In October 1367, under the order of Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun led 250,000 troops into the Central Plains and began the mighty Northern Expedition, launching a fatal blow to the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. Surprisingly, the Northern Expedition army spent only 1 year, and like the autumn wind, it drove the invincible Rulers of the Yuan Dynasty back to Mongolia and re-established the Han regime, the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang was able to succeed in the Northern Expedition for many reasons, including proper strategic planning, the hard work of the frontline soldiers, and the strength of the rear support. However, to a large extent, Zhu Yuanzhang should also thank a person who helped him eliminate most of the Yuan army. Otherwise, Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition would certainly not have gone so smoothly.
This man's name is Liu Futong.
Liu Futong was a native of Yingzhou (颍州, in present-day Jieshou, Fuyang, Anhui Province), and he was 7 years older than Zhu Yuanzhang. Unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang was born into poverty, and his parents could not even afford to buy a coffin when they died; Liu Futong was born into a rich family, in today's words, "the second generation of the rich". Liu Futong has had a bold personality and a generous hand since he was a child, so he has united a group of people around him.
In 1351, in view of the cruelty and tyranny of the Rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Futong and Han Shantong jointly launched the famous Red Turban Rebellion, which ignited the flames of the Great Peasant Revolt at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.
Liu Futong was born a good material for fighting, and under his leadership, the Red Turban Army defeated the Yuan army many times. In 1352, Liu Futong led his troops to defeat the 300,000 elite troops led by the Yuan general Timur, and the threat was temporary. Because the reputation of the Red Turban Army was so loud, the later rebel armies, such as Guo Zixing, Sesame Li, Peng Da and others, all carried the banner of the Red Turban Army. Even Zhu Yuanzhang, who later overthrew the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, followed Guo Zixing for a long time and was considered a general under the Red Turban Army.
Liu Futong is a Gengzhi person. Although Han Shantong was killed by the Yuan army very early, he did not become the leading big brother, but willingly supported Han Shantong's son Han Lin'er as the leader. In 1355, Liu Futong welcomed Han Lin'er to Bozhou, called him "King Xiaoming", and established the "Great Song" regime, with the era name Longfeng.
In the year that Han Lin'er became king, Liu Futong encountered his first major setback since the uprising. In that year, Liu Futong carried out the first Northern Expedition, because the main force of the rebel army went north, and the base area of Bozhou was besieged by Yuan Dynasty troops. After a bloody battle, Liu Futong finally took Han Lin'er out of the siege and retreated to Anhui Anfeng.
If you change other people, you will suffer such a major blow, and you will basically collapse. Liu Futong is not such a person. At Anfeng, he quickly recovered his vitality and launched the Second Northern Expedition, which dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Yuan army.
In June 1357, Liu Futong personally led the main force and captured Bieliang (汴梁; present-day Kaifeng, Henan). Bieliang is the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo. In 1126, the Jin army attacked Bieliang, and since then Bieliang has separated from the Central Plains regime and has fallen into the hands of the Jin army and the Yuan army. In 1140, Yue Fei led the Southern Song Dynasty army in the Northern Expedition, fighting all the way to the vicinity of Bieliang. However, he was unfortunately recalled by Emperor Gaozong of Song's Zhao Zhao Twelve Golden Medals, and eventually became hated for thousands of years. This time, Liu Futong recovered The Liang for the first time more than 100 years after the fall of the Bieliang, and its importance cannot be overemphasized.
Liu Futong divided the soldiers in Bieliang and launched the Third Northern Expedition. This Northern Expedition was the largest, the most profound, and the most remarkable achievements.
Led by Mao Gui in the east, Lianke Qingzhou, Cangzhou, Changlu, Jinan, Jizhou and other places, Bingfeng once reached Liulin (present-day south of Tongxian County, Beijing), and the Yuan capital was greatly shaken. However, due to the lack of support, it was successfully counterattacked by the Yuan army and forced to return to Shandong;
Led by Li Wu, Cui De, and others, the Western Route Army attacked Shaanxi and won the battle of Capturing Tongguan, Shaanzhou, and Yuzhou, and then encountered the first general at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Chakhan Timur, and even suffered defeat and declared defeat;
The Zhonglu Army was led by Mr. Guan and Broken Head Pan. Obviously, Mr. Guan and Broken Head Pan are not real names, but should be their nicknames. These two unknown figures led the Northern Expeditionary Army to hebei and Shanxi, and then took advantage of the void to go all the way north, and even attacked Yuan Shangdu (present-day Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia). Emperor Yuanshun was terrified and almost moved the capital. Subsequently, Mr. Kwan and Broken Head Pan also did a ridiculous thing: twice led their troops across the Yalu River to attack Goryeo. He was later defeated by the Goryeo general Lee Sung-gyu.
Although Liu Futong's three Northern Expeditionary Armies all failed one after another, the damage they inflicted on the Rulers of the Yuan Dynasty was quite fatal. After that, the Yuan Dynasty could no longer rebuild its political power in Hebei, Shanxi, Henan and other places, and basically became an empty shelf. In particular, in order to resist Liu Futong's Northern Expeditionary Army, the yuan dynasty army was almost exhausted.
For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang really had to thank Liu Futong.
After Liu Futong dispatched the Three-Way Northern Expedition army, the Beams were useless. The Yuan general Chakhan Timur sent troops to besiege Bieliang. Liu Futong offered Han Lin'er to break through the siege and returned to Anhui Anfeng again. In February 1363, Zhang Shicheng sent troops to attack Anfeng, and Liu Futong asked Zhu Yuanzhang for help. Zhu Yuanzhang personally led a large army to the rescue, but the army had not yet arrived, and Liu Futong had already died in battle, at the age of 42.
[References: History of the Ming Dynasty, etc.]