In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the harsh government was like a tiger and natural disasters occurred simultaneously, and the contradictions between the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty and the peasant class could not be reconciled, and eventually a large-scale peasant uprising broke out, leading to the demise of the Yuan Dynasty. Initially, Han Shantong launched the Red Turban Army Uprising in Yingzhou, which was huge, known in history as the "Northern Red Turban Army", and then Xu Shouhui launched an uprising in Puzhou, known in history as the "Southern Red Turban Army". In the 1980s, a farmer in Susong County, Anhui Province, excavated a seal while renovating his house, recreating the history of the Red Turban Army for us. From this, an important figure was also introduced- Chen Youyu.
After the outbreak of the Red Turban Army uprising, the Northern Red Turban Army was located in the north, and was hit by the key blows of the Yuan Dynasty, Han Shantong was killed in battle, his son Han Lin'er was proclaimed emperor, and the "Dragon and Phoenix Regime" was established. The Southern Red Turban Army, in its constant struggle against the Yuan Dynasty, also established its own political power, known in history as the "Heavenly End" regime, and Xu Shouhui (pictured below) as emperor.
However, Xu Shouhui soon had an infighting with the chancellor Ni Wenjun, and Ni Wenjun failed to murder Xu Shouhui and fled to his subordinate Chen Youyu. Chen Youyu killed Ni Wenjun, not only merging Ni Wenjun's old department, but also becoming Xu Shouhui's number one general. Later, Chen Youyu coerced Xu Shouhui down the river, attacked Zhu Yuanzhang, and killed Xu Shouhui in Taiping (Dangtu, Anhui) and replaced him. Later, the "Battle of Longwan", "Battle of Hongdu", and "Battle of Poyang Lake" broke out between Chen Youyu and Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youyu forgave his order to cut off Poyang Lake, and Zhu Yuanzhang's family was the only one.
Because of Zhu Yuanzhang's victory, in the "History of Ming", Chen Youyu always gave people an anti-thief image of "arrogant and arrogant" and "fierce and fierce", zhu Yuanzhang once commented on Chen Youyu:
"If you forgive Zhijiao with friendship, Zhijiao is good at making trouble, and if you are small, you have no far-reaching plan."
This kind of evaluation seems to occupy the mainstream of the history books, and the evaluation of Chen Youyu in the history books is also roughly the same. In fact, the real Chen Youyu is definitely not like this. In the 1980s, a farmer in Susong County, Anqing City, Anhui Province, when renovating the house, dug deep under the old house to dig out soil, and accidentally dug out a seal, which was square, with a side length of 11 cm and a height of 5 cm, which was engraved with 8 words after expert identification: "The Seal of the Lord of the Mandate of Heaven in Han", according to experts, this seal was chen Youyu, a tyrant in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, and the seal was later acquired by the Hubei Provincial Museum.
The question is, why is Chen Youyu's seal in Anqing Susong? According to historical records, Chen Youyu came to Anqing twice, the first attacking the Yuan Dynasty and the second attacking Zhu Yuanzhang. However, because when he attacked Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youyu had already claimed the title of emperor. Because the seal contains the word "lord", in the Yuan And Ming Dynasty, the main duke was the honorific title of the leader of the subordinates, and if he was called emperor, the title would change.
It can be inferred that this seal is not Chen Youyu's title of empress. Therefore, this seal was not left in Susong when Chen Youyu attacked Zhu Yuanzhang, but during Chen Youyu's resistance to the Yuan Dynasty. Of course, some people will say that Chen Youyu called the seal before the emperor, saying that the emperor may also carry it on his body, but Chen Youyu, as the "emperor", is also carrying the old seal of the past during the march and war, and this possibility is very low.
As the number one general of the Southern Red Turban Army, why did Chen Youyi drop the seal on Susong, because there had been a big war here. According to the "Collection of The Biji of The Mountain Hall":
Yuan Zhennan Prince Dashengnu, Privy Council Judge Xi Yan and other Tun Bing city insisted, and Su Song blocked Yu Yu, and the Tianquan army was frustrated. Chen Youyi's brother Youde led an army stationed in the east of Xinzhou City, and the siege of the city was urgent. Friendship led a million troops to the state, breaking the letter state, Boyan did not spend the pound to kill himself. Yu yu chased to Su Song, the Great Saint Slave and others were killed in battle.
The general meaning of this passage is that Chen Youyu (in the name of Xu Shouhui) sent the general Zhao Pusheng down the river, intending to attack Anqing occupied by Zhu Yuanzhang. The Yuan Dynasty army took the opportunity to occupy Xinzhou (Shangrao) occupied by Chen Youyu, and Chen Youyu asked his brother Chen Youde to rescue Xinzhou first, and then personally led the "million" army to the rescue. Chen Youyu led his troops to chase after the Great Saint Nu of the Southern Prince of Yuanzhen, all the way to Susong and killed the Great Saint Nu, which is the reason why Chen Youyu came to Susong. His trip was not to fight Zhu Yuanzhang, but to attack the Yuan Dynasty. At this time, Chen Youyu called himself the "King of Han", and the next year, Chen Youyu killed Xu Shouhui and declared himself emperor. Therefore, this seal fell on Susong at this time.
In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, in order to survive, the forces of all sides joined forces and crossed each other. Including Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen and other tyrants, they all had direct or indirect "cooperation" with the Yuan Dynasty. Only Chen Youyu was very tough, expelled Hu Yu, and never cooperated with the Yuan Dynasty. In the process of fighting against the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youyu played a very key role. Chen Youyu was originally designated by Zhu Yuanzhang as an "anti-thief", and the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty have not changed. In the Republic of China period, Dr. Sun Yat-sen proposed to expel the Tartars, which is reminiscent of Chen Youyi's "expulsion of Hu Yu" at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, in the second year of the Republic of China, the Republic of China proposed to rebuild Chen Youyi's tomb, which can be regarded as recognition of his merits of "expelling Hu Yu".
Liang Qichao, a famous scholar in modern times, once said: Xiang Yu at the end of qin and Chen Youyu at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, although they are losers, they are both heroes. Indeed, although Chen Youyu lost to Zhu Yuanzhang, his exploits in resisting the Yuan Dynasty could not be ignored. In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youyu was the most powerful tyrant, and if he had not resisted the suppression of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang would probably have to wait a few more years if he wanted to unify the Central Plains. Therefore, some scholars said, please do not throw dirty water on Chen Youyou, for many years, we have misunderstood a hero.