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Chapter 162: Founding Heroes of the Ming Dynasty

The nineteenth son, Prince Gu Zhu Tan, was a brother of the King of Shu and the King of Dai. He was named Prince Gu because his fiefdom was Xuanfu, which was called Shanggu in ancient times. After the outbreak of the Jingnan Campaign, he was afraid that Prince Yan Zhu Di would attack Xuanfu, so he ran back to Nanjing. However, when Zhu Di was on the verge of Nanjing, Prince Gu decisively betrayed Emperor Jianwen, and opened the Jinchuan Gate with Li Jinglong to welcome Prince Yan into Beijing. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he changed Prince Gu's fiefdom to Changsha and gave him many rewards. Prince Gu also became increasingly arrogant and suspicious. It happened that the son of the King of Shu ran away from home and came to Prince Gu. Prince Gu spread the word that this was the missing Emperor Jianwen. As a result, he was reported to Zhu Di by the King of Shu, and Prince Gu was deposed as a commoner and died in captivity.

The 27th son, Prince of Han, Zhu Song, was originally enfeoffed as a prince in Kaiyuan, Liaodong. Like his brothers, Prince of Liao and Prince of Shen, he was enfeoffed as a prince by Zhu Yuanzhang in order to manage Liaodong. However, during the reign of Zhu Di, the policy of princes changed, and Zhu Song never went to be a prince, and died in Nanjing at the age of .

The 52st son, Prince Shen Zhu Mo, was born to Concubine Zhao. His original fief was Shenyang, but later it was changed to Luzhou, Shanxi. He died at the age of .

The 35nd son, Prince An Zhu Ying, whose birth mother is unknown, married Xu. She was the daughter of General Xu Da and was a brother-in-law of Prince Yan Zhu Di. Because of this relationship, when Zhu Di was approaching Nanjing, Emperor Jianwen specially sent Prince An and Li Jinglong to negotiate peace. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Prince An was ordered to go to Pingliang to be a vassal, but died in Pingliang three years later at the age of .

The 1415rd son, Prince of Tang Zhu Gao, was born to Consort Li Xianfei. His fief was Nanyang. He died in 30 at the age of .

The 27th son, Prince Ying Zhu Dong, was born to Consort Liu, whose fief was Anlu. He died at the age of , and his first wife, Guo, was buried with him.

The 25th son, Prince Yi, Zhu Yu, was born to Consort Ge Li and was granted the title of King of Luoyang. He was a bad-tempered man and often attacked the people with swords and slingshots, causing public resentment. After Zhu Di's death, court officials suggested abolishing Prince Yi's throne, but Zhu Di only issued an edict to give him a bad posthumous title, and his descendants continued to inherit the throne.

The 26th son, Zhu Nan, was born to Concubine Ge Li, who died shortly after birth.

Among Zhu Yuanzhang's sons, there were some who were extremely talented, but there were also quite a few who were arrogant and committed many evil deeds. Although Zhu Yuanzhang issued edicts to admonish them many times, they were left unpunished because there was no substantial punishment. Throughout the Ming Dynasty, the evil deeds of the princes of the royal family became a major problem that plagued the local governance of the Ming Dynasty.

[Understand the history of the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty in one breath: Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di, Ming Dynasty]

Founding heroes are usually an enviable group, who have gained generations of glory by following the emperor. However, being a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty was an absolutely dangerous profession. If you are not careful, you may be implicated. So why did Zhu Yuanzhang slaughter the heroes? Was it really just to clear the obstacles for his descendants? What were the different endings of those generals who fought for the Ming Dynasty? Let's take stock of the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty.

1. Xu Da Xu Da, Duke of Wei, also known as Tiande, was born in Fengyang, Anhui Province. He was from the same hometown as Zhu Yuanzhang, and his ancestors for three generations were farmers. When Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his hometown to recruit soldiers, Xu Da enlisted. Because of his high martial arts and proficiency in military tactics, he became Zhu Yuanzhang's most trusted and capable general.

In 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Xu Da as the left prime minister, conferred him the title of Duke of Xin, and sent him and Chang Yuchun to lead an army of 25 to the north to attack the Central Plains. In August of the following year, the Red Army conquered Dadu, Emperor Shundi of Yuan fled, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty was destroyed. When Zhu Yuanzhang conferred titles on the founding heroes, he conferred Xu Da the title of Grand Tutor and Duke of Wei, ranking second among the founding heroes.

Xu Da presided over several northern expeditions, expelled the remnants of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, and was stationed in Beijing for a long time. He later died of illness at his home in Nanjing at the age of 54. Since his eldest daughter married Zhu Di, the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Da was regarded as a founding hero by the Ming Dynasty officials since Yongle. Xu Da's descendants were also divided into two major lineages, the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Weiguo, which were inherited from generation to generation until the end of the Ming Dynasty.

14. Li Shanchang Li Shanchang, Duke of Korea, courtesy name Baishi, was born in Dingyuan, Anhui. His early life is unknown. He was years older than Zhu Yuanzhang. When Zhu Yuanzhang met him on his way to capture Chuzhou, they hit it off. Li Shanchang encouraged Zhu Yuanzhang with the deeds of Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, and said that he would achieve great things in the future. Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted and took Li Shanchang under his command, responsible for logistics and clerical work.

Zhu Yuanzhang regarded Xu Da as Han Xin and Li Shanchang as Xiao He. However, Xu Da was cautious in his words and deeds throughout his life and finally had a good end, while Li Shanchang's end was much more miserable. In 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Li Shanchang as the right prime minister and conferred him the title of Duke of Xuan. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang conferred titles on the founding heroes, and Li Shanchang ranked first, and was conferred the titles of Grand Tutor, Duke of Korea, and Left Prime Minister of the Secretariat.

However, Li Shanchang was narrow-minded and jealous of talented people. In addition, he had always been the leader of the Huaixi meritorious officials group, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very suspicious of him. Li Shanchang also noticed this, so he took the initiative to resign from the position of prime minister and recommended his confidant Hu Weiyong as prime minister. In 1380, Zhu Yuanzhang launched the Hu Weiyong case and abolished the prime minister system that had been in place for a thousand years.

At that time, some people suggested that Zhu Yuanzhang hold Li Shanchang accountable, but Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to be generous and said that he would not hold Li Shanchang accountable. Ten years later, Zhu Yuanzhang again ordered an investigation into the Hu Weiyong case. Li Shanchang and a group of Huaixi heroes were imprisoned. The 10-year-old Li Shanchang was executed, and more than 77 members of his family were killed.

3. Chang Yuchun Chang Yuchun, Duke of E, was from Dingyuan, Anhui. Together with Xu Da, he was called "Xu Chang". At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the country was in chaos. Chang Yuchun worked as a bandit under the bandit Liu Ju. Later, he took a dozen of his brothers to join Zhu Yuanzhang. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang already had many powerful generals under his command, but Chang Yuchun was not reused.

In the Battle of Caishi, Chang Yuchun fought bravely and took the lead in conquering Caishi. He showed his talent and became the second most powerful general in Zhu Yuanzhang's army after Xu Da. Chang Yuchun once said that he could conquer the world with only 10 soldiers, so he was nicknamed "Chang Shiwan".

In 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang named Chang Yuchun Duke of E and sent him and Xu Da to lead an army of 25 to the north to attack the Central Plains. However, after the victory of the northern expedition, Chang Yuchun suddenly died at the age of 40. Zhu Yuanzhang was very sad and posthumously named him King of Kaiping. His son Chang Mao inherited Chang Yuchun's direct troops.

4. Li Wenzhong Li Wenzhong, Duke of Cao, was an illegitimate son whose original name was Li Baobao. He was Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew. After his mother died of illness, his father Li Zhen took him to Chuzhou to seek refuge with his uncle Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see his family coming, and immediately adopted his nephew as his adopted son, renamed him Li Wenzhong, and brought him up carefully. Li Wenzhong was good at fighting, and he also liked reading, and he trusted his literati staff.

In 1380, Zhu Yuanzhang launched the Hu Weiyong case, implicating countless people. Li Wenzhong was also neglected by Zhu Yuanzhang for unknown reasons, and his military power was taken away. He died of illness four years later, and his son Li Jinglong inherited the title.

5. Feng Sheng Duke of Song, Feng Sheng, whose original name was Feng Guosheng, was from Dingyuan, Anhui. He joined the army with his elder brother Feng Guoyong. After Feng Guoyong's death, Feng Sheng inherited his elder brother's official position and military corps.

When Zhu Yuanzhang conferred titles on the founding heroes, he named him Duke of Song. Feng Sheng was arrogant and domineering, and had a bad relationship with his son-in-law, Duke of Zheng, Chang Mao. When Feng Sheng went to Liaodong, Chang Mao caused a big disaster. Feng Sheng complained to Zhu Yuanzhang, but Chang Mao did not want to be outdone and exposed Feng Sheng's dark history.

The two attacked each other, and eventually Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Chang Mao to be exiled and Feng Sheng's military power to be taken back. In 1395, Feng Sheng was sentenced to death by Zhu Yuanzhang.

6. Deng Yu, Duke of Weiguo, was originally named Deng Youde. He was born in Sixian, Anhui Province. He was born strong and brave. When he was young, he joined his father and brother in the army to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. After his father and brother died one after another, he led his people to join Zhu Yuanzhang. During the Northern Expedition of the Ming Army, he went to Gansu and pacified the Tubo and U-Tsang tribes.

When Zhu Yuanzhang conferred titles on the founding heroes, he was conferred the title of Duke of Weiguo, ranking sixth among the founding heroes. He died of illness in 1378 at the age of 41.

27. Tang He, Duke of Xin, also known as Dingchen, was Zhu Yuanzhang's childhood friend. At the age of 1357, he joined Guo Zixing's rebel army and was promoted to the rank of commander. After Guo Zixing's death, Tang He led his troops to submit to Zhu Yuanzhang and began to guard Changzhou in to resist Zhang Shicheng's repeated attacks.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang conferred titles on the founding heroes, and Tang He was conferred the title of Marquis of Zhongshan, ranking first among the marquises. During the war to destroy Ningxia, Tang He, as the commander-in-chief, was slow to advance, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry.

In 1378, Zhu Yuanzhang promoted Tang He to Duke of Xin. Tang He's military talent was far from outstanding among the generals in the early Ming Dynasty, but he was cautious and calm. He took the initiative to hand over his military power and returned to Fengyang to retire. In his later years, he said nothing about state affairs and finally died in 1395 at the age of 70.

8. Fu Youde, Duke of Ying, was from Huaibei. He was a first-rate general among the famous generals of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. He fought very bravely and did not flinch even when shot by several arrows.

However, such a powerful general had been unknown until he defected to Zhu Yuanzhang. He first served under Ming Yuzhen, and then defected to Chen Youliang. He was not valued by his three bosses until he defected to Zhu Yuanzhang in 1361.

In the war against Shuxia, Fu Youde was the first to capture Chengdu. After returning to the army, Zhu Yuanzhang praised Fu Youde for his first merit. In 1384, Zhu Yuanzhang promoted Fu Youde to the Duke of Ying. Ten years later, Fu Youde was stabbed to death.

8. Mu Ying, Marquis of Xiping, was styled Benying and was from Dingyuan, Anhui. His original name is unknown. When he was years old, he was adopted by Zhu Yuanzhang as his adopted son and was raised by Empress Ma.

After the Ming Dynasty pacified Yunnan, Mu Ying was ordered to stay in Yunnan. From then on, Mu's descendants guarded the southwest for the Ming Dynasty for generations until the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

10. Liu Ji, Marquis of Chengyi, whose courtesy name was Bo Wen, was a native of Qingtian, Zhejiang Province. He was originally an official of the Yuan Dynasty. When he saw the corruption of the Yuan Dynasty, he voluntarily resigned and lived in seclusion. Later, he was recommended by Li Shanchang to join Zhu Yuanzhang's army.

Among the many Huaixi heroes in the early Ming Dynasty, Liu Ji was quite special. Liu Ji was proficient in astronomy, military strategy, mathematics, and could see the celestial phenomena and predict good and bad luck. He had given advice to Zhu Yuanzhang at critical moments many times, helping Zhu Yuanzhang to overcome danger and win. In 1375, Liu Ji died suddenly, and it was said that he was killed by Hu Weiyong. After Liu Ji's death, the saying "Zhuge Liang divided the world into three parts, and Liu Bowen unified the country" spread among the people.

If we follow the official saying, Li Shanchang was Zhu Yuanzhang's Zhuge Liang, but Liu Bowen was deified because Li Shanchang's ending was too tragic.

11. Lan Yu, Duke of Liang, was from Dingyuan, Anhui, and was the brother-in-law of Chang Yuchun. Therefore, after joining the army, Lan Yu followed Chang Yuchun in his campaigns. After Chang Yuchun's death, Lan Yu inherited his brother-in-law's direct line of troops and was granted the title of Marquis of Yongchang for his contributions in pacifying the southwest.

During the Northern Expedition, Lan Yu won a great victory at Buyuerhai Lake, destroyed the small Northern Yuan Dynasty, captured more than 100 members of the royal family, 7 civilians, and countless livestock. However, Lan Yu got carried away and flirted with the Northern Yuan princess, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry.

When rewarding people for their merits, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the title of Duke of Liang to Duke of Liang.

After the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunwen as the Crown Prince. In order to pave the way for the Crown Prince, Zhu Yuanzhang launched the Lan Yu case the following year, implicating tens of thousands of people.

Lan Yu was sentenced to death by Zhu Yuanzhang, with skinning and stuffing with straw. Many meritorious officials were accused of being Lan Yu's rebels. Even many middle and low-level officers under Lan Yu were not spared. Their families were either killed or exiled, and they would never be able to turn over a new leaf.

Later generations have criticized Zhu Yuanzhang for slaughtering meritorious officials, but these meritorious officials were not completely innocent. Many of them were arrogant and domineering, some were corrupt and bribed, some oppressed the people, and many meritorious officials relied on their high positions and power to protect their families, seize people's land, and oppress the people.

However, the fundamental reason why Zhu Yuanzhang purged the meritorious officials was to consolidate the rule of the Ming Dynasty, not to eliminate harm for the people. Moreover, during the purge, many middle and low-level officials and civilians were implicated. So, do you think Zhu Yuanzhang's massacre of meritorious officials was right or wrong?

——"Basically, they all died in a proper way. Of course, they were the kind that could be killed or not, but in the end, they were still killed."

——"There is basically no one who deserves pity. These heroes really deserve to be killed. Look at why Tang He had a good end, because he really didn't do things like bullying men and women or oppressing the people."

[Understand in one breath, the highlight of the Ming Dynasty - Five Dragons in the same dynasty. History of the Ming Dynasty]

I heard that the Ming Dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in Chinese history. The emperor guarded the country's borders, refused to marry princesses, refused to submit, and refused to pay tribute, which were all immoral. Unfortunately, it started off too powerfully, and the five dragons in the same dynasty exhausted the Ming Dynasty's luck.

So what is the Five Dragons in One Dynasty? Is the Five Dragons in One Dynasty really reliable? What influence did the Five Dragons have on the Ming Dynasty?

This video takes us back to the peak moment of the Ming Dynasty.

In ancient times, the emperor was also called the True Dragon Son of Heaven. The so-called Wulong refers to the five emperors who existed at the same time or would become emperors in the future. In the Ming Dynasty, there was also a time when five emperors lived under the same roof: Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunwen, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaochi, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Zhanji, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. This was the peak of the Ming Dynasty's prosperity.

So what contributions did these five emperors make to the Ming Dynasty? Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was born in a grassroots family and started from scratch. During the peasant uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he relied on his wisdom and vision to gather the famous general Liang Chen, swept away the heroes, and conquered the Central Plains in the north to complete the unification of the country. He was the founding emperor of the lowest-born unified dynasty in Chinese history, and the only emperor in Chinese history who completed the unification from south to north.

After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he rebuilt the country from the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty, restored production, and strengthened central power. After several northern expeditions, he successively eliminated the remaining forces of the alliance members in the north and the separatist regimes in the south, thus completing the unification of the country.

But in his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang started a bloody purge of Huaixi's meritorious officials in order to consolidate the Zhu family's rule. However, man proposes, God disposes, and after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the Ming Dynasty inevitably fell into civil war.

One of the protagonists of this civil war was Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen.