The ups and downs of the Ming Dynasty for nearly 300 years naturally began when the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang won the world. Zhu Yuanzhang wins the world. In the change of dynasties, it is a legend of a grass carp turning into a dragon: a poor child born as a cowherd baby, flattening the heroes and chasing the tyrants in the north, creating the Ming Dynasty that has enjoyed the country for nearly 300 years. The poor founding emperor.The magic of success has been praised throughout the ages.And for centuries, one question has been debated: How did he do it? Different dynasties have different views. Dong Lun, a great Confucian scholar in the early Ming Dynasty who majored in "Records of Ming Taizu", sighed: "Because the destiny belongs to it, it is also favored by fortune."The reformer Zhang Juzheng said: "The Taizu won the world because he didn't stick to the established law." He said "not sticking to the established law", praised Zhu Yuanzhang, and by the way, "give gold" to his own reforms.Zhao Yi, a historian of the Qing Dynasty, commented: "Mingzu is one person, sages, heroes, and the nature of thieves are both."Li Guangtao, a modern Taiwanese historian, summed up the six-character key to Zhu Yuanzhang's success: use talents, be good at learning, and dare to fight.The times have changed, and the opinions of bystanders in later generations have their own merits.

Each has its own unique insights, connecting Zhu Yuanzhang's history of success.Among countless historical scrolls, what has been forgotten is a "blind spot" that occurred in the 20th year of the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1360). It is precisely this blind spot that hides Zhu Yuanzhang's answer to becoming the king. This blind spot is an ordinary question and answer, and the protagonists are Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Ji.The background is simple: one is the "Red Turban Rebel General" Zhu Yuanzhang who has already occupied Nanjing and has just established his foundation, but is in the cracks of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Shicheng, and Chen Youliang, and is fighting for the world. The famous Jiangdong Confucian, who experienced ups and downs in the troubled times, came here after many invitations, and the great counselor Liu Ji who just arrived.

The content of the dialogue was very complicated. Later generations paid more attention to Liu Bowen’s "Eighteen Strategies for Current Affairs" which was comparable to "Longzhong Opposition", but ignored one of Zhu Yuanzhang's questions and Liu Ji's answer - the theory of the "Nine Evils" of the Rebel Army . Zhu Yuanzhang's question is: What is the root cause of the repeated rise and fall of the world's "rebel army" (the Red Scarf Army and other anti-Yuan peasant armies) and it is difficult to accomplish anything?Liu Ji replied: Although the so-called "righteous army" is powerful for a while, it is difficult to last for a long time. The reason lies in the "nine evils".Among the nine evils, the first evil "disrespects Confucius and Mencius, blasphemes the way of saints, and corrupts the principles of nature and human relations"; Self-sufficient, do not know the art of war in front of battle"; the five evils "plunder people's wives and daughters' property, only know to take it from the people, but do not know how to support the people"; the six evils "the generals are narrow-minded"; Fighting in the same group"; the eight evils "gather together when they win, and scatter like birds and beasts when they lose"; the nine evils "mutual suspicion and attack between one rebel army and another rebel army".According to historical records, Zhu Yuanzhang "discolored when he heard about it" while listening.But Liu Ji showed no signs of fear, and then concluded his speech: "Nine evils cannot be eradicated. Although they are called volunteers, they are actually grass bandits and thieves."

This grand theory is really bold. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was the king of Wu at that time, he still regarded the leader of the Red Turban Army "Xiaoming King" as the rightful lord. The so-called "nine evils" theory was actually scolding Zhu Yuanzhang face to face.As soon as Liu Ji finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang "became angry and threw a cup and glared at him." Seeing that Liu Ji seemed to be losing his head. However, in a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, his face turned into nothingness with anger, and he blurted out a word of praise: "The name and curse through the ages will be passed down for thousands of years!"

Liu Ji was not wrong in scolding, and Zhu Yuanzhang was not wrong in laughing. Although the so-called "nine evils" theory hit Zhu Yuanzhang's death spot like a knife, it was the key to him from now on to open the door of the emperor. The reason why the "nine evils" theory is so important: First, the "nine evils" pointed out the weaknesses of Zhu Yuanzhang's army itself, which can be described as deafening; The root cause of the event predicted their ultimate failure; finally, the "Nine Evils" pointed out the reason that although the peasant uprisings in the past two thousand years were vigorous, most of them could only go to perdition, and they were just making wedding clothes for others.Even the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement in the late Qing Dynasty ended unfortunately in the words of the "nine evils".Liu Ji, who put forward the "nine evils", really lived up to his comment that "the literati crossing the river are unparalleled".

It is no accident that Liu Ji was able to sum up the "nine evils".The "nine evils" theory when meeting Zhu Yuanzhang was actually written in his "Ten Strategies for Pacifying Thieves" to Emperor Yuan Shun four years ago. , and once recruited brave soldiers in eastern Zhejiang, and tried their best to encircle and suppress Fang Guozhen and other "rebels". It was only when he saw that the Yuan court was corrupted that it could not be cured, he left angrily.The so-called "nine evils" are because he has stood on the opposite side of the "peasant uprising" all year round, and he can see clearly through his ears and eyes.The unforgettable words of enlightenment turned into Zhu Yuanzhang's sharp weapon for competing in the world.

Let us take the "Nine Evils" as a clue to connect the scene of the peasant uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. In May of the eleventh year from Yuan Shundi to Zhengzheng (AD 1351), the Yuan Dynasty, which was troubled internally and externally, levied 150,000 people to rule the Yellow River. Under the leadership of Liu Futong and Han Shantong, the leaders of the White Lotus Sect, they started an uprising in Huanglinggang, Henan, and overturned the dominoes of the peasant uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. From then on, all the heroes will rise together, and the situation will meet.In August of the same year, Zhima Li and others revolted in Xuzhou and occupied Xuzhou.Xu Shouhui and Zou Pusheng started an uprising in Qizhou, Hubei, proclaimed themselves emperor in October, and the country was named "Tianwan".Guo Zixing, Sun Deya and others rebelled in Fengyang, Anhui. These all belonged to the faction of the "Red Turban Army". For the emperor, the country was named "Great Song Dynasty", and the banner of "anti-Yuan and Song Dynasty" was officially raised.Although Fang Guozhen in Zhejiang and Zhang Shicheng in Jiangnan are not in the same line of the "Red Turban Army", they also have a separate side.The north and south of the river can be described as boiling against the sky.

But the "rising" is fast, and the "death" is even faster.As the "core", Liu Futong rose rapidly and conquered Bianliang, the old capital of the Song Dynasty.The three-way Northern Expedition only knew about fleeing and attacking cities, without any strategic purpose.Then unfortunately, "gather together when you win, and scatter like birds and beasts when you lose."The West Route Army failed to attack Fengxiang, Shaanxi, and collapsed all the way.After the Eastern Route Army was frustrated, internal strife broke out. The two main generals, Zhao Junyong and Mao Guiwo, fought. First, Zhao Junyong killed Mao Gui, and then Zhao Junyong was killed by Mao Gui's men.The mighty army, without a leader, suddenly became a bandit.Although it once conquered Yuanshangdu and even occupied Goryeo, it was finally annihilated under the suppression of the Yuan Dynasty.Liu Futong, who was seriously injured, lost consecutive battles. After being defeated by the Yuan court in the 19th year of Zhengzheng (1359 A.D.), he took the "Xiaoming King" and defected to Zhu Yuanzhang in Chuzhou.

The "nine evils" committed by other heroes are even worse.Guo Zixing and Sun Deya jointly occupied Fengyang, and then "reversed from time to time, mutual suspicion", and several main leaders fought openly and secretly.Guo Zixing himself was also "narrow-minded as a general", and even listened to slander several times, and wanted to put Zhu Yuanzhang, who was his subordinate at that time, to death.Xu Shouhui's "Tianwan" regime was even worse. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, "the attack was endless", and the Yuan Dynasty counterattacked because of the long battle line.Xu Shouhui, who was the "emperor", was usurped by the general Ni Wenjun, and Ni Wenjun was killed by Chen Youliang, another powerful general of the Tianwan regime. Even the country name was changed to "Han". Reverse in the nest".Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen in the south are "reversing from time to time", and they don't want to make progress when they occupy a piece of land.The so-called "heroes of all walks of life" are not the ones who achieve great things.

There are many evils, and heroes from all walks of life have a "common language".For example, "Plundering the property of wives and daughters only knows to take it from the people, but not to support them." Liu Futong's Red Scarf Army and Fang Guozhen are the most important.Liu Futong's Red Scarf Army's three-way northern expedition led to the main battlefield in Shandong "a thousand miles of red land, and villagers united to practice for self-protection."Fang Guozhen lived in the east of Zhejiang Province, and often "plundered the coast and poisoned the people".As for "disrespecting Confucius and Mencius, blaspheming the way of saints, corrupting the principles of nature and human relations", this is even more common.The Red Turban Army took the "White Lotus Sect" as its ideological pillar, and even burned schools and demolished ancestral temples wherever they went.For the scholars who were plundered, they all "do their best to humiliate the gentleness".The exception here is Zhang Shicheng. After occupying Suzhou, he "cultivated Confucianism, respected Confucius, and respected literati", but he soon indulged in singing with literati's banquets and poems. This is exactly the style of Song Huizong.As for "scholars lack training, fighting is like gang fights", most of the peasant army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty had no formal training, and when they encountered corrupt Yuan troops when they rebelled, they were still able to win the battle. Later, the Yuan court used Chahan Timu Famous generals such as Zhang Er and Wang Baobao rectified the combat effectiveness of the "regular army", causing the Duolu volunteers to lose consecutively.The most terrible thing is "mutual suspicion and mutual attack between this rebel army and that rebel army".The "anti-Yuan heroes" from all walks of life have fought for several years, and the number of conquests against each other is far more than the number of battles with the Yuan government army.

Such "nine evils" are rampant, so how can we talk about "unifying the world". Fortunately, the Yuan Dynasty was exhausted at that time. Although there were famous officials such as Wang Baobao to assist them, the government was corrupt, the emperor was fatuous, the clans and princes fought against each other, and there were endless civil wars. It was not much better than the "rebels" in the south.So there was the situation when Zhu Yuanzhang was competing for the world. The Yuan Dynasty could not destroy the "heroes" in the south, but the "heroes" could not achieve great things.With the Yangtze River as the boundary, the north and the south are divided and confront each other, who will win the world in the end? In this world dispute, the ultimate winner must be the person who has committed the least crimes among the "nine evils". If the "nine evils" can be changed into the "nine evils", this person will eventually become this The king of the age. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang stood out. How did Zhu Yuanzhang start to do "nine evils"?How can he do it?It is easy to laugh loudly, but it is difficult to put it into practice.Before that, he was a grassroots commoner. There was a famine at home, his father and brother died, and he came out to venture into the world in desperation.He became a monk at first, but later he couldn't continue as a monk, so he defected to Guo Zixing's Red Scarf Army, and was appreciated and became a favorite general.After that, he established a "base area" step by step, and when he conquered Nanjing, he had his own territory, and Liu Ji, the number one counselor at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, came. The well-known fact is: Although it is said that "princes, generals and generals have kindness", but in the past dynasties fighting for the world, most of the aristocratic families finally gained power. The so-called peasant uprising, although noisy for a while, will inevitably make wedding clothes for others, and cannot escape the doom of destruction . From the Daze Township Uprising to the end of the Yuan Dynasty, generations of people rose up and repeated the same failures. The root cause is that the "nine evils" are hard to change.The reason why it is hard to change is in response to a sentence by the British historian Toynbee: "The reason why peasant uprisings repeat the same failure is because they are peasant uprisings." Since it was a "peasant uprising" and recruited soldiers and horses, it was natural that they couldn't get rid of all kinds of strange powers and gods in ancient times. The so-called "Mingjiao" and "White Lotus Cult" were rampant, and naturally they were despised by "scholars", and naturally they looked down on "scholars", so they "blasphemed the way of saints". "It's normal.Most of the rebels were poor people who were forced by the government to rebel against the people. Since they dared to revolt, they naturally had hatred in their hearts.Most of the leaders of the uprising were "grass bandits", and not many had a long-term vision, so they were even more "killing without limit".Peasants from peasant backgrounds, from generals to soldiers, have not received formal military training. Except for a few military geniuses who are self-taught, most of them are mobs.Most of the uprisings are spontaneous, without a clear program and goals. Once they encounter setbacks, they will naturally become disorganized and disintegrated. Evil”, empathy, happened to the peasant uprising, but it is normal. But the consequences of "normality" are very serious. The result of indiscriminate killing is the loss of popular support. "It's the cornerstone. If the cornerstone collapses, how can we achieve great things? Therefore, the leaders of the "anti-feudal" peasant uprisings in the past dynasties in the feudal society had only two choices: one, to be destroyed;The signal light of the inflection point of fate between the two choices comes from the weakness of the peasant uprising itself, the "nine evils" that cannot be avoided. The reason why Liu Ji chose Zhu Yuanzhang was because of the "nine evils", some of which Zhu Yuanzhang had avoided before. For example, "disrespect Confucius and Mencius, blaspheme the way of sages, and corrupt the principles of nature and human relations." At first, Zhu Yuanzhang also despised literati, but after recruiting Li Shanchang, he began to focus on winning over intellectuals.Every time the army conquered a city, it would set up a "Li Xian Pavilion" to recruit intellectuals.He used both hard and soft tactics for local celebrities and talents, trying to take them for his own use. It was against this background that Liu Ji came to Zhu Yuanzhang's side. I also tried my best to avoid the idea of ​​"excessive attack, just like a bandit". From starting from scratch to occupying Nanjing, it can be described as step by step, advancing layer by layer, and adopting Zhu Sheng's strategy of "building high walls, accumulating food and slowly becoming king", patiently strengthen yourself Strength. "You can't be self-sufficient in food and pay, and you don't know the art of war when you are in battle." Zhu Yuanzhang is also an alternative. Since he was promoted to Wu Guogong in the 16th year of Zhizheng (1356 AD), he has implemented the policy of farming in the Huaixi area under his jurisdiction. After occupying Nanjing, This policy was extended to the Nanjing area.His generals Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong, etc., are even more famous generals who are not born in the world. The so-called "soldiers lack training, and fighting is like gang fights", although they exist, they are not serious.Among the "heroes" at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang undoubtedly did the best in terms of "nine evils". However, to win the world, these are far from enough.As a "peasant uprising leader", to defeat the "nine evils" and turn the "nine evils" into the "nine no evils", it is necessary to have the courage to break with his background and even his bad deeds, and the courage to overcome himself. Several of the "nine evils" are destined to be unavoidable by Zhu Yuanzhang! The most important one is "mutual suspicion and attack between this rebel army and that rebel army".The facts before Zhu Yuanzhang are: the biggest obstacle to unifying the world is not the lingering Yuan Dynasty in the north, but Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, two powerful enemies who are also "rebels" beside them. Of the two powers, Chen Youliang has the strongest army and Zhang Shicheng has the wealth , "Attack each other" is inevitable. Unavoidable, we must continue to talk about strategy, and we must not "attack too much", first attack Chen Youliang, and then desperately make friends with Zhang Shicheng and the northern Yuan Dynasty.Even though Zhang Shicheng repeatedly invaded and harassed Chen and Zhu when they fought, he tried his best to endure it and did not move.After Chen Youliang was annihilated in the Battle of Poyang Lake, he attacked Zhang Shicheng with lightning speed, but he was not in a hurry to eat a fat man. He first seized Zhang Shicheng's Jiangbei territory, then detoured to Huzhou and Hangzhou, annexed Zhang Shicheng's southern territory, and attacked Zhang Shicheng who was in Suzhou. Form a siege, and finally launch a general offensive.From the raising of troops in October 1365 AD to the destruction of Zhang Shicheng in December 1366 AD, and taking the biggest capital of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains to unify the world, it can be said that it has been done step by step.In the subsequent Northern Expedition to destroy the Yuan Dynasty, the strategy was even more secure.First take Shandong and Henan, and finally attack the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, advance steadily by land and water, regain the Central Plains without bloodshed, and then concentrate forces to completely destroy the vital forces of Wang Baobao in the northwest. Finally, in the first year of Hongwu (AD 1368), the Ming Dynasty stood up in the flames of war . During this period, apart from what Zhu Yuanzhang did which was related to the "Nine Don'ts", he also did several other seemingly insignificant things. It is still far from enough to go back to the point of "disrespecting Confucius and Mencius, blaspheming the way of saints, and corrupting the principles of nature and human relations".He also wants to open schools all over the area under his jurisdiction, repair ancestral temples, respect Confucius and Confucianism.The so-called "virtuous talents" are not "recruited", but cultivated.In the twenty-first year from Yuan to Zhengzheng (1361 A.D.), he set up the "Guoxue Museum" in Nanjing, with Song Lian, a great scribe, as his "classic teacher". This was the predecessor of "Guozijian" after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.Schools were also set up all over the state capitals, which were the predecessors of local "prefectural schools" and "county schools" after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.Of course, the process was not all smooth sailing. Since the opening of the library, strict orders have been issued, no matter who dares to harass the library, no matter who it is, it will be severely punished.In the following year, Fu Youde’s rebellious soldiers blackmailed the Bozhou Academy and beat the teachers and students. Zhu Yuanzhang punished one hundred soldiers who participated in the disturbance with fifty sticks each. I have learned the weight of "the way of a sage". As for "excessive attack, like bandits", "gather together in victory, scatter like birds and beasts in defeat", "plundering people's wives and daughters' property, they only know how to take it from the people, but don't know how to support them".In the 21st year of Zhengzheng, the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion was set up to govern all soldiers, a military and political reward and punishment system was established, the salaries of officers at all levels were set, 83 military regulations were established, and military discipline was strictly enforced.Just as overseas scholar Huang Renyu pointed out: "Zhu Yuanzhang's victory lies in the fact that his army is more in the form of a national army than other 'righteous armies'." But this is even more difficult. In the 23rd year of Zhengzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang set up a torture platform by the bank of Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing, and beheaded 32 generals who violated discipline, most of them were the "old team" who followed him from Fengyang to fight the world.Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang, in filial attire, went to hang the sacrifice in person, weeping, showing kindness and painstaking efforts, and from then on "a new discipline". With the army, of course there must be a national government.The civil service system was also established at the same time as the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and gentry from all over the country were invited to serve as officials to appease the localities.Li Shanchang is "Dadu Shi", that is, the future "Prime Minister" of the Ming Empire. "Self-sufficiency in food and wages" and "supporting the people" are two things. With the "government", it is natural to do well. Since the 23rd year of Zhengzheng (1363 AD), wherever the army has fought, it has been counted for land in the local area. Recruit refugees to reclaim wasteland, and then compile household registration, so as to keep the chain.In terms of taxation, the taxation is light and thin. At the two critical moments of the decisive battle against Chen Youliang in the 24th year of Zhizheng and the destruction of Zhang Shicheng in the 25th year of Zhizheng, he ordered tax reduction and exemption twice in a row, and recruited land reclamation. The Yuan Dynasty sent to Zhu Yuanzhang. Envoy Yang Siyi was a well-known "agricultural expert" at that time. After hearing about it, Zhu Yuanzhang forced him to stay and became the first Minister of the Household Department of the Ming Dynasty. Building a "government", establishing a "military system", abolishing "military discipline", promoting "Confucianism", respecting "big households", little by little things, let a "Wu" regime born out of a peasant uprising break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly , Gradually took the embryonic form of a "feudal country".Liu Bowen's assertion, in fact, should be added: If all the nine evils are made into the "nine not evils", the so-called righteous army is actually a "feudal country". Just as Mr. Li Dongfang, an overseas historian of the Ming Dynasty, said: "At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, all kinds of separatist regimes had the appearance of a 'country', but no reality of a 'country'. Only Zhu Yuanzhang established his shape first, and then practiced his reality to compete in the world. The foundation is determined from this.” Since it is the "country", of course it will break with the "Red Turban Army".On December 12th in the twenty-fourth year of Yuan Zhizheng (1364 A.D.), Zhu Yuanzhang, who defeated Chen Youliang, ordered Liao Yongzhong, the "nominal leader" of the Red Scarf Army attached to him, to take Xiaoming Wang from Chuzhou to Nanjing, passing through At the time of Liuhe in Jiangsu, he was drowned by a boat.This murder not only means the complete end of the peasant uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, but also means that a "peasant uprising leader" named Zhu Yuanzhang has successfully "washed the bottom" from today. On the fourth day of the first month of the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D.), Zhu Yuanzhang, who defeated all the heroes in the south, proclaimed himself emperor with the support of hundreds of officials.In August of the same year, the army of the Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty entered the capital of the Yuan Dynasty without bloodshed. Emperor Yuan Shun, the last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, fled north to the desert, and the Yuan Dynasty perished. Zhu Yuanzhang, who has achieved the "nine evils", has completed the interpretation of the myth of this grassroots hero winning the world. From the leader of the peasant uprising to the founding emperor of a feudal country, to evaluate his success, perhaps the editor-in-chief of "Asian History" and American scholar Roz Murphy's words are the most objective and appropriate: "A rebel who was born as a commoner conquered the world in his own way and created a miracle comparable to that of Genghis Khan. The miracle of Genghis Khan is a miracle about the adventure of a brave man, but the miracle of Zhu Yuanzhang is a miracle that is closer to ordinary people. The miracle of human struggle."