Chapter 25 6. Marching into Huizhou, Xide Zhu Sheng, a bachelor

In the sixteenth year of Yuan Zhizheng (1356), Zhu Yuanzhang conquered Jiqing, changed Jiqing Road to Yingtian Mansion, and took Yingtian as his base for development. According to the situation at that time, he tried his best to expand his influence near Yingtian. In the seventeenth year of Yuan Zhizheng (1357), Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Hu Dahai to take Jixi and Xuancheng, conquer Xiuning, occupy Huizhou, and then ordered Deng Yu to sit in Huizhou.Deng Yu heard that there was a hermit Zhu Sheng here, who was clever and talented, but he was already very old when he was elected, and was appointed by the Ministry of Rites as Xuezheng of Chizhou.Soon the world was in chaos, and uprising forces rose from all sides. Zhu Sheng retired to Shimen in Shexian County, where he studied and farmed, and retired to the countryside.Deng Yu stated Zhu Sheng's situation to Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang didn't read much himself, but he knew the benefits of reading deeply, so he respected Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong's literary talents. Whenever he occupied a new place, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely visit the local Confucian scholars and literary talents, and tried his best to seek talents. .Hearing that Zhu Sheng was a great Confucian, Zhu Yuanzhang made up his mind to get him, so he first ordered Deng Yu who was in Huizhou to visit him.

In fact, although Zhu Sheng retired and returned to the countryside, he was not ignorant of world affairs. He knew Zhu Yuanzhang's development well.Deng Yu took a few soldiers and trekked for dozens of miles before arriving at Shimen in She County.Earlier I heard that Zhu Sheng set up a lecture hall in Shimen, and he is a famous person, so it should be easy to find, but when Zhu Sheng moved into the mountains, he told the people around him not to tell his location if there are officers and soldiers looking for him, just say they don't know.So Deng Yu and the others questioned a lot of people, and they all hit a wall. Finally, Deng Yu learned that Zhu Sheng lived in a nearby mountain.

Deng Yu and several soldiers immediately rushed to the nearby mountain, tied their horses down the mountain, and searched around along the mountain road.When I found it halfway up the mountain, I saw an old man fishing in a bamboo hat by the stream, and asked hurriedly, "Mr. Zhu Sheng, does your local Mr. Zhu Sheng live on this mountain?" The old gentleman sized up the visitor, and said leisurely, "He lives on this mountain." Deng Yu hurriedly asked, "Sir, please tell me how to search?" The old man smiled and said: "Haha, you are late, Zhu Sheng is already dead."

Deng Yu and several soldiers were shocked and said: "How is it possible, I haven't heard of it." The old man said: "It's absolutely true, if I don't know who died last night, no one will know." If you ask any more questions, the old man will not speak, just go fishing by himself.Several soldiers yelled and had to go down the mountain. Deng Yu felt very sorry. Back in the city, Deng Yu immediately wrote a detailed letter about the incident and reported it to Zhu Yuanzhang. After Zhu Yuanzhang got the letter, he couldn't believe it, and said that he would listen to Li Shan.

When Li Shanchang heard this, he laughed and said, "Haha, you really are a smart man! Commander, Deng Yu was fooled. The old man fishing is Zhu Sheng himself." Zhu Yuanzhang thought that the old man should indeed be Zhu Sheng himself. Zhu Yuanzhang was eager to seek talent and wanted Deng Yu to visit again, but was blocked by Li Shanchang: "The commander-in-chief should not let General Deng visit again at this time, otherwise it will only arouse Mr. Zhu's disgust. Shanchang thought that the election of the commander-in-chief is a suitable day. I went to Huizhou to seek talents, after all, Mr. Zhu is almost sixty years old, and it is not easy for him to leave the mountain. If he is really a great Confucian, if he is a great scholar, even if he is not willing to come to heaven with him, he will definitely gain something."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that Zhu Shengnian was approaching his sixtieth birthday, he felt that he really should visit him in person.With Mr. Zhu's experience and wisdom, it will definitely help me, and if I can win Zhu Sheng's approval, my development in Huizhou will be smoother. Zhu Yuanzhang then led his attendants and a dozen soldiers and rushed to She County without stopping. He didn't even go to the county seat, but went directly to Shimen Village to look for it. Even Deng Yu was ordered to wait in Shimen Village.Zhu Yuanzhang asked Deng Yu and his entourage to wait at the entrance of the village, and then he pretended to be alone and went to the mountain to search.After finding the mountain stream Deng Yu mentioned, Zhu Yuanzhang found a hut along the stream.However, when people went to the empty house, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Zhu Sheng was hiding on purpose, and felt very regretful that he did not see him.Just as he was about to leave, Zhu Yuanzhang saw paper fluttering on the window sill. When he walked in, he saw that it was Zhu Sheng who left a message: "I'm getting old, I just want to spend the rest of my life in peace, please come back, Marshal, I'm sorry."

After Zhu Yuanzhang read it, he tore it off and put it in his pocket, feeling a little disappointed. Zhu Yuanzhang sat in front of the hut and looked up at the mountain.This kind of style makes Zhu Yuanzhang's heart that has been in the world for a long time calm and detached, and he is very comfortable when he calms down.After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and sighed: "It's a pity, it's a pity." Turning back from the transcendent scenery, Zhu Yuanzhang had to face the chaos in reality.Facing Zhu Sheng's door, Zhu Yuanzhang bowed deeply, reluctantly turning his head while walking.

Before reaching the stream, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly heard someone shouting from behind: "Wait a minute, Commander." Turning around, the old man was smiling and beckoning Zhu Yuanzhang to turn around. Zhu Yuanzhang saw that this person was elegant in appearance, dressed like a teacher, and thought that he might be Zhu Sheng.But I was a little dazed, thinking that I was dazzled, and I was thinking about how to deal with it as I walked. When he got closer, he saw that the old man was not actually old, his body was strong and sharp, his eyes were sharp, but his hair was gray, which made him look old.

Zhu Yuanzhang saluted before saying anything. The old man hurriedly stopped and said: "I'm being rude, how about we talk by this stream." Zhu Yuanzhang guessed that this person was Zhu Sheng, and was overjoyed. He hurriedly let the old man go first, and sat down on a clean stone by the stream, and the two began to talk. Zhu Shengdao: "Mr. Wen's visit to the city, all implement the policy of benevolence and righteousness, the old man is very gratified." Zhu Yuanzhang said: "We are farmers, so what we do must be for the sake of the common people. It is the innocent people who have suffered in successive years of war."

Zhu Sheng said: "The commander-in-chief has this intention, and he will surely achieve great things. Originally, this old man planned to avoid military harassment, but if you know people and make good use of them, you will definitely come to visit in the near future, so you hide. But seeing that the commander-in-chief is not in a hurry, so respectful Wen Cai came here alone, feeling guilty, decided to meet up." Zhu Yuanzhang said: "We were poor when we were young, and we didn't read much. The people we admire most are scholars who read well. We are now leading soldiers to fight. If we want to govern the city and make suggestions in the future, we must rely on the talents of the world. Yuanzhang is here I implore you to help me, go to Yingtian together, and seek stability for the people of the world."

Zhu Sheng said calmly: "The commander-in-chief has this heart, and I am very grateful. Since I have decided to go back to the countryside, I really don't want to go out of the mountains. Please forgive me, the commander-in-chief." Zhu Yuanzhang thought that this matter must not be forced, but Zhu Sheng was a great Confucian and quite old, so he asked him his views on the world situation and general trend. Zhu Shengdao: "The Yuan Dynasty has come to an end. It is a wise move for the commander-in-chief to respond to heaven. Although your neighbors are strong, they are no match for your strategy, nor your reputation for benevolence and righteousness. Those who win the hearts of the people win the world. Since ancient times, in this way." Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that what Zhu Sheng said was very reasonable, so he asked: "We are staying in Yingtian now. Although we have taken over the nearby places one after another, it is not difficult to guard Yingtian, but we are surrounded by strong enemies. Yuanzhang also asked Mr. develop." Zhu Sheng said: "I will give you nine words. If you can strictly abide by these nine words, it will be a matter of time before you win the world." Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly asked: "Please advise, sir." Zhu Sheng said slowly: "Build walls high, accumulate food widely, and become king slowly." Zhu Yuanzhang repeated it, and felt that the meaning was profound and difficult to understand for a while, so he asked Zhu Sheng to repeat it again.Zhu Yuanzhang read it four or five times silently before he understood his meaning. Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Sheng: "Sir, this 'building a high wall' is for us to guard and consolidate Yingtian; this 'wide accumulation of grain' is for us to develop our economic strength and store sufficient supplies; this 'slowly becoming king' is for us to Don't become king too early, you will inevitably be targeted by people if you become king too early. Isn't it?" After hearing this, Zhu Sheng laughed and said, "Sure enough, he is a wise man, but these nine words are more than that. When it comes to the critical moment, just think about these nine words, it will definitely help you." Zhu Yuanzhang was very grateful to Zhu Sheng, but Zhu Sheng refused to go out, so he had to say goodbye. The following year Zhu Sheng built a house in his hometown. Zhu Yuanzhang learned that he wrote a plaque with his own hand: "Plum Blossoms and the First Moon" to describe Zhu Sheng's nobility, virtuousness and wisdom. Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang has always respected Zhu Sheng and gave Zhu Sheng very high courtesy. And Zhu Sheng was also grateful for Zhu Yuanzhang's wisdom. When Zhu Yuanzhang conquered various factions in Huizhou, Zhu Sheng always spoke for him.When Zhu Yuanzhang sent troops to attack Raozhou, the defenders of Raozhou stubbornly resisted and could not attack for a long time, so they sent a letter to Zhu Sheng.Zhu Sheng used his influence to mobilize thousands of strong men in the local area to provide assistance, and sent a personal letter of love to the commander of Raozhou to motivate his army and persuade him to surrender. Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang won the victory in Raozhou. Zhu Yuanzhang, who stayed in Yingtian, was actually very powerful, but he strictly followed Zhu Sheng's suggestion. Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, Xu Shouhui, and Xu Shouhui became kings around him. King Ming's banner.In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang made the Yuan Dynasty focus on those who became kings, without revealing their ambitions.At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the opportunity that others were busy fighting with the Yuan army to develop himself. When King Xiao Ming's military power was almost wiped out by the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty's military power was also severely bruised, and it can be said that both sides suffered.However, Zhu Yuanzhang took the opportunity to break through to the south and southeast, captured a large area of ​​land, and with sufficient financial resources, Yingtian's base was also consolidated. Zhu Yuanzhang began to target his powerful neighbors nearby. During this period, Zhu Yuanzhang did not forget to ask Zhu Sheng to come out to help, but Zhu Sheng refused, and Zhu Yuanzhang treated each other with courtesy.Until Zhu Yuanzhang annexed all directions, eliminated powerful enemies, and established the Ming Dynasty, he sincerely begged Zhu Sheng to come out of the mountain to serve.Zhu Sheng was no match for Zhu Yuanzhang's earnestness, and finally went out of the mountain when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, and went to Nanjing to be his adviser, and Zhu Yuanzhang also consulted Zhu Sheng on military and political secrets.In the first year of Wu (1367), Zhu Sheng was awarded the post of Bachelor of Attendance and Doctor of Zhongshun, and studied national history.The following year, Zhu was promoted to a Bachelor of Hanlin, and Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to preside over the formulation of relevant rules and etiquette of the Ming Dynasty for the construction of a new moral etiquette culture. Zhu Yuanzhang finally allowed Zhu Sheng to come out of the mountain because of his respect for talents and courtesy.Zhu Sheng's nine-character mantra is Zhu Yuanzhang's policy of great strategic significance for finally winning the world.It's not easy to find a man, but getting a useful piece of advice can do a lot.Zhu Sheng's contribution is not limited to those nine characters, he also made a great contribution to the construction of etiquette and culture at the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.