape the fate of a tyrant in the end, the military legend he created is still worth exploring and revealing.
epilogue
During the Five Dynasties period, chaos abounded, and warlords from all walks of life quarreled endlessly. But even in such turbulent times, there is a military wizard like Zhu Wen who can achieve hegemony in the face of disputes.
His life is undoubtedly the epitome of military power and personal charm, reflecting the unique appearance of a hero rising in troubled times.
And it is such historical figures that make our understanding of the five generations of troubled times more rich and three-dimensional. They not only show the wisdom of military commanders, but also leave us with profound revelations about human nature and emotions.