Zhu Yuanzhang's unification strategy

The Ming and Qing dynasties were the flourishing period of ancient military science in China, and the need for war, the improvement of weapons, and the differentiation of the arms contributed to the production of a large number of military books. Starting today, this edition will launch a column entitled "Ming and Qing Military Studies" to introduce military practice and military thinking in the Ming and Qing dynasties, taking history as a mirror in order to enlighten and learn from the research and development of contemporary military strategy. In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's power gradually developed and grew, and finally established the Ming Dynasty, completing the goal of reunifying China. Zhu Yuanzhang's strong rise and rapid development in a short period of time to achieve the cause of the emperor shows the effectiveness of his unification strategy. Zhu Yuanzhang initially gathered strength in a low-key manner, devoting himself to the development of economic and military strength. He attaches great importance to talent reserves, especially good at rallying people's hearts and minds. The dark rule of the Yuan Dynasty provoked peasant revolts everywhere, and rebellion against the Mongolian Yuan regime became a common demand of peasants everywhere. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang always regarded "anti-Yuan" as an important banner. In the decisive battle with Chen Youyi, Zhu Yuanzhang used the slogan of "seeking YiDi together and taking peace with China"; in the "Edict of Zhongyuan", Zhu Yuanzhang clearly proposed "expelling Hu Yu and restoring China", which was all using the anti-Yuan name to unite people's hearts. The anti-Yuan proposition is connected with the traditional Yixia view, which is easy to resonate with the traditional Confucians and Zhongyuan scholars, and then take the initiative to surrender. Zhu Yuanzhang held high the banner of anti-Yuan, not only widely won the support of the peasants, but also actively co-opted the scholars. Zhu Yuanzhang recruited talents and encouraged them to offer suggestions and suggestions. Li Shanchang, Feng Guosheng, Feng Guoyong, Tao An, Xu Da, Hu Dahai, Chang Yuchun, and others were all successively taken under the account of Luo. Liu Ji, Song Lian, Zhang Yi, and Ye Chen, the four famous scholars of eastern Zhejiang, came to their aid one after another upon recommendation, and Zhu Yuanzhang said with great joy, "I am Mr. Qu Si of the world.", which can be seen in his thirst for talents. Accumulating Strength After establishing political power in Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated and implemented a positive economic policy to consolidate the nascent political power, cultivate obscurity, and make further preparations for the unification of the world. Zhu Yuanzhang once summoned his adviser Zhu Sheng to inquire about the development strategy, and Zhu Sheng replied: "Build a high wall, accumulate grain, and slowly become king." Zhu Yuanzhang greatly appreciated this. Examining Zhu Yuanzhang's subsequent process of unifying the world, it is not difficult to see the shadow of Zhu Sheng's proposal. Because their own strength is not strong enough, out of the consideration of self-preservation, they must "build a high wall"; in order to avoid premature frontal conflict with the Yuan army, they must "slow down to become king"; whether it is for the current plan or for the long term, military supplies are indispensable, so it is necessary to "accumulate grain in a wide range" and devote themselves to economic development. In order to ensure that he could obtain sufficient logistical supplies, Zhu Yuanzhang organized the army on a large scale to reclaim the barren fields, worked hard to increase grain reserves, and strived to achieve the army's self-sufficiency in grain and grass. The Tuntian system later became a long-term policy of the Ming Dynasty, and in the early stages of its implementation, it played a positive role in the development of land and the supply of military grain. In addition to organizing tun tian and ensuring the army's food supply to the greatest extent, he also actively encouraged the people to plant cash crops such as mulberry and hemp. This can not only appease the people and make them live and work in peace and contentment, but also ensure the supply of cotton and linen for the army. Before the Northern Expedition to Mongolia, Zhu Yuanzhang emphasized that agriculture was the foundation of the country, and clearly pointed out that "those who have enough food and clothing should persuade the peasants to do so", which is regarded as a fundamental plan to complete the great cause of reunification. While developing agriculture, Zhu Yuanzhang also opened up a wide range of financial resources by controlling the sale of tea and salt, and at the same time "opened up iron smelting and collected fishing taxes" to increase fiscal revenue through various channels, and strived to achieve the goal of "benefiting the state and benefiting the people, while the people are not trapped." Zhu Yuanzhang successfully broke through all kinds of strong and powerful forces, and implemented the strategic principle of "breaking through each one and advancing step by step." At the suggestion of Liu Ji and others, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted the strategy of "first west and then east, first south and then north", grasped the key directions of each stage, and promoted the unification strategy step by step. According to the History of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Ji when choosing the direction and order of attack. In this regard, Liu Ji replied: Shi Cheng is self-guarding and does not have enough to worry about. Under the threat of the lord of friendship and robbery, the name is not correct, the land is high-handed, and his heart is forgotten day by day, and it is advisable to try it first. The Chen clan is extinguished, the Zhang clan is lonely, and it can be determined in one fell swoop. Then head north to the Central Plains, and Wang Ye can become a master. According to this, Zhu Yuanzhang divided the unification strategy into 3 steps: the first step was to eliminate Chen Youyu on the west side, the second step was to conquer Zhang Shicheng on the east side, and the third step was to attack the Northern Plains in the Northern Plains and attack the Yuan general Timur. Considering the situation at that time, this strategic plan was relatively reasonable, not only to break the main competitors, but also to effectively avoid their own belly and back. In the choice of "first west and then east", Liu Ji suggested attacking Chen Youyu first, because Liu Ji learned that Zhang Shicheng was a person who only knew how to defend himself and lacked long-range plans, and Chen Youyi was arrogant and arrogant, and often came to provoke, so he should be attacked first. Analyzing the personalities of the two, Liu Ji judged that they would not cooperate deeply, but if they first used troops against Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youyu might take advantage of the void. On the other hand, if Chen Youyu attacked first, Zhang Shicheng's courage was limited, and he would not dare to act rashly, and his side could be protected from the danger of being caught. According to this plan, Zhu Yuanzhang successfully attacked Chen Youyu and Zhang Shicheng's forces successively. Subsequently, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to go north to seek yuan. In October of Wu Yuannian (1367 AD), Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Xu Da as the general of Zhengyu and Chang Yuchun as the deputy general of Zhengyu, and led an army of 250,000 to the north to launch a war to destroy The Yuan. After capturing Shandong and Henan, the Northern Expeditionary Army captured Tongguan, strangled the Yuandu Gate, and then took kaifeng by the way to the Yuandu. Emperor Yuanshun saw that the general trend was gone, so he had to abandon the city and flee, and the Yuan Dynasty's rule in the Central Plains came to an end.