Chapter 3 Chapter 2 The Reckless Hero Fights the World: Stepping on the Bones

The loyalty of the rivers and lakes is neither the whole means of fighting for the country, nor Zhu Yuanzhang's patent.For those who want to build their own team and win people's hearts, this is just a basic method that must be used. Zhang Shicheng, one of Zhu Yuanzhang's most important opponents, is also a veteran who is well versed in the samadhi. Zhang Shicheng was a private salt dealer in Taizhou. It may be hard for Chinese people living today to imagine that since the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, salt, a basic daily necessities, has been monopolized by the state and monopolized by the government.As a result, an industry specializing in salt smuggling was effectively cultivated.

Selling private salt is profitable, but also quite dangerous.According to historical records, during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the price of well-made private salt was only one-third or even one-fourth of the price of rough official salt in most cases.And even in this case, private salt sales are still profitable.This shows how bad the government monopoly is. Only in this way, the dynasties of the past dynasties have strictly controlled this. The law of the Tang Dynasty stipulated that anyone who smuggled a stone of salt would be sentenced to death.That is to say, at that time, one human life was equivalent to more than one hundred catties of table salt; in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, no matter how many people were caught, they would be killed. The death penalty for salt smuggling; Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties once again stipulated that those who smuggled salt but resisted arrest should be executed.

According to the theory of economics of shortage, there is no need to delve into it. When a country monopolizes a kind of daily necessities with such a dreadful punishment, the consequences must include but not limited to the following: - The general stagnation of society in this respect. ——Officials forced to provide bad products and trading methods with low quality and high price. ——Cultivating corrupt officials who are like wolves and tigers. —Smuggling becomes a profitable profession. ——Cultivate the greedy power and social psychology that are enemies of the country and society.

Zhang Shicheng, a salt dealer in Baijuchang, Taizhou, is a private salt dealer cultivated under this system. Under the rule of Taizhou Baijuchang is today Dafeng, Jiangsu.In 1353 AD, that is, the thirteenth year from Yuan to Zhengzheng, Zhang Shicheng was thirty-two years old.History books record that he was "quite light on wealth and generous in giving, and won the hearts of all generations".It means that this person doesn't take money seriously, and often donates money with righteousness, so he is quite popular with everyone.In the official revised history "History of Ming Dynasty", it is also clearly recorded that he was bullied and insulted by officials and rich people when he was smuggling salt.Part of our above statement has been corroborated.In the first month of this year, he and his younger brothers and a group of illicit salt traffickers, known as the "Eighteen Brothers", killed the local officials and rich people who were doing evil, and rebelled.

In terms of time, he joined the rebel army a year later than Zhu Yuanzhang, but his starting point was much higher than Zhu Yuanzhang.The reason may be that Zhang Shicheng has already established his own team and organization network in his career of smuggling and smuggling salt, which is full of risks and variables.Therefore, unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, who started as a small soldier in the rebel army who defected to others, he set up his own family and formed his own faction. These private salt dealers are shrewd and powerful, and they have formed a community of interests where "one prospers and one harms all", so their combat effectiveness is considerable.

In May of that year, after breaking through Taizhou, Xinghua and other places, Zhang Shicheng occupied Gaoyou and became the king of Zhou, which greatly shocked his reputation.As a result, the prime minister of the Yuan Empire was attracted to lead a heavy army to conquer. The Tuotuo prime minister is known as capable of both literature and martial arts.The official revised histories that we see today—the "History of Liao Dynasty", "History of Jin Dynasty" among the magnificent Twenty-Four Histories, and "History of Song Dynasty", which is the largest and most complicated volume, were all compiled by this person.Such a person should be regarded as one of the top decision-making officials of the Yuan Dynasty who was deeply infiltrated by Chinese civilization.Under his auspices, the Yuan Empire resumed imperial examinations to select scholars, offered sacrifices to Taimiao, changed the banknote law, and managed the Yellow River, which was called "Genghua" in history.Tuotuo was a rare sensible person in the Yuan Dynasty.Therefore, in the mouths and writings of Yuan and Ming historians in ancient and modern China and abroad, this person is often praised, and he is considered to be the last hope of the Yuan Empire.However, it was the deeds and fate of this prime minister—as mentioned earlier, that this prime minister once lied about his younger brother’s military exploits—that accurately foreshadowed the incorrigible and undeserving better ending of the Great Yuan Empire.

In 1352 AD, that is, in September of the twelfth year of Yuan Zhizheng, Tuotuo led an army to conquer the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou.We know that Xuzhou, known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is the most prosperous place at the intersection of the four provinces of Shandong, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu today, with a population of hundreds of thousands.After the government army broke through the city, Prime Minister Tuotuo, who was the executive prime minister of the entire country, issued the first order—to massacre the city. According to the orthodox "Pengcheng Chronicles" of the Ming Dynasty, Xuzhou, men, women and children were not spared during the massacre, so that sixteen years later, when the Ming Empire declared its founding, the place is still "covered by bones, and the grass is full of hope", with broken bricks and tiles. In the luxuriant grass, there are foxes, rats and jackals.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was twenty-four years old at the time, defected to the Red Turban Army in this year. Two years later, in 1354 A.D., that is, the fourteenth year from Yuan to Zhengzheng, Tuotuo, who was promoted to Taishi for his bloodbath in Xuzhou, once again led an army of one million to conquer Zhang Shicheng who occupied Gaoyou.According to historical records, the grand occasion of his departure as a teacher said: "The flags are spread for thousands of miles, the golden drums shake the fields, and the prosperity of the teacher has never been surpassed." The Gaoyou battle lasted for three months in the dark, the outer city had been breached, the inner city was at stake, Zhang Shicheng was out of ammunition and food, and when he was desperate, an event beyond everyone's expectations happened.

Prime Minister Tuotuo is leading the troops on the front line to fight bloody battles, and he is about to complete his success.Unexpectedly, there was a dignitary in the capital who wanted the position of prime minister very much, so he sued Tuotuo in front of the emperor.The general idea is: the thieves flocked all over the world, to a large extent, it was because of the resentment of the people that the prime minister was incompetent.As long as Tuotuo's position as prime minister is removed, the world will naturally be peaceful.At this time, the emperor thought that the rebellion had really subsided, and he was also a little worried that Tuotuo's contribution was too great to be settled.Hearing this accusation, it is quite satisfactory.So he immediately issued an edict, accusing Tuotuo of being a waste of money, and ordered him to be dismissed from office and exiled.The language in the emperor's imperial edict is extremely strict, saying: If you dare to disobey the order, you will be executed immediately.

As a result, things became completely unmanageable. When the edict was issued to the front line of Gaoyou, hundreds of thousands of troops were all resentful and crying loudly.Although Zhang Shicheng was lucky, he was able to deal with the national regular army, which is known as a million, for more than three months with Gaoyou's tiny land, which shows his tenacity and ferocity. Afterwards, Zhang Shicheng, who took a deep breath, swept across the southeast coast in a short period of time. Today, a large part of the most affluent areas in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai are in Zhang Shicheng's hands.At that time, it was known as the fertile land in the southeast, and it was proud of Yunei with "half of the world's taxes and taxes".In other words, half of China's national fiscal revenue came from this place at that time, and it was probably the richest place in the world at that time.

Judging from the complex historical materials, Zhang Shicheng was slow in nature but shrewd and capable, taciturn but tenacious and cunning, serious about promises, loyal, and generous to others. According to the standards of ancient Chinese and even modern people, these are some very good qualities.This quality may be an important factor that helped him unite a large number of comrades-in-arms and lay down this foundation. After Zhang Shicheng set up his base camp in Suzhou and established a separate regime, he was very loyal to his old brothers who rose up with him.He made each of them a high-ranking official with a heavy army or a lot of power.At the same time, he is extremely friendly to literati and officials, and treats the common people lightly.At the same time, he also built water conservancy and developed production.Therefore, it won a fairly wide support under the rule. This once annoyed Zhu Yuanzhang so much that he complained after he became the emperor: "When Zhang Shicheng stole Jiangdong, the people there still call him King Zhang. I am the Son of Heaven, but those guys just call me the old man." Therefore, after conquering the Su-Song area, Zhu Yuanzhang once had the idea of ​​"slaughtering its people", that is, to kill all the residents in Suzhou and Songjiang.Later, it reluctantly changed to impose heavy taxes on the region that were more than ten times higher than before, up to thirty-three times, as a punishment.This is the reason why the taxes in the Susong area were so heavy in the Ming Dynasty, and it also laid a particularly meaningful foreshadowing for the economic development of the Jiangnan area.This is a later story. That being the case, how did Zhang Shicheng lose to Zhu Yuanzhang?Among them, there must be something more important than the righteousness of the rivers and lakes at work. There is a saying that Zhang Shicheng is a famous filial son, and his mother is also an old lady who enjoys a wide reputation for virtue.Later, before Zhu Yuanzhang attacked Suzhou, he specially ordered Xu Da, the former commander-in-chief of the enemy, to strictly restrain his subordinates and not to disturb the old lady's tomb in Suzhou.In June 1964, when Suzhou was about to expand a primary school, it was found that the tomb of the old lady was still intact, indicating that Zhu Yuanzhang's order was well implemented.It is said that this old lady was very strict with Zhang Shicheng's family education, so that after Zhang Shicheng became king, for a period of time, he "respected himself very frugally", that is to say, he was not close to women, not extravagant and extravagant, and behaved very handsomely. We don't know how Zhang Shicheng feels about this.However, those old brothers who joined forces with him seemed to be in a very painful mood. When they used to be private salt dealers, they had to be cowarded by corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry. The corpses of so many people have laid down this beautiful country, and the brothers have all become high officials—either ministers or generals, but they can't enjoy the glory, wealth, wine and women to their heart's content.They couldn't figure it out no matter what, if this is the case, what is the use of this country and power? At this time, if Zhang Shicheng told them: "The world has not been taken yet, the enemy is at hand, and there is a long way to go. Brothers still need to work hard." They may still fight again.Unfortunately, Zhang Shicheng himself had no such plan.After all, this hero who was born as a private salt dealer was short-sighted.He is extremely satisfied with occupying the most prosperous and affluent land of fish and rice in China, and has no ambition to compete for the world.He really wanted to protect the environment and the people, and he didn't want to take any more risks.He didn't even understand that when the world is in chaos, tigers and wolves are everywhere, and he is already in a situation where he can either eat people or be eaten.He didn't know that it was impossible for wolves and tigers to keep their own foundation alone and enjoy wealth for a long time. However, Zhang Shicheng may really think so, and all his "basic national policies" revolve around this kind of unambitious idea.This lack of lofty ambition and strategic vision is not even a strategic strategy at all. It may be an important reason why Zhang Shicheng repeatedly missed good opportunities and eventually fell into Zhu Yuanzhang's hands.It should be noted that for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang's situation and strength were far inferior to this Zhang Shicheng. It's hard to say whether it was Jianghu's righteousness that hindered Zhang Shicheng's strategic vision and heart, or his lack of talent and general plan, which pushed his Jianghu's righteousness to the extreme, reaching a degree of abuse worthy of the name.From another perspective, it may be said that if he still had some ambitions when he started his army, then, in this gentle and rich township, he has only been left with some useless and harmful loyalty in the world-even though this loyalty used to be Helped him reach today's glory. There is a rather legendary story that just illustrates this process. During Zhang Shicheng's "self-serving and frugal" days, his old brothers who were born and died were extremely distressed. They were very righteous and hoped to share happiness with Zhang Shicheng after sharing difficulties.Therefore, they tried hard to think of many ideas, hoping to open an unimpeded road so that Zhang Shicheng, and thus themselves, could enjoy life happily.In the end, it is said that they came up with an idea that was not very original, but it was hard for a man in his prime to resist: they found a beautiful and charming woman who was not only beautiful, but also understanding, and arranged for Zhang Shicheng. A gentle trap with apparently no malice.As a result, Zhang Shicheng fell into the trap quite happily.His majestic and loving mother Gao Tang probably couldn't make things difficult for her son who was already called king in the deep courtyard mansion.So, everything became a fait accompli.Since then, Zhang Shicheng has become out of control.This story is very likely to be true.In fact, it doesn't matter if it's pure fiction.Because everything that happened afterwards is the same anyway, and constitutes an unchangeable fact in history. Zhang Shicheng has three younger brothers.The eldest brother, Shi Yi, is dead, and the second brother, Shi De, is courageous and resourceful. Zhang Shicheng once basically handed over the military and state duties to this younger brother.Unfortunately, Shi De was unfortunately defeated and captured in a fierce battle with Zhu Yuanzhang's troops. He rejected Zhu Yuanzhang's persuasion and sent a secret letter to his elder brother Shicheng in prison, telling him that he would rather surrender to the Yuan court than fight Zhu Yuanzhang to the end. Starved to death.Zhang Shicheng's third brother, Zhang Shixin, is a standard playboy, or it should be said, worse than a playboy.After the death of his second younger brother, Shi De, Zhang Shicheng actually let his third younger brother, who was almost completely worthless, become prime minister, while he devoted himself to hiding in the deep palace and enjoying life. When this prime minister handles military and state affairs, he doesn't have much talent, but he is quite proficient in corruption and bribery, and enjoyment in the dark, and he is also very elegant.For example, this person married more than a hundred concubines, and taught the dance of the demon.It's about a man and a large group of women taking off their clothes and singing and dancing in groups.When carrying out major military operations, he always accompanied the dancers and singers, in order to taste the artistic conception of poetry and wine singing, silk and bamboo singing and dancing, and the artistic conception of masts and sculls being wiped out in ashes.This kind of artistic conception is much more poetic and picturesque compared with the state of Zhou Lang of the Three Kingdoms "talking and laughing with feather fans, sculls and sculls".It is a pity that the military operations presided over by this princess either missed a good opportunity or failed completely. It is difficult to find a case that can make him look forward to being a hero so much.Even so, Zhang Shicheng still loves his brother very much. To be fair, Zhang Shicheng didn't just love his younger brother so much.In fact, he basically has a deep sense of loyalty to those old brothers who follow him to fight the world.Long before the death of his old mother and Shi De, Zhang Shicheng no longer participated in the battle, and he did not even intervene in military and state affairs.Like Hong Xiuquan who later founded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, with Yue Ji's charm and Wu Wa's soft beauty, Zhang Shicheng may be more and more intoxicated in the gentle and rich hometown, appreciating the beauty of life.Otherwise, it would be hard to imagine what he was busy with in the harem during the long years of nearly ten years? Therefore, all the brothers who followed him in the uprising were very happy.Everyone occupied fertile land one after another, built fine houses, repaired gardens, enjoyed antiques, and stored up singers and concubines.Alcoholic women, each has his own place.For a while, it seemed that the world was at peace, and there was a scene of singing and dancing. Chinese history tells us that even if the world is really conquered, such a situation is an ominous sign for the country. Later, whenever there was a war, none of these generals who used to lick their blood with their knives would go into battle.Moreover, even if they are in front of the enemy, they often have to bring their concubines to sing and dance. The book says "use the wine order as the military order, and use the meat formation as the military formation."If such an army can still win battles, it is really puzzling.Moreover, it doesn't matter if you lose the battle.It is said that as long as they come back to Zhang Shicheng, cry bitterly, and tell their troubles and grievances, even if they lose their teachers and grounds, Zhang Shicheng will forgive them generously.So, nothing happened up and down, quite happy. In this regard, some celebrities in the south of the Yangtze River once directly criticized Zhang Shicheng.It's a pity that Zhang Shicheng, who was immersed in singing and dancing, could no longer listen to these harsh advice. At this moment, he only likes to listen to those good-sounding words that he wants to hear.Chinese people habitually refer to such words as flattery, and those who like to say such words and do such things are called sycophants.I have never seen anyone explain on the level of culture and system, why there are so many such people in China, almost everywhere?Looking at the history, we can easily find that in the past dynasties, those powerful figures are some real hosts. Around them, there are usually a large number of such humanoid animals that are parasitized by flies and ants.Its function is to make the powerful people feel comfortable and happy in body and mind at all times to enter a state of bliss.As a result, those powerful people who lack talent and wisdom often fall down and become a passing cloud that is short-lived. In fact, this is one of the important reasons why those truly knowledgeable people stay away from Zhang Shicheng. For example, Shi Naian, the author of "Water Margin", is known for his talent. He and Zhang Shicheng are fellow villagers, and they also grew up in Baijuchang, Taizhou.Zhang Shicheng wanted to enlist Shi Naian many times under his tent, but this Shi Naian was unwilling, and in the end he was so annoyed that he hid far away and went to the deep mountains and old forests to write about his Liangshan hero. At that time, the three important figures who won Zhang Shicheng's reuse were Huang Jingfu, Cai Wenyan, and Ye Dexin.These three people have small talents, but their greatest ability is as in the above situation, that is, they are particularly good at trying to figure it out so as to win Zhang Shicheng's favor, and they are very despised by people.There is a folk song sung in the city of Suzhou, which says: "King Zhang relies solely on Huang Caiye for his career. Once the westerly wind blows, he will be shriveled." It can be seen that there was a big contrast between the officialdom under Zhang Shicheng and the public opinion at that time. In Chinese history, this kind of situation is often a real ominous omen. Looking through the history books, there are very few cases where this leads to a good ending.It's a pity that Zhang Shicheng and these three smug ministers didn't realize it.As a result, their good days are only a few years away.After Zhu Yuanzhang wiped out Zhang Shicheng, he specifically ordered the three captured ministers to be made into dried meat and hung on the tower of Suzhou City to show that they should welcome people. In 1367 AD, that is, in September of the twenty-seventh year of Yuan Zhizheng, Zhang Shicheng was captured.Earlier, when the general situation was over, this hero who was born as a salt lord suddenly cheered up and fought desperately, but after all, the general situation was over.His first wife gathered all his beautiful wives and concubines in a fragrant pavilion, and then set fire to collective self-immolation.Zhang Shicheng, unwilling to be humiliated, hanged himself.As a result, after being rescued, he was escorted to Nanjing.Li Shanchang, Zhu Yuanzhang's chief adviser, presided over the interrogation, but Shicheng ignored him.Li Shanchang scolded loudly, and Shicheng told Li Shanchang contemptuously that there is no need to rely on others.It made Li Shanchang yell at him.Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang personally tried, but Shicheng still ignored him. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang asked him very casually, how does he feel now that the army has been defeated and captured?Shicheng replied: "The sun shines on you but not on me." Zhu Yuanzhang was so annoyed that he executed him at the age of forty-seven.It is said that until today, there are still many stories about this person in the Suzhou generation. This hero, like the Overlord of Western Chu back then, did not think that he should reflect on anything other than destiny.In fact, this is very likely to be the common psychological state and way of thinking of Chinese people.Today, the media around us is full of similar successful people.A look at their meteoric rise and fall from awe-inspiring to nothingness may help us understand this. Generally speaking, those who achieve great things must have corresponding grand ambitions, capabilities and talents.Zhang Shicheng obviously does not have this pattern.This is probably the main reason why he has not been able to break away from the gangster-style behavior after he established a separatist regime.The boss is very interesting to the three old and four young people who follow him, but the situation ends here.That being the case, becoming someone else's prisoner is only a matter of time. At the time when the world is in chaos, there is another influential figure.His behavior is very different from Zhang Shicheng's, but he is also quite good. He is Chen Youliang. Chen Youliang was born in Yusha County, Mianyang Prefecture, Hubei Province. He ruled Miancheng in the southwest of Mianyang, Hubei Province today.This person was born in a fisherman's family. Judging from various records, he understands classics and history, knows martial arts, and is courageous.However, various circumstances show that he is very likely to belong to the kind of first-class person who is not very artistic but very courageous, although he is very courageous but not careful and very dark. After the great chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youliang defected to the Tianwan Red Scarf Army, a peasant uprising army led by Xu Shouhui, and worked as a bookkeeper under Prime Minister Ni Wenjun, probably a small official in charge of general affairs books.Later, he was gradually promoted to marshal with military merit.It sounds scary, but it wasn't worth much at the time. Marshal is a very old official title. During the Spring and Autumn Period of Jin Wengong, the chief commander of the Chinese army was already called Marshal.From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the marshal was generally held by the prince and prince, and the power was extremely heavy.The later Song Dynasty also followed this practice. Generally speaking, only the prince can be the marshal of the commanding party.For example, during the shame of Jingkang, who was subjugated in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou, who escaped by chance, was appointed Marshal of Hebei Bingma by his elder brother Song Qinzong who was trapped in the capital.When the Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty, they probably felt that the official name in Chinese was very prestigious. Therefore, at the beginning in the border areas, and later all over the country, many Marshal's Mansions or sub-Marshal's Mansions were established, becoming the highest military officer's office in a region. .For this reason, during the great chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, anyone who pulled up a staff, even a cat or a dog, as long as they had a hundred or eighty people in their hands, they would call themselves marshals, with the intention of being bold and frightening, and entertaining themselves.This kind of situation is similar to that in the period of the Republic of China, when you had a few guns in your hand, you would appoint a "commander" for yourself. Today, the streets are full of "presidents" and "chairmen". However, there are various indications that this Chen Youliang is not completely bluffing, he has really mastered a force with considerable strength.At that time, Emperor Xu Shouhui of Tianwan Kingdom conspired with Prime Minister Ni Wenjun to push Taishi Zou Pusheng out of the decision-making hierarchy.Soon, the prime minister took over all the power, showing that he didn't take Emperor Tianwan seriously.Therefore, Emperor Xu Shouhui planned to use Zou Pusheng again to restrain Ni Wenjun.After Ni Wenjun found out, he found his confidant Chen Youliang who had been promoted repeatedly and was now in charge, and discussed how to kill Xu Shouhui and become the emperor himself. Unexpectedly, just when Ni Wenjun set up a trap and launched a mutiny, and Emperor Tianwan was in a desperate situation, Chen Youliang suddenly rebelled. After killing Ni Wenjun, he took all the strength of his subordinates into his own hands.Chen Youliang thus became the most important minister under the emperor of Tianwan Kingdom, not only holding great power, but also holding a heavy army. Although Chen Youliang has the merit of escorting him, he is quite high-sounding in name, which is obviously contrary to the morality of the world.So, there was a saying that was widely circulated later: When Ni Wenjun summoned Chen Youliang for a secret meeting in the prime minister's mansion, one of his concubines came out to greet him for refreshments.It is said that Chen Youliang, who was in his thirties at the time, had never been close to women, so he was very popular with his subordinates.Unexpectedly, after seeing this woman, Chen Youliang was astonished as a celestial being, and was dazzled for a moment and couldn't help himself.After that, he was fascinated for several days and didn't think about eating or drinking.Therefore, there was a counterattack.So, after the mutiny subsided, the first thing Chen Youliang did was to rush to the prime minister's mansion before the soldiers who went to the prime minister's mansion to raid the house, and snatched the woman into his own mansion.Later, when Chen Youliang fought Zhu Yuanzhang at Poyang Lake and was defeated and died, his officials and subordinates fled and defected. Only this woman committed suicide for him. Whether this legend is true may be important to historical researchers, but it is not at all important to Chen Youliang, because this person is known as "Su Huai Da Zhi".We know that many such ambitious people in Chinese history generally take other people's heads very lightly.No matter what they say, deep down in their hearts, "I would rather let the world lose me than let the world lose me" is their most true creed forever.Therefore, most of these people have the spirit of "let others laugh and scold, and I will do it myself".When they act, they generally only see if they need it, and they don't care about cutting off the heads of anyone who hinders their interests.Most of these people are notorious in the arena, and it is difficult to survive, but they can often get ahead in politics.This may be one of the reasons why idioms such as "those who do big things don't care about small things" and "no poison and no husband" are so common in Chinese officialdom and Vanity Fair. We cannot prove that Chen Youliang is not such a person. On this point, although Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng are very different, they seem to be very successful for a while. In 1359 A.D., that is, in September of the nineteenth year of Yuan Zhizheng, Chen Youliang fought against each other again two years after killing Ni Wenjun, and killed Zhao Pusheng, the most popular and important general of the Tianwan Red Turban Army. Eight months later, in 1360 A.D., that is, in the fifth month of the 20th year of Yuan Zhizheng, he arranged for a guard to crush Xu Shouhui's head with a hammer in the name of reporting the military situation to the emperor. As a result, Chen Youliang established himself as emperor, changed the name of the country to Dahan, changed the name of the year to the first year of Dayi, and took Jiangzhou, which is today's Jiujiang, Jiangxi, as the capital.At that time, Chen Youliang was forty years old. Seriously speaking, Xu Shouhui is not a talented person. We know that the Red Turban Army was developed based on a mixture of White Lotus Sect, Maitreya Sect, Ming Sect, etc., and mainly called for the birth of Maitreya King Ming.According to their teachings, after King Ming was born and Maitreya descended to earth, everyone in the world would have clothes to wear, food to eat, fields to grow, all living beings to be equal, and the world to be peaceful.At that time, quite a few people believed this rhetoric.When they started an incident, like Xu Shouhui's Red Scarf Army, they had the word "Buddha" written on their backs. They were told that this would make them invulnerable and invincible.If unfortunately you are killed, it is because of your own dishonesty.In Chinese history, this kind of dream-talking mania is quite common.From a phenomenological point of view, the emergence of such a situation is often positively correlated with people's life becoming difficult, helpless, and beyond their understanding and tolerance in some aspects.That is to say, the growth and decline between the two are in the same proportion. It is said that the reason why Xu Shouhui became their leader was not because he had talent and prestige, but because he was tall and extraordinary, majestic, and looked like a god, that is, King Ming or Maitreya, so he was elected as the leader , and loved by all.The weird name of the country - Tianwan Kingdom may also come from the mixed religious teachings, which roughly means "a perfect country bestowed by God". A character who was not popular at first became the all-powerful emperor of Tianwan Kingdom. However, several generals under the emperor of Tianwan Kingdom were quite powerful, and Zhao Pusheng was one of them.Zhao Pusheng, people in the Jianghu are called "Double Swords Zhao", if you use it or "Water Margin" to describe it, it can probably be said that "Double Swords will dance together, with unstoppable courage".Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, but he is also rich in strategic strategies. He made great military achievements in the process of establishing the Tianwan Kingdom.Therefore, it became an obstacle that Chen Youliang had to get rid of when plotting against Xu Shouhui. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang continued to send people to spread rumors. Therefore, this general with high prestige and loyalty to Emperor Tianwan was gently placed by Chen Youliang. He was killed on the charge of conspiracy. "History of the Ming Dynasty" commented on Chen Youliang, saying that he "has a strong personality and guesses, so that he can control him with power".Expressed in today's language, this person is likely to have strong organizational and controlling abilities, manipulative and ruthless.He keeps doing bad things, and what he does is far from the word "righteousness".However, he dared to set his reign title as "Dayi", and was able to quickly integrate various people from various factions into his own command in a very short period of time.From this, we can see the ability and characteristics of its hero. In 1363 AD, that is, the twenty-three years from Yuan to Zhengzheng, in July, the famous Poyang Lake War broke out in history.This battle may be the most involved and largest water battle in Chinese history and even in the history of the world. It is also a life-and-death decisive battle between Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang.In the war, the total number of troops invested by both sides was 800,000.Among them, Chen Youliang invested 600,000 people, and Zhu Yuanzhang invested 200,000 people.The war lasted nearly forty days.At that time, countless corpses were floating on the entire Poyang Lake, and the color of the lake changed amidst the gloomy clouds and mist.As a result, for quite a long time thereafter, people by the lake did not dare to prey on the fish, shrimp, turtles and crabs in the lake. The evil results accumulated by Chen Youliang's actions in the past were revealed in this battle. After removing Ni Wenjun first, and killing Zhao Pusheng and Xu Shouhui, several powerful generals under them, such as Ding Pulang and Fu Youde, defected to Zhu Yuanzhang one after another.Fu Youde later became Zhu Yuanzhang's single-handed general with extremely outstanding military exploits and almost victorious in all battles. But Ding Pulang, Zou Pusheng, Zhao Pusheng and others are all loyal brothers of the "Pu" generation in the White Lotus Sect.He was extremely resentful towards Chen Youliang, and vowed to change his life for another. Chen Youliang must use his own head as the price for treachery.Therefore, in the Battle of Poyang Lake, this Ding Pulang played in a completely reckless manner. The meaning was very clear, that is, as long as he could kill Chen Youliang, it didn't matter whether he lived or died.In the end, the man suffered more than a dozen injuries, but he still shouted to kill the thief and refused to retreat. "History of the Ming Dynasty" records: "Pulang's body was wounded more than ten times, and he stood upright when he took off his head. He held his soldiers in a fighting posture, and the enemy was shocked." Holding weapons, fighting desperately, the enemy was terrified, thinking it was the God of War descending to earth.In the era of cold weapons where soldiers fought hand-to-hand, the tactics of one of the former enemy generals obviously had a great impact on the morale of the two warring parties. At this time, although Chen Youliang's side had a large number of people, claiming to be 600,000, but in the historical records, only one or two generals of Chen Youliang's direct line could see their names and fought desperately.Those who were strongly integrated did not seem to perform particularly well. In a battle, there is a huge difference in the number of the two sides, and one side has an overwhelming advantage, but it becomes a stalemate right from the start. The above factors may be one of the important reasons.And this stalemate is exactly what Chen Youliang should try to avoid.Because compared with Zhu Yuanzhang's well-prepared logistics supplies, Chen Youliang's overwhelmingly superior 600,000 army immediately showed difficulties in organization and supplies on the vast Poyang Lake. What was especially bad was that at the moment when the victory and defeat of the two sides were not yet clear, two important generals under Chen Youliang's subordinates, General Jinwu left and right, led their troops to Zhu Yuanzhang's camp one after another.This may have caused the reckless "big man" emperor Chen Youliang to suddenly fall into a state of anxiety.So, in the ensuing fierce battle, the emperor who was so anxious that he lost his composure lifted the curtain of his flagship to check the battle situation. As a result, he was shot in the eye by an arrow from which hand he didn't know, and killed him. pierced through the head and died instantly.In this way, the 600,000 troops commanded by him, with the absolute advantages in terms of time, location and numbers, died, fled, surrendered, and only a small part of them ran back to the base camp.The "big Han" country, which was only three years old after its founding, soon fell apart. Judging from the records of many historical materials, Chen Youliang has great ambitions, great courage, and also has the ability to control his subordinates with power.Therefore, in a short period of time, a "big Han" country with the largest land area, population and military strength among the separatists was quickly integrated, which was quite aggressive for a while. It took him less than ten years from joining the rebellion to establishing himself as the "big Han" emperor.This kind of smooth sailing may have caused his excellent self-feeling, thinking that he is really the favored son of heaven, and his destiny belongs to him.So arrogant and conceited, even when dealing with important military affairs, he appears to be quite careless and sloppy. Obviously, the major flaw in this person's overall quality is the fatal injury that led to his destruction.He seems to have never had the foresight to act after making a decision, and to do things slowly and smoothly. When he does things, he often follows his feeling, and he will do it first when the matter comes to an end.It's a bit of a Napoleonic "get in the action and see you later" vibe.Unfortunately, he is not Napoleon, he does not have Napoleon's political and military genius, and good luck will not hang over his head forever.In fact, this phenomenon is not difficult to understand when we look back at history with examples that are particularly common today.Or put it the other way around, looking back at today with these histories, many things that are not easy to understand with common sense suddenly become clear. Before the Battle of Poyang Lake, Chen Youliang once challenged Zhu Yuanzhang with his superior force twice, but in the end, he suffered a crushing defeat because of his incompetence, restlessness, and incompetence. 取得这两次胜利之后，朱元璋曾经在军事上走过一着绝大的险棋。这一险着如果被对手拆破，将完全可能导致朱元璋全军覆灭死无葬身之地。后人也肯定会将其讽之为军事上的巨大战略错误。可是，倘若他行险成功，则会使他在政治上、军事上均获得相当大的战略纵深与回旋空间。 事情的大体经过是： 当时，红巾军分为东西两系，西系是徐寿辉所领导的天完国一系。东系则以韩林儿、刘福通为首，以复兴大宋为号召，国号就叫大宋，主要在今天的河南、山东等北方地区与元朝苦斗。朱元璋的部队至少在理论上、名义上是隶属于这一系红巾军的。事实上，正是由于东系红巾军的纠缠，元军无暇顾及，朱元璋们才有可能坐大。因此，东系红巾军承受了元军主力的主要攻击力，成为了朱元璋的北部屏障与防火墙。 即便如此，朱元璋在整个大势中占据的位置并不是很好。他以应天府即今日南京为中心的根据地，东部与东南部有张士诚，西部与西南部有陈友谅。朱元璋时时处于两面夹攻的忧患之中。 此时，与西系红巾军一再内讧一样，东系红巾军也连续发生自相残杀事件，加上缺少正确而强有力的战略部署与指挥，一度相当强盛的东系红巾军，在元军的打击下日暮途穷。为此，朱元璋曾经彷徨观望了很久，甚至已经准备效仿张士诚的韬晦之计，即明里投降元朝廷，暗中保存实力。为此，他曾经多次与元朝廷和元军统帅眉来眼去。谁知，正在韩林儿与刘福通行将崩溃的时候，元朝廷内部也由于决策层内讧，导致最重要的领兵将领互相厮杀起来。朱元璋这才放弃了接受元朝廷招安封赏的计划。 然而，正在朱元璋松了一口气的时候，张士诚却突然发大军团团包围了韩林儿、刘福通所在的安丰，亦即今日之安徽寿县。刘福通一面苦苦支撑，一面派人飞赴南京，向朱元璋征兵解围。 朱元璋所走的重大险棋就发生在此时。 这件事发生在公元1363年，即元至正二十三年二月到三月间。朱元璋不顾他最重要谋臣刘伯温的极力反对，决定亲自率重兵救援安丰。他的理由是，失去安丰，南京就失去了屏障，救援安丰就等于保卫南京。而且，在朱元璋的部队里，人们还普遍将小明王韩林儿看作自己的教主与君上。刘伯温反对的理由则是，从政治上考虑，没有理由去救那个有名无实的“大宋”皇帝韩林儿，救他出来，反而平白给自己找来了个婆婆，今后很难处置；从军事上考虑，假如此时陈友谅乘虚而入，则腹背受敌进退失据，全军将立即陷入极其凶险的境地，实有不可测之祸。 朱元璋不听，执意率大军出发了。当时的情形，至少对于刘伯温来说，显得相当悲壮且令人绝望。 谁知，与朱元璋走出的险棋相比较，此时的陈友谅却走出了一步愚蠢得无以复加的、真正的臭棋。从而错过了仅有的一个机会。从此，对于他来说，一切都无从谈起了。 当此时，陈友谅已经基本完成了近乎孤注一掷的战争准备——征集了达六十万之众的庞大兵力，制造了至少一千艘以上的庞大战舰，筹集了充足的粮草军需。这时，假如他乘南京只有老弱病残守备的形势，出鄱阳湖口，沿长江顺流而下，直抵石头城的话，那么，朱元璋所率领的部队，将会没有任何选择，立即陷入前有强敌、后路又被更强大的敌人截断、惶惶如丧家之犬的境地。 过去，陈友谅曾经试图联合张士诚按此方略夹击朱元璋，却由于张士诚拖泥带水，犹犹豫豫，表面老奸巨猾，实则目光短浅而夭折。张士诚的心理，很有可能和我们今天在商场上看到的一样，如果竞争对手主动提出联合起来做一件事，如果做这件事对自己有好处，但是对竞争对手也有好处的话，那就宁愿自己不要这个好处，也不能让对方得到好处。于是，我们时常能够看到的一个结果就是——双方共同的竞争对手——可能是国内的，也可能是外国的——发展起来，再回过头来将他们各个击破。张士诚可能就是这么一种心态。 两面夹击朱元璋，这是陈友谅做梦都想做而没有做到的事情。 面对这样一个千载难逢的天赐良机，陈友谅却真的像一头蠢驴一样。 二月初二，安丰被围； 三月初一，朱元璋率大军救援； 三月十四日，被救出的小明王韩林儿下达制书表彰朱元璋的祖孙三代。 在前前后后长达一个半月时间里，陈友谅始终无所作为。 这时，从安丰回军的路上，朱元璋在情绪冲动之下犯了一个真正的错误，派徐达、常遇春率大军主力围攻属于张士诚的庐州，就是今天的安徽省会合肥市。结果，久攻不下，主力部队师老于坚城之下，进退两难。陈友谅对此同样视而不见。 等到四月初，陈友谅这时才开始动作了。他率领真正庞大无比的舰队浩浩荡荡、遮天蔽日地出发了。然而，方向却是完全相反的江西南昌。我们无法知道这厮到底是怎么想的，只能推测，其真实的意图大约不外如下几点：其一，北上之前，先要南下，拿下南昌，以解除后顾之忧；其二，南昌曾经是他的地盘，被他的手下投降后献给了朱元璋，他要惩治这几个家伙；其三，南昌当时叫洪都，曾经被改名为龙兴府，意思是真龙天子开基立业之地，他要把它夺回来以应“龙兴”之名。 然而，与上述时机比较起来，所有这一切理由显然全都不能称其为理由，哪怕再加上十条二十条类似不类似的理由也罢。但是陈友谅就这么干了，留下了一个让人完全一头雾水，永远无法理解的谜。 此后，陈友谅的大军在南昌孤城下一待就是八十五天。按照古人的说法，“一鼓作气，再而衰，三而竭”。在这八十五天时间里，一方面攻坚不下，已经足以将一支六十万人大军的粮草、士气消磨得差不多了。 另一方面，朱元璋则做完了自己想做的几乎所有事情。他安顿好了大将谢再兴叛变带来的麻烦，从从容容地改正错误——将徐达率领的、被拖在庐州城下达数月之久的主力部队撤回南京，做好战争准备；然后，从从容容地率领大军誓师出征，逆流而上，直入鄱阳湖。甚至还有史书记载说，在此期间，他令刘伯温做媒、自己亲自主婚，把徐达从进退两难的合肥城下召回南京举行婚礼，将该人心仪已久的一位女士嫁给了这位大将军做新娘。最后的结果是，朱元璋反断掉了坚城之下陈友谅的后路。从而，扭转了战略态势上的被动局面。 在亲自率兵救援安丰和以主力大军围攻庐州的长达几个月时间里，朱元璋与刘伯温始终处于焦虑之中，生怕陈友谅的大军从背后杀将出来，导致腹背受敌的局面。然而，没有。陈友谅始终没有利用这一制敌于死地的良机，随着鄱阳湖大战的到来，注定他再也没有这样的机会了。 就这样，由于陈友谅的愚不可及，朱元璋的冒险失误反而变成了极为高明的一着。与陈友谅的弑主自立比较起来，朱元璋的这一手显得特别深明大义。他占尽了政治上的好处，这种好处对他的帮助太大了，直到他站稳脚跟，最后将捏在自己手里已经失去作用的傀儡皇帝韩林儿沉入江底。 相形之下，刘伯温一心为朱元璋打算的主意，反倒被衬托出一种逢人之恶的、小家子气的阴暗气息来。 在此期间，张士诚的没出息也表现得淋漓尽致。 当朱元璋与陈友谅在鄱阳湖上打得昏天黑地、三十六天难解难分时，加上行军路上的时间，同样给这位张王留出了将近一个半月的时间。而且在此之前的四月份里，还曾经发生过朱元璋手下独当一面的重要将领、大将谢再兴率部叛投张士诚的事件。即便如此，这位张士诚却优哉游哉，似乎抱定了坐山观虎斗的宗旨，没有什么像样的作为。假如此刻他以自己所拥有的、无论如何都还不算弱的至少二三十万大军，出兵直捣近在咫尺的南京的话，后来的局势怎么发展就很难说了。 朱元璋与刘伯温曾经对此同样相当忧虑。 然而，虎狼就在咫尺之间，空虚的家园却平安无事，让人根本无法明白张士诚这厮究竟在想什么。事实表明，朱元璋与刘伯温的这种忧虑显然是高估了张士诚的智商与情商。此后，随着陈友谅的“樯橹灰飞烟灭”，原属“大汉”国的广大土地迅即落入朱元璋之手。张士诚立即陷入在这广大敌国土地的包围之下，变成了砧板上的肉，唯一的前途，就是等着人家拿刀来剁了。 张士诚的那位丞相弟弟张士信倒是至死都很风雅。 徐达率领大军包围了苏州城后，这位负责守城的大丞相命人在城头搭起帷帐，时不时在姬妾陪伴、诗酒唱和中，体味着笑对百万雄兵的快感。 公元1367年，即元至正二十七年，六月初七。这一天，对于张士信是个不折不扣的黑色日子。此日，苏州城已经被围困半年多了，全城异常困顿。他在帷幕里吃饭，餐后水果是一盘水蜜桃。他伸手拿起一个桃子刚要吃，突然一个飞炮打来，准准地在帷幕上炸响。硝烟散尽，人们发现丞相的脑袋整个被炸飞了。 心平气和地看，对于势焰熏天的这样一位风流丞相，就此风吹雨打去，可能是他最好的归宿。 从上面的事迹中，我们知道朱元璋、陈友谅、张士诚们进行的是一场标准的中国式政治博弈。 这种博弈的名称，古人管它叫：逐鹿中原。 该游戏的规则是：不择手段。 其竞赛方法为：以暴力在肉体上消灭对手。 参加博弈的条件为：尽可能大的军事力量。 博弈的结果是：胜者为王，败者为寇。 博弈的筹码则是：以自己的身家性命和千百万将士百姓的累累尸骨，博取全中国的河山与人民。 中国人对在此游戏中胜出者的奖励，可能是全世界古往今来所有国家和民族中最为慷慨的——一片万里锦绣江山从此将成为他一家一户的私有财产，凡生息在此土地上的人们全部成为这一家一户不折不扣的奴仆。所谓普天之下，莫非王土；率土之滨，莫非王臣，此之谓也。 一模一样的博弈，在中国进行了至少两千几百年。于是我们知道了诸如刘汉、李唐、赵宋、朱明等等称谓。 二百七十六年之后，当朱元璋创建的大明帝国已经土崩瓦解，他的子孙、大明崇祯皇帝朱由检已经吊死在景山的树下，那位打开天下第一雄关、导引清军铁骑杀向北京的吴三桂，还在自己讨伐李自成的檄文中，义正词严地写道：“请观今日之域中，仍是朱家之天下。” 时在公元1644年5月。 与此相映成趣的故事，则发生在广受国人爱戴的郑成功身上。 公元1659年，即清顺治十六年七月，郑成功率大军溯江而上，直薄石头城下。在南京仪凤门，郑成功与文武官员登岸遥祭太祖朱元璋的明孝陵。这位真正的民族英雄挥笔写下了《出师讨满夷自瓜州至金陵》诗。 The poem says: 翻检世界历史，我们知道： ——由此向前推十八年，即公元1641年，英国国会向国王查理一世提交了《大抗议书》，斥责国王的种种不法行为； ——由此向前推十七年，即公元1642年，英国革命轰然爆发，克伦威尔领导的国会军向国王及其军队宣战； ——由此向前推十年，即公元1649年，查理一世国王被送上断头台，英国人民宣布成立共和国。 列举出这样一个参照系，并不是为了以今人的眼光苛求古人。诚如我们所知，任何历史都是在其当时的条件下发生的。因此，研究这些历史，也就只能将其放回到当时的条件下去进行，分析其形势与作为，以裨益于今日。若以今天的标准衡量古人，毫无疑问是可笑的，没有任何意义。 但生活在今天的中国人，或许可以通过这个对比，注意到一个特别简单的事实，当地球上另外一个世界里，发生着将国王交给人民审判并最终送上断头台这样翻天覆地的大事变时，我们则在这一年——公元1644年，跪拜到了一个新的主子面前，诚惶诚恐山呼万岁。