Chapter 338 Chapter 337 Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang

In May of the 31st year of Ming Hongwu (AD 1398), the 71-year-old founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty ended his entrepreneurial life.He was an outstanding statesman and military strategist in ancient my country. He worked hard all his life, was diligent and studious, and grew from a poor shepherd boy to the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.His proficiency in writing and military strategy shines through in the annals of history. Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a poor farmer's family in Taiping Township, Haozhou, Anhui on September 18, the first year of the Yuan Tianli (1328 A.D.).His ancestral home is Peixian County, Jiangsu Province. His ancestors were honest farmers for several generations. Because they couldn't bear the exploitation of the landlords, they moved several times until his father's generation settled in Haozhou.

Zhu Yuanzhang, also known as Xingzong, was named Chongba when he was young, and his style name was Guorui.His father's name is Shizhen.People in Zhuangli called him Zhu Wusi. Shizhen had four sons, and Zhu Yuanzhang was the fourth. Mother Chen loved Yuan Zhang very much.As the summer passed and the cold came, little Yuanzhang grew up quietly in the warm arms of his parents.But the sufferings of society and life are also preparing to baptize him.Debt and famine stalked Zhu's crumbling hut like a plague. The innocent and naive little Yuanzhang didn't know the suffering in the world, so he went to Huangjue Temple next to the village to play with his friends when he was free.Seeing that he was smart and likable, the elders in the temple also took time to teach him how to read and write.Yuanzhang is very clever, with a photographic memory, and he knows it by ear.As time goes on, I also have a rough understanding of some ancient and modern characters.

In a blink of an eye, several years have passed.At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's three elder brothers had already been forced by life, and they carried long jobs for the landlord.Forced to make a living, despite all kinds of reluctance, Zhu Yuanzhang had to make a living independently.Someone introduced him to herd cattle at the home of the landlord Liu Daxiu in the village. In the fourth year of Yuan Shun Emperor Zhizheng (1344 A.D.), Zhu Yuanzhang grew into a 17-year-old youth in the storm of suffering.But this year in his hometown of Huaixi, the sun was like fire, there was a severe drought, locusts were flying everywhere, and the plague was rampant.Taiping Township is not peaceful.In a few months, hundreds of people died in Taiping Township.

Disaster also fell to Zhu Yuanzhang's house. The 64-year-old father, Shizhen, was the first to fall ill and died. Three days later, the elder brother Zhu Zhen (also known as Chongsi) was infected and died again.After 12 days, my mother also passed away.Three members of the impoverished Zhu family passed away in less than half a month. Zhu Yuanzhang's grief-stricken scene is really hard to describe.When parents die of illness, they must be buried as soon as possible to show filial piety.But in the boundless land of the world, there is no Zhu family's half-long field.Later, thanks to a small piece of land given by neighbor Liu Jizu, the Zhu family couldn't prepare a coffin, so they hurriedly buried the three relatives.

Unexpectedly, just after the funeral of the father and brother was finished, the two brothers caught the epidemic and died together.In the past, the Zhu family was full of children and grandchildren. In the blink of an eye, only Yuan Zhang, his sister-in-law and nephew were left in a few days. In confusion, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered that when he was a child, his parents had made a wish in Huangjue Temple, and he would sacrifice his life to become a monk when he grew up.Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself that there was no way out right now, so it would be better to go to Huangjue Temple, be ordained as a monk, and have a bowl of light rice to fill his stomach, which is better than starving to death.The plan was made, and he didn't have time to say hello to his sister-in-law and nephew, so he hurried to Huangjue Temple, worshiped Elder Gao Bin as his teacher, and became a monk in this way.

The monastery lived on rent collection and alms from faithful men and women.When Zhu Yuanzhang took refuge in the temple, there were already dozens of monks with dozens of mouths. There were too many monks and too little porridge.With no other choice, Elder Gao Bin had no choice but to send out his apprentices one by one, wandering around, and making a living by himself.Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just entered the temple for dozens of days, had to wear a broken hat, carry a small burden on his back, hold a wooden fish in one hand, and hold a bowl in the other. Zhu Yuanzhang begged all the way and wandered all the way.Day after day, year after year, I live in the mountains and live in the wild, go to the village and go to the house, begging for soft and hard, and have suffered the hardships of the world.He first traveled to Hefei, then to Gushi and Xinyang, then to Ruzhou, Chenzhou, Luyi, Bozhou, and finally to Yingzhou (now Fuyang, Anhui).For three full years, he has traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers in Huaixi and southern Henan, and the famous capital Dayi.Alms made him familiar with the local conditions and customs, the geographical situation of mountains and rivers, and accumulated rich knowledge for him to command wars later.At the same time, because Zhu Yuanzhang experienced the hardships of life and witnessed the painful life of farmers, the idea of ​​rebellion gradually sprouted in his mind. Although the three years of wandering life was so difficult and painful, it did lay the foundation for Zhu Yuanzhang's success in his later career.

In the eighth year from Yuan to Zhengzheng (AD 1348), Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Huangjue Temple with a wooden fish and a clay bowl in both hands after he had experienced the hardships of living a life of begging for others.Stepping into the monastery, I saw dust and cobwebs all over the verandah, a desolate and desolate scene.After asking his neighbors, Zhu Yuanzhang found out that the livelihood of the people in his hometown has been in decline in recent years, bandits and robbers have been rampant, and all the former brothers and sisters died, and no one survived.After being persuaded by his neighbors to stay, Zhu Yuanzhang stayed temporarily as the host of Huangjue Temple, chatting about his life.

Unbearable to bear the exploitation and oppression of the feudal rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, the Chinese peasants finally raised the banner of righteousness in Yingzhou by the peasant leader Liu Futong in the eleventh year from Yuan to Zhengzheng.Peng Yingyu and Xu Shouhui followed closely behind in the uprising in Hubei.Fang Guozhen, a local tyrant, and Zhang Shicheng, a salt dealer, fought against the Yuan Dynasty in eastern Zhejiang and northern Jiangsu successively.Soon Dingyuan local tyrant Guo Zixing and party henchman Sun Deya also responded in Haozhou and occupied Haozhou City.At this point, the flames of the peasant uprising blazed across the river north and south.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who lived in the gate of Qingjing, heard the constant wars, and his mood was already hard to calm down.Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang was finally involved in the torrent of peasant uprisings and joined Guo Zixing's rebel army. After Zhu Yuanzhang joined the army, he was very brave in battle. No matter how powerful the enemy was, he always fought hard and rushed to the front.In addition, he knew some characters, so he was especially valued by Guo Zixing. In case of war, Zhu Yuanzhang would always accompany him.After a short time, he was promoted to be the head of the nine soldiers. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang also lived up to Guo Zixing's expectations, he obeyed the command even more, and practiced martial arts hard.He handed over all the spoils he got in each battle to the Marshal's Mansion; the rewards he received were also distributed fairly, and everyone had a share in the rewards for meritorious service.In this way, up and down, I am very satisfied in all aspects, and I am very satisfied with the army.

Marshal Guo Zixing saw that although Zhu Yuanzhang was young, he was so insightful, courageous, shrewd and capable, so he regarded him as a confidant and trusted him more and more. Guo Zixing has an adopted daughter, Ma Shi, who is the only daughter of his friend Ma Gong who killed him.Ma Gong's wife Zheng Shi gave birth to a daughter and died of illness within a few days.Later, Magong killed people to avoid revenge, and entrusted his beloved daughter to Zixing.Soon, Ma Gong died in another country.Zixingyou is the orphan of a friend raised by Jiayi.This Mrs. Ma is also extremely intelligent. She has been a fair lady in a few years and has reached the age of marriage, but she has not yet chosen a suitable husband.

Zhu Yuanzhang's arrival reminded Guo Zixing of his adopted daughter's marriage. After discussing with his wife, Mrs. Zhang, and obtaining the approval of his adopted daughter and Zhu Yuanzhang, he chose a date to marry them.In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang became the son-in-law of Marshal Guo Zixing, and his value rose a hundred times, and the soldiers also treated him differently. Soon, internal strife broke out in the rebel army.Marshal Guo Zixing and Sun Deya, the deputy marshal of the blood alliance, had a sharp conflict because of their disagreement in the war.Sun Sui set up a trap to lure Guo Zixing into his home, intending to kill him secretly and make himself king.After Zhu Yuanzhang returned from the expedition and received the news, he immediately led his soldiers to the Sun's house, went straight into the living room, and said angrily: "The enemy is threatening the city, and the deputy commander did not kill the enemy, but murdered the commander. What's the reason?" After Zhu Yuanzhang said, he waved his hands and asked his soldiers to rush into Sun Deya's house with shields, searched around, and finally found Guo Zixing who was tied up in a low house.Zhu Yuanzhang broke the chain and returned with it.Guo Zixing survived the catastrophe, so naturally he was grateful to Yuanzhang and loved him even more. In the spring of 1353, with Guo Zixing's permission, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his hometown after a long absence, raised the banner of the Red Scarf Army, and recruited soldiers and horses.My childhood friends Xu Da, Zhou Dexing and other young people from the village heard that Zhu Yuanzhang had served as a soldier and became an official outside, and he wanted to come to his hometown to recruit soldiers, so they all came to serve.In more than ten days, a team of more than 700 people was assembled.These people, who followed Zhu Yuanzhang from birth to death, charged into battle and became the backbone of the uprising team.Among them, Xu Da and other 24 people were able to write and fight, and became the founding fathers of the country. A few days later, Zhu Yuanzhang gathered all the talents and returned with his troops.Guo Zixing was overjoyed when he saw this, so he promoted him to be the governor of the town, and put the 700 recruits under his command.Holding the military power, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer wanted to be confined to Haozhou. After a secret discussion with Xu Da, he obtained Guo Zixing's consent to take Xu Da, Tang He and other heroes south to Dingyuan to open up a new world.The Battle of Dingyuan was Zhu Yuanzhang's first battle to lead his team to realize his grand plan. In Dingyuan, there was an army of more than 3,000 landlords stationed in Lvpaizhai.Because of the large number of people in the village and the strong walls, Zhu Yuanzhang had to resort to tricks.When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that there was a shortage of food in the village, he had a plan in mind. He asked the soldiers to get into the cloth bags, falsely claiming that the peasants were sending food, and came to the gate of the village, and sent someone to inform the owner of the village, please go out to pick up the food.The village owner didn't know it was a plan. He was worried that he would not have enough food for the army. He was naturally overjoyed when he heard the report, and hurried out to meet him.After the gate of the village was opened, Zhu Yuanzhang gave an order, and the soldiers broke out and immediately took down the owner of the village.Seeing that the owner of the village was captured, the soldiers in the village had no intention of fighting, so they ran for their lives one after another. Lvpaizhai won the first battle, and Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the victory to attack another group of armed Miao tycoons in Dingyuan.Miao Daheng, who lives dangerously in Hengjian Mountain, has more than 20,000 soldiers.Miao Daheng never dreamed that Zhu Yuanzhang would sneak up on his camp so quickly. He got up and hurriedly fought in his sleep, but how could he resist the tide of the rebels' offensive!Seeing that the general situation was over, Miao Daheng weighed his interests, so he led the crowd to surrender and surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang. After Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Dingyuan, he loved the people and trained his troops, his prestige was greatly boosted, and the Quartet joined him.Brothers Feng Guoyong and Feng Guosheng were two small and medium-sized landlords in Dingyuan. Because they were afraid of the Red Turban Army, they organized village soldiers to form villages to protect themselves.Later, they heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was brave in battle, had strict discipline, defeated the enemy repeatedly, and had people's hearts allied, so they brought their own soldiers to see Zhu Yuanzhang's allegiance.Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see the two brothers of the Feng family.Feng Guoyong said: "South of the great river, Jinling (now Nanjing City) is an important place. It has always been a city where emperors and dragons roamed about. Save the people from fire and water, and don't be greedy for wealth and women. It is not difficult to seize the world in this way." Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed after hearing this, and immediately ordered Guoyong and Guosheng brothers to counsel Rongji.At the same time, he ordered to pull out the camp and march towards Jinling. On the way of the army, someone visited Zhu Yuanzhang again.His surname is Li, his name is Shanchang, and his character is Baishi. He is also a landlord and intellectual from Dingyuan.He studied since he was a child, paid attention to the study of legalist knowledge, and was very resourceful.Zhu Yuanzhang happily chatted with him and asked him about his strategy to win the world.Li Shanchang replied calmly: "During the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty raised his troops with commoner clothes. He was open-minded, knew people well, and did not kill innocent people indiscriminately. He became an emperor in five years. You are from Haozhou, not far from Liu Bang's hometown, Pei County. If you can imitate Han Gaozu's strengths, the world can be pacified." After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang praised him again and again, and immediately kept him by his side to help him make suggestions.The low-key strategy of literati and Confucian scholars strengthened Zhu Yuanzhang's ambition to seize the world, and accelerated his pace of sweeping the heroes and unifying the world. In March of the fifteenth year from Yuan to Zhengzheng (AD 1355), Guo Zixing, the leader of the uprising, passed away.The Song regime established by Liu Futong's peasant uprising army appointed Zhu Yuanzhang as the deputy marshal of this rebel army.Soon, after the two deputy commanders died in battle, Zhu Yuanzhang was promoted to generalissimo again.So far, the rebel army created by Guo Zixing has all been assigned to Zhu Yuanzhang to mobilize and command. In the mid-spring of the sixteenth year from Yuan to Zhengzheng, Zhu Yuanzhang personally supervised the land and water generals and captured Jinling according to the established strategy.In a fierce battle outside the city, the Yuan army was defeated, and more than 36,000 Yuan soldiers were surrendered.After the surrendered soldiers were taken in, I didn't know how Zhu Yuanzhang would deal with them, and everyone was very frightened.The soldiers around Zhu Yuanzhang suggested to him that there are too many soldiers, and they are afraid that he will change, so it is better to deal with it as soon as possible.But Zhu Yuanzhang did not adopt the opinions of the soldiers. Instead, he selected 500 brave and strong men from the soldiers, took them to his barracks, and let them sleep around the couch at night.Except for Feng Guoyong who stayed in the room, none of his usual guards stayed overnight.Zhu Yuanzhang took off his battle armor, got into bed and fell asleep soundly until dawn. The 500 warriors were very grateful for Zhu Yuanzhang's trust.A few days later, Zhu Yuanzhang used these 500 soldiers as vanguards to attack Jinling City.The soldiers were grateful and angry, charged into battle, killed the enemy bravely, and drove straight to the foot of Jinling City. Everyone made military exploits. More than 30,000 soldiers were grateful to Zhu Yuanzhang for his sincerity, and they will serve him faithfully in the future.Zhu Yuanzhang's team became invincible and famous all over the world. After capturing Jinling, Zhu Yuanzhang changed Jinling to Yingtianfu.At this time, to the north of him were the rebels Han Lin'er and Liu Futong.To the east is Zhang Shicheng.To the west is Xu Shouhui.Although the territory is small, there are rebel forces on the front line in the east, west, and north, protecting Zhu Yuanzhang's rebel team like a barrier.Taking full advantage of this favorable situation, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly conquered Zhenjiang, Changxing, Changzhou, Ningguo, Jiangyin, Changshu, Chizhou (now Guichi, Anhui), Huizhou (now Shexian, Anhui), and Wuzhou (now Zhejiang Province) with Yingtianfu as the center. Jinhua), Yangzhou, Quzhou and other places. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang, after seven years of baptism of bullets and bullets, had grown from a monk who only knew how to earn a living to a rebel general galloping on the battlefield;In the nineteenth year from Yuan to Zhengzheng, the nominal leader of the peasant uprising army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Han Liner, the king of Xiaoming who established the Song regime, appointed him as the Prime Minister Zuo of the Zhongshu Province in Jiangnan and other places. After the successful capture of Huizhou in 1357, Zhu Yuanzhang personally went to Shimen Mountain to visit Zhu Sheng, an old scholar, to ask for advice on how to govern the country and the world.Zhu Gaogao gave him three sentences from a far-sighted perspective: "Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and become king slowly." That is to say, we must expand our troops and consolidate the rear; Avoid being targeted.Zhu Yuanzhang nodded after hearing this.Although Zhu Sheng didn't say much, it did become a program of action for Zhu Yuanzhang to seize the world and establish the Ming Dynasty. According to Zhu Sheng's strategy, Zhu Yuanzhang first paid close attention to army building, paid attention to military training, and improved the fighting skills of the rebel soldiers.At the same time, in the gap between frequent wars, we must pay close attention to food production.For the first time in the rebel army, the Yingtian Division was set up, and Kang Maocai was appointed as the Yingtian Envoy, who was specially responsible for the construction of water conservancy and farming and other agricultural production matters.And some soldiers were also drawn out to use the spare time of the war to open up wasteland and farm.A few years of hard work not only solved the problem of the army's food shortage during wartime, but also left a large amount of surplus, which changed the habit of the army that has always fought in wars relying on military rations.In this way, the burden on the peasants within their sphere of influence was greatly reduced, and the army and the people were all happy, and the rebel army was welcomed by the people. In order to avoid arrogance, expose himself earlier, and be eaten when his strength is weak, Zhu Yuanzhang has always maintained a vassal relationship with King Xiaoming in form. The slogan of the struggle is also consistent with the Song regime. Zhu Yuanzhang finally established a solid base after several years of hard work, gathering strength, and fighting to open up the territory. People unconsciously rose into a powerful rebel army that could rival other rebels and Yuan armies at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The situation of the war is changing rapidly.When Zhu Yuanzhang occupied the area around Yingtianfu, Zhang Shicheng, who was in the east, occupied the vast and prosperous areas of the Taihu Lake Basin and the Yangtze River Delta centered on Pingjiang (now Suzhou).Xu Shouhui, who dominated the west, took Wuchang as the center and controlled large tracts of fertile land in Huguang and Jiangxi.Zhu Yuanzhang, who used to be able to do everything from right to left, was now caught between two sides, and the situation was quite grim.At the same time, as Zhu Yuanzhang's military power grew day by day, the conflicts between him and various rebels' separatist regimes became increasingly acute.At this point, the heroes competed in the Central Plains, and the time for a decisive battle in the world finally came. In the 20th year of Yuanzhizheng (1360 A.D.) in the fifth month, Chen Youliang, Xu Shouhui's army, killed Xu Shouhui in Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang), and announced that he was the emperor, and the country was named Han.After Chen Youliang established the country and proclaimed himself emperor, he immediately conspired with Zhang Shicheng to raise troops to attack Yingtian in an attempt to wipe out Zhu Yuanzhang's team in one fell swoop along the river. The battle lasted 36 days and nights, and Zhu Yuanzhang fought with the soldiers day and night.He used banners during the day and lanterns at night to calmly command and inspire the soldiers.Sometimes the command ship he was on was hit, and he immediately changed to another ship to continue commanding.Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang finally won a major victory in the decisive battle of Poyang Lake.Chen Youliang died under random arrows. After the Battle of Poyang Lake, Zhu Yuanzhang's territory has expanded to a vast area in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.With a vast territory and many soldiers, the situation has opened up.In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang's desire to be king and hegemony also expanded.Under the repeated persuasion of his subordinates, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself the King of Wu in Yingtian in the first month of 1364, set up a hundred officials, established the Ministry of Education, and made Li Shanchang the right prime minister and Xu Da the left prime minister.In February of that year, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the victory to personally conquer Wuchang, Chen Li asked for surrender, and the Han regime perished, and Huguang was included in the territory of Zhu Yuanzhang's rule. After Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed the Han regime, he began to march towards a new goal-to eliminate Zhang Shicheng.Zhang Shicheng was born as a private salt dealer.Its core team is also some salt dealers, salt dealers, small and medium landlords and some poor farmers.Because they could not bear the oppression and humiliation of the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, they rose up and fought bravely.But its leadership group has no lofty goals and is very corrupt.Zhang Shicheng, who also proclaimed himself King of Wu, had no ambitions and no opinions.Ignoring political affairs all day long, talking about the past and the present with a group of landlords and literati, playing with words and ink, just for fun.The generals and ministers under them also competed to build gardens, play with antiques, raise opera troupes, and have fun all day long. Some generals even took dancers as companions to entertain them during battles, completely losing their combat effectiveness. At the end of 1366, after Zhu Yuanzhang gradually captured the towns to which Zhang Shicheng belonged, he led his army to surround his capital, Pingjiang.Zhang Shicheng's generals, Lu Zhen and Li Bosheng, saw that the situation was not good, and surrendered one after another.Pingjiang City is very strong and difficult to conquer for a while.Zhu Yuanzhang remembered the "Locking Law" proposed by Ye Duixian from Haining a few years ago, so he ordered the soldiers to build a long fence around Pingjiang City, build a three-story wooden tower, and climb to the top of the tower. Be clear.They also set up bows, crossbows, firecrackers and iron cannons on the top of the tower, bombarding them day and night.Soon after the city was broken, Zhang Shicheng hanged himself to death. After Zhu Yuanzhang captured a large area of ​​the lower reaches of the Yangtze River occupied by Zhang Shicheng, he subdued Fang Guozhen in eastern Zhejiang, pacified Chen Youding in Fujian, and took advantage of the victory to advance southward, conquering Guangdong and Guangxi.After realizing the unification of the entire southern China except Sichuan and Yunnan, Zhu Yuanzhang seized the opportunity to mobilize elite troops to carry out the Northern Expedition, and launched the final decisive battle with the feudal regime of the Yuan Dynasty. At this time, under the continuous heavy blows of the Red Turban Army, coupled with the fact that there were many internal factions and contradictions, the Yuan Dynasty regime was already on the verge of collapse and gradually disintegrated. In October of the twenty-seventh year of Zhizheng (AD 1367), Zhu Yuanzhang sent Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to lead the northern expedition.Before the army set off, Zhu Yuanzhang personally formulated a complete set of careful battle plans: first take Shandong and dismantle the barriers of Dadu; then send troops to Henan and cut off its wings; then seize Tongguan and occupy the threshold.In this way, the situation in the world is completely controlled by him. In the end, when he marched into most of the capital, the Yuan army was alone and could be defeated without a fight. The Northern Expedition was carried out almost completely according to Zhu Yuanzhang's plan. In November 1367, Xu Da led his army to advance into Shandong, and three months later, the whole territory of Shandong was pacified.Then the troops were divided into two groups, and Sembcorp marched into Henan.By April 1368, the strategic goal of the Northern Expedition to encircle Dadu had been completed. When the Northern Expeditionary Army swept across the Central Plains and approached Dadu, the Yuan Army was busy with civil war due to the struggle for the throne.After the fall of Tongguan, Emperor Yuan Shun hastily mobilized the troops of Expansion Timur (Wang Baobao) and Li Siqi, who were fighting endlessly in the civil war, and went south to meet them.But where the corrupt Yuan army still has fighting power, it will be defeated in every battle.Seeing that the general situation was over, Emperor Yuan Shun fled to Shangdu (now Duolun, Inner Mongolia) in embarrassment with his concubine and prince in the middle of the night.In August of the second year, Xu Da led an army to attack Dadu, and the Yuan Dynasty regime was declared defeated. Then, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun took advantage of the victory to march forward and captured the northern provinces. In 1371, Zhu Yuanzhang dispatched land and water armies to pacify Sichuan. In 1382, Yunnan was pacified. In 1387, Naha, the prime minister of the Yuan Dynasty, descended to Liaodong.So far, except for Mobei Xinjiang, the great cause of unifying the whole country has basically been realized. In the first month of the twenty-eighth year of Yuanzhizheng, when the Northern Expedition successfully captured Shandong, the 40-year-old Zhu Yuanzhang officially ascended the throne of God in Yingtian amidst the cheers of civil and military officials. for Nanjing.Li Ma was the queen, and the eldest son Zhu Biao was the crown prince.With Li Shanchang and Xu Da as the left and right prime ministers.In this way, a shepherd boy and a poor monk, after hard work, finally became another founding monarch after Liu Bang in the history of our country. On the eve of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang invited all civil and military officials to his side, and asked everyone a question: Why did the Yuan Dynasty collapse so quickly?What is the immediate task of the new dynasty that will soon be born?Please express your views.Gao Shen Liu Ji first said: "Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, we have been lenient for a long time, and Ji Gang should be purged before the New Deal can be implemented." Zhu Yuanzhang felt that his words were reasonable, and he also deeply felt that the top priority of the Ming Dynasty should be to formulate laws and rule the country by law.According to Zhu Yuanzhang's order, the law-making work was intensified, and by 1397, the revised "Daming Law" was officially promulgated. "Da Ming Law" is simpler than "Tang Law" and stricter than "Song Law". The "Law of the Ming Dynasty" stipulates that those who "conspire against" and "conspire against great treason", regardless of the master or the accomplice, will be killed. Grandfathers, fathers, sons, grandsons, brothers, and cohabitants, as long as they are 16 years old, will be executed.Corruption of officials is punished particularly severely.Officials who committed corruption crimes, once found out, were sent to the northern desert to serve as soldiers.If an official embezzles more than 60 taels of stolen silver, he will be punished by showing his head to the public and peeling the real grass.Ordered to set up a leather field temple on the left side of the yamen in all prefectures and counties, which is the execution ground for skinning. Corrupt officials are brought here, their heads are cut off, hung on poles for public display, and then the human skin is peeled off, stuffed with straw, and placed next to the yamen hall , to warn succeeding officials. Zhu Yuanzhang was full of confidence in the laws he formulated and took the lead in implementing them, and the law enforcement was quite strict, which was rare among feudal emperors in ancient China.His son-in-law, Ouyang Lun, captain-in-law, disregarded the court's ban and trafficked private tea to Shaanxi because he was the husband of Empress Ma's own daughter, Princess Anqing.Later, a small official of the Heqiao Inspection Department reported the incident to Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang immediately ordered Ouyang Lun to be killed. At the same time, he also issued a general order to praise the fighting spirit of the little official who was not afraid of the powerful. Zhu Yuanzhang's only nephew, the founding hero Zhu Wenzheng also violated the law and discipline, and he abolished his official position without mercy.The uncle of Tang He, the hero of the founding of the country, thought he had strong relatives, so he concealed the land in Changzhou and refused to pay taxes. Zhu Yuanzhang also executed him according to law. Zhu Yuanzhang also publicly suppressed several major corruption cases, the biggest of which was the Guo Huan case.Guo Huan was the servant of the household department when the case happened.In the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385 A.D.), Yu Shi Yu Min and others reported that Li Yu, Zhao Quande, officials of Beijing Chengxuan Political Envoy Division and Procuratorial Envoy Division, and others, had collaborated with Guo Huan in embezzlement and fraud, and embezzled official food.Zhu Yuanzhang seized the clues and ordered the judicial department to investigate strictly according to law.This case later implicated senior officials such as Minister of Rites Zhao Mao, Minister of Criminal Affairs Wang Huidi, Minister of War Wang Jie, Minister of Industry Mai Zhide, and many other officials of the Chief Envoy.The embezzled and stolen money was converted into food amounting to more than 24 million shi.After the case was clarified, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhao Mao, Wang Huidi and others to throw their corpses on the street.Guo Huan and other ministers of the six ministries, as well as officials below the chief envoys in various places, had tens of thousands of people executed.Tens of thousands of officials involved were arrested and imprisoned, and severely punished.Countless low-level officials and wealthy people involved in this case were ransacked and executed. In order to strengthen the monitoring and control of his subjects, Zhu Yuanzhang specially set up an inspection department.At that time, the inspection department was responsible for checking and inspecting the key points of Guanjin in all prefectures and counties across the country, arresting thieves and interrogating traitors.If the people want to go hundreds of miles away, they must arrange the waypoints in advance, otherwise they will not be able to pass the checkpoint. In the fifteenth year of Hongwu (AD 1382), Zhu Yuanzhang officially changed the pro-army Duwei Mansion (formerly the Gongwei Division) in charge of security affairs to Jinyiwei.Secretly spy on the activities of officials big and small, and report to Zhu Yuanzhang any injustice and lawlessness in society at any time.At the same time, Jin Yiwei was also granted all the powers to detect, arrest, judge and punish criminals.Special courts and prisons were set up in Jinyiwei.Turn Jinyiwei into a formal spy agency. During the more than 30 years of Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, there were as many spies as a cow's hair, all over the streets and alleys, closely monitoring the activities of civil and military officials inside and outside the court and the public.Wu Lin, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, had retired and returned to his hometown, but Zhu Yuanzhang was still worried about him, so he sent special agents to Wu Lin's hometown to spy on his activities.When the spies came to the rice field, they saw an old man who looked like a farmer stand up from a small stool, and he stepped forward and asked, "Is there a Wu Shangshu here?" very happy after. University scholar Song Lian once hosted a banquet at home to entertain guests. The next day Zhu Yuanzhang asked him, "Yesterday, I treated guests, did you drink? What kind of food did you cook?" Song Lian answered truthfully.Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "You're right, you didn't lie to me." Guozijian Jijiu Song Na secretly sulked at home one day, and the secret agent who secretly monitored him actually drew a picture of him at this time and reported it to the emperor.Zhu Yuanzhang saw Song Na and asked, "Why were you sulking at home yesterday?" Song Na answered truthfully.He was surprised and asked Zhu Yuanzhang how he knew about this. Zhu Yuanzhang handed him the portrait.There was also a minister who had nothing to do all day, playing mahjong with his wife and concubines at home, and accidentally lost a piece of 20,000 yuan, which he couldn't find no matter how hard he tried.When he went to court the next day, Zhu Yuanzhang asked the minister what he was doing at home yesterday. The minister truthfully said that he was playing cards with his wife and concubine at home, and asked the emperor to forgive him.After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "You don't deceive me, and I don't blame you." After speaking, he took out a 20,000 card from his sleeve and threw it to him. Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of being deceived by his courtiers, so he often changed clothes with his attendants and made small visits to conduct private inspections of his officials.Luo Furen, a scholar of the Hongwen Museum, was originally a subordinate of Chen Youliang. He was upright and upright.Zhu Yuanzhang has always been very worried about him.One day, Zhu Yuanzhang came to Luo's house in the suburbs for a private visit.Unfortunately, Luo Furen and his wife were painting dilapidated walls at home that day.As soon as he saw the emperor coming, he hurriedly asked his wife to move a small stool for the emperor to sit on.Zhu Yuanzhang looked around at the Luo family's house and furniture, and was very moved when he saw that the family was poor. He said, "How can a wise man live in such a dilapidated house!" He immediately ordered to give him a big mansion in the city. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang drew lessons from the experience and lessons of success and failure in the history of chaos, and started a grand cause with the goal of reforming the old system and establishing a high degree of centralization. Zhu Yuanzhang's institutional reforms first started with local institutions.The Xingzhongshu Province set up in the Yuan Dynasty was separated from the Zhongshu Province in the central government.The setting of officials is the same as that of the Central Committee of the Ministry of Education. They are in charge of a province's military administration, civil administration, finance, and judiciary. They have a prominent position and great power.In fact, an Xingzhong Province is an independent small kingdom.I think back then, when Zhu Yuanzhang was still serving as King Xiaoming, he also served as Pingzhang (Prime Minister) of Jiangnan Xing Zhongshu Province for several years, so he saw the disadvantages of setting up Xing Zhongshu Sheng most deeply. After some preparations, in the ninth year of Hongwu (AD 1376), Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the abolition of the local Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the establishment of the Department of Chengxuan Political Envoy, referred to as the Chief Secretary.The chief secretary has one left and one right chief envoy.Its scope of power is also limited to civil affairs and finance, and manages local affairs according to the will of the emperor.At that time, there were 13 chief secretaries in the country.At the same time, the local government also set up the commanding department for the military management and the punishment and inspection department for the judicial management.The three institutions are independent of each other and restrain each other.At the same time, he directly obeyed the command of the imperial court. After realizing the reform of local administrative institutions, Zhu Yuanzhang began to concentrate on reforming the central government institutions, first of all, the Zhongshu Province, which was in charge of the world's political affairs.Originally, Zhongshu Province had the highest position among the various power agencies in the central government. Its chief executive, the left and right prime ministers, was also responsible for commanding all officials.In this way, the contradictions between monarchy and prime minister, emperor and prime minister are most likely to intensify.The first left and right prime ministers in the early Ming Dynasty were Li Shanchang and Xu Da respectively.Li Shanchang has always been known for being cautious in dealing with people, while Xu Da spends more time leading troops to fight outside.None of them formed a major conflict with the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.But after the aspect was passed to Hu Weiyong, things changed. Hu Weiyong is from Dingyuan, the son-in-law of Li Shanchang, the number one founding hero.Relying on Li Shanchang's background, he became prime minister of the left. He monopolized power in the court and acted arbitrarily. He made his own decisions on officials' promotion, life and death, and did not ask Zhu Yuanzhang for instructions. People who want to become officials and get promoted, frustrated heroes and generals, all run to his sect; he accepts gold, silver, silk, famous horses, and playthings.He recruited his own party members everywhere, cultivated his cronies, organized his own small group, attacked dissident forces, and dominated the court. Hu Weiyong's reckless behavior will not only endanger the stability of the Ming Dynasty, but also have a sharp conflict with Zhu Yuanzhang, who has a strong desire for power.Zhu Yuanzhang made up his mind to find an opportunity to get rid of this serious trouble in order to consolidate the imperial power.One day, Hu Weiyong's son was ostentatiously passing through the city of Nanjing in a carriage, and accidentally fell off the carriage and died. Hu Weiyong lynched the driver to death.After Zhu Yuanzhang found out, he was very angry. He insisted on Hu Weiyong paying for his life. Hu Weiyong requested to pay the driver's family compensation for the matter.Zhu Yuanzhang firmly refused.Hu Weiyong was very nervous when he heard this, so he strengthened his determination to stage a coup. In the first month of the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong entered the concert, pretending that the well in his house came out of Liquan, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to watch it.Zhu Yuanzhang was so overjoyed that he believed it was true, so he hurried out of Xihua Gate.While he was walking, Yun Qi suddenly rushed up the sidewalk, stopped the carriages and horses, he was silent for a while in a hurry.Zhu Yuanzhang thought it was disrespectful, so he ordered the guards on the left and right to slam down the sticks and hammers.Yun Qi's right arm was broken immediately, but he still pointed at Hu Weiyong's mansion with his left finger.Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized that he hurried back to the city and saw Hu Weiyong's mansion surrounded by military spirits from a distance, so he determined that Hu Weiyong was plotting rebellion.At the same time, it announced the revocation of Zhongshu Province, the removal of the prime minister, and the promotion of the status of the six ministries of officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, and workers.There are six departments in charge of government affairs, which are directly responsible to the emperor.It is also stipulated that future emperors shall not be allowed to establish a prime minister again, and if any of the ministers asks to be established again, they shall be punished severely. After Hu Weiyong was imprisoned, Zhu Yuanzhang followed the vines and took advantage of the situation. All those who behaved domineering, dissatisfied, and endangered the royal rule were all regarded as criminals of the Hu Party and executed and ransacked their homes.Hu Weiyong's case was complicated and rife, which lasted for several years.More than 30,000 officials were killed before and after.Even the 77-year-old Li Shanchang, who was retired at home and was the "No. 1 honored minister", and more than 70 members of his family were killed together. After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished Zhongshu and dismissed the prime minister, he carried out a series of reforms and adjustments to the central supervision and judicial organs.Originally, the central supervisory authority was called Yushitai.In the fifteenth year of Hongwu (AD 1381), Zhu Yuanzhang changed it to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which consisted of 13 departments and 110 supervisory censors.Its power is to correct and impeach all officials and identify injustice.All ministers who are treacherous, villains form a party, act in awe-inspiring way, disrupt the government; or embezzle and cheat, have bad intentions, and disrupt the ancestral system, they must be reported and impeached. These supervisory censors were originally only seventh-rank officials, but they could supervise all bureaucratic organizations in the court, and they traveled on behalf of the emperor when they went to the local area. After such reforms and rectifications, Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial power was indeed strengthened.But the emperor's government affairs also became onerous.In the past, the government affairs were assisted by the prime minister, but now Zhu Yuanzhang monopolizes all the power, no matter how big or small, from early morning to late night, he spends most of his time handling government affairs and reviewing documents, even when eating, he is also thinking about government affairs. Write it down on paper and pin it on your clothes.Sometimes I remember too many things, and paper hangs all over my body. The numerous government affairs made Zhu Yuanzhang out of breath. If things go on like this, either the emperor's body will be exhausted, or the military and state affairs will be delayed.For this reason, in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang set up the Huagai Hall, Wenhua Hall, Wuying Hall, Wenyuan Hall, Dongge Hall and other halls. To help Zhu Yuanzhang read the memorials, deal with drafting documents, and prepare for consultants.The former hectic phenomenon has gradually changed. Zhu Yuanzhang made his fortune in the Red Scarf Army, so he naturally attached great importance to strengthening the control of the army after he became emperor.原统领全国军队的是大都督府，朱元璋任命自己的亲侄儿朱文正为大都督，为全国最高的军事长官。后来朱元璋觉得大都督府权力太大，便于洪武十三年，在废中书省的时候，把大都督府也一分为五。设立了左、右、中、前、后五军都督府，分统全国军队。各都督府只管军籍、军政，没有指挥和统帅军队的权力。兵部有颁发军令、铨选军官之权，也不能直接指挥和统率军队。发生战事需要指挥调动军队时，由皇帝亲自任命军事统帅，兵部颁布调兵命令。战事结束后，军归卫所，主帅还印。 经过这样一番改革，避免了悍将跋扈、骄兵叛乱的弊端，更重要的是军权集中到皇帝手中了。不过朱元璋对将领们还是不放心。后来他又采取分封藩王的制度，把他的儿子分别封到各重要城镇去做亲王，用以监视控制各地的军事将领。这些分封的藩王按规定都配有护卫兵，少者有3000人，多的可达19000多人。他们还有指挥当地卫所守镇兵的大权。遇有突发事件，封地里的卫所守镇兵，在接到盖有皇帝御宝文书的同时，将领们还必须有藩王的令旨，才能调动。 随着朱家王朝的建立和巩固，昔日与朱元璋枪林弹雨、风雨同舟的将领，现在成了新王朝的新显贵。他们官封公侯，爵显禄厚，在个个弹冠相庆之余，有的渐渐骄横放纵起来。 开国大将蓝玉是洪武后期的主要将领。他麾下骁将10数人，威望都很高。蓝玉作战非常勇敢，立有赫赫战功，官封凉国公。他自恃功劳大，便骄傲起来，恃势横暴。他家里私蓄奴婢假子有数千人之多，到处敲榨勒索、霸占民田。百姓向御史告状，御史官依法提审，蓝玉竟一顿乱棍把他打走。政府明令禁贩私盐，他却令家人进行走私活动。他北征归来夜过喜峰关，守关将士因为没有及时开关迎接，他竟纵兵毁关而入。 这些勋臣宿将们的腐化堕落，不仅严重地妨碍了朱元璋统治效能的提高，而且有功高震主之嫌。为了大明江山的长治久安，朱元璋在洪武二十六年开始对蓝玉这些功臣展开了无情的镇压。 1393年，锦衣卫告发蓝玉谋反，朱元璋得此信即命锦衣卫发兵掩捕。朱元璋亲自审讯，继交由刑部锻炼成狱。蓝玉被砍头，并抄斩三族。凡与蓝玉有接触的朝臣，列侯均坐党夷灭。蓝玉案先后诛杀15000多人，把军队中功高位显的元勋宿将，几乎一网打尽。 除胡惟庸、蓝玉两案外，所剩无几的功臣也先后被以各种罪名赐死、鞭死或砍头。徐达被朱元璋列为开国功臣第一，他生背疽，这病最忌吃蒸鹅。朱元璋在他病重时偏偏赐蒸鹅给他吃。徐达知道皇帝是在要自己的命，只好含着泪水，当着使臣的面吃下了蒸鹅。没有几天，徐达就辛酸地离开了人世。功臣冯胜、傅友德、廖永忠、朱亮祖等也因失宠，先后被处死。 这样，功臣宿将能够善终的寥寥无几。只有汤和这个和朱元璋同村长大的放牛娃，知道老伙伴现在对老臣宿将不放心，就主动交还兵权，告老还乡，绝口不谈国事，才保住了终身。 朱元璋对采取这种杀功臣立威，以猛治国的策略巩固自己统治的做法，虽然没有公开忏悔过，但在他行将告别人世的时候，曾下令后人不准学习。他说，这套办法只是权宜之计，他希望在他之后，大明朝能尽快步入封建法制的轨道，尽快出现一个繁荣安定的局面。 朱元璋在对政治实行大刀阔斧、卓有成效的改革的同时，在大明王朝辽阔的版图上全面展开了医治战争创伤，恢复发展社会经济的工作。 经过十几年的浴血征战，朱元璋双手接过的是一个经济全面崩溃、生产大倒退的烂摊子。在中国广袤的土地上，到处是啼哭呻吟的流民，到处是哀鸿遍野，饿殍满路的凄凉景象。杭州是五代和北宋时期的名城，为后来南宋的京都。元代时人口曾达百余万，且是元末破坏最轻的地区，但元末人口死亡也达十之二三。江南如此，江北更甚。唐宋时代的繁华盛地扬州，待朱元璋部将廖大亨攻取时，城里只有18家居民。新任知府因旧城空旷难守，只好在西南部截下一个城角，筑起城墙，权作扬州府城。 出身贫贱的朱元璋理解百姓的苦难，面对着这种残破衰败的局面，他即位不久，就召见各地来朝的府州县官，对他们说，天下刚刚平定，百姓的财力非常困难，就像刚刚会飞的鸟不可拔它的羽毛，才种下的树不可摇撼一样。现在必须让老百姓“安养生息”。 要发展农业生产，就必须保证农业第一线有足够的劳力资源。但在元代，蓄奴风气非常盛行。有些权贵勋戚家的奴仆多达数千人。元末农民大起义，虽然有不少奴隶得到解放，但仍有相当一些农民在战乱中沦为豪强地主的奴隶。为此，洪武五年（公元1372年），朱元璋通令全国，普通地主不得蓄养奴婢，违者杖刑一百，所养奴婢一律放为良民。凡因饥荒而典卖为奴的男女，由政府代为赎身。洪武十九年（公元1386年），河南布政使司曾赎回开封等府民间典卖的男女达274人。 同时，朱元璋还严格控制寺院的发展，明令各府州县只能有一个大寺观，而且禁止40岁以下的妇女当尼姑，并严禁寺院收儿童为僧。20岁以上的青年愿意出家，须经其父母申请，官方批准，出家3年后还得赴京考试，不合格的遣返为民，这些政策的逐步实施，使社会上的劳动力增加了。 朱元璋发展农业的主要措施是奖励垦荒和实行屯田。元末农民起义，由于地主逃亡，人口减少，留下了大量荒地。明朝建立后，为尽快开垦这些荒地，朱元璋采取了计民授田、奖励垦荒的措施。建国的头一年，朱元璋就颁诏书于天下：凡是战争中抛荒的土地，被别人开垦的就成为垦种者的田产。如果原田主回来，由官府拨给同等数量的荒地作为补偿。对无主荒地，奖励农民尽力开垦，并承认其所有权，而且免征3年的田赋，个别的永不收税。这样一来，许多农民由奴隶变成了自耕农，社会地位和家庭生活有了极大的改善。农民的积极性提高了，明初的社会经济出现了繁荣向上的景象。 朱元璋奖励屯垦的政策，收到了显著的成果。洪武二十四年（公元1391年），全国垦田面积达3874746顷，比洪武元年增加了一倍以上。政府府税粮的收入也随之大幅度增加。洪武二十六年全国税粮达32789800石，是元朝一年税粮收入的3倍。同时人口也增加了700多万人。社会经济开始出现了空前繁荣的局面。 为进一步发展农业生产，朱元璋十分重视水利建设。在朱元璋即位的当年就下令，凡是百姓提出有关水利的建议，地方官吏必须及对奏报。后来他还专门指示工部大臣，凡是陂、塘、湖、堰，可以蓄水泄水防止旱洪的，都需要根据地势加以修治。按照朱元璋的命令，到洪武二十八年，全国共开塘堰40007处，疏通河流4162处，修建陂渠堤岸5000多处。洪武二十三年，修江南崇明、海门的海堤动用了25万人。洪武二十五年，修建江南渠阳河坝4000余丈，组织40万人上阵。这些水利工程为农业生产的发展提了有利条件。 在明代以前，棉花十分珍贵。普通百姓穿的布衣都是由麻布制作的。到了明代中叶，人不论贵贱，地不分南北，棉布已成了人民衣着的主要原料。这是朱元璋在明初全面推行重视经济作物，奖劝桑棉政策的结果。 明朝建立后，朱元璋就下令，农民凡有田地5亩到10亩的，必须栽种桑、麻、棉各半亩；有田10亩以上的，种植桑棉面积要按比例递增。后来，朱元璋还指示户部，明令全国百姓要多种桑、枣、柿和棉花，违令者全家充军。洪武二十六年以后栽种的全部免除赋税。 虽然明初的经济得到明显发展，人民的生活有了明显的改善，但出身布衣的朱元璋依然不忘百姓的疾苦，生活的艰辛。他常对朝臣们说：“步急则踬，弦急则绝，民急则乱。”他常常想方设法减轻农民的负担，尽力做到“取之有制，用之有节”。 明初制定的赋役法，规定民田一般亩征税粮五升三合五勺。按当时亩产最低一石来计算，为三十税一。徭役一般是有田一顷出丁夫一人，每年在农闲时节赴州县服役30天。这些都比元代赋役减轻了许多。 朱元璋还曾命人带着太子朱标到农村视察，亲眼看看农民的艰苦生活。太子回来后，他还严肃地教育说：“凡居处食用，一定要想到农民的劳苦，取之有制，用之有节，使他们不苦于饥寒。”凡是各地闹灾荒久收的，都要下令蠲免租税；灾情特别严重的，还要叫地方官员为灾民贷米，或赈济米，布、钞等。 由于朱元璋出身贫苦农家，不仅深深体谅农民生活的艰辛、物力的艰难，而且他还身体力行，带头倡导节俭。明朝建立后，按计划要在南京营建宫室。负责工程的人将图样送给他审定，他当即把雕琢考究的部分全去掉了。工程竣工后，他叫人在墙壁上画了许多怵目惊心的历史故事作装饰，让自己时刻不忘历史教训。有个官员想用好看的石头铺设宫殿的地面，被他当场狠狠地教训了一顿。 朱元璋用的车舆器具服用等物，按惯例该用金饰的，但他下令以铜代替。主管这事的官员说，这用不了多少金子。朱元璋说，“朕富有四海，岂吝惜这点黄金。但是，所谓俭约，非身先之，何以率天下？而且奢侈的开始，都是由小到大的。”他睡的御床与中产人家的睡床没有多大的区别；每天的早膳只有蔬菜佐餐。 在朱元璋的影响下，宫中的后妃也都十分注意节俭。她们从不乔装打扮，穿的衣裳也是洗过几次的。有个内侍穿着双新靴子在雨中行路，朱元璋发现了，气得痛骂了他一顿。一个散骑舍人穿了件十分华丽的新衣服，朱元璋问他：“这衣服用了多少钱？”舍人回道：“500贯。”朱元璋痛心地说：“500贯是数口之家的农夫一年的费用，而你却用来做一件衣服。如此骄奢，实在是太糟蹋东西了。” 朱元璋不喜欢喝酒，他多次发布限制酿酒的命令。他不爱奢华，讲究实际。他命令太监在皇宫墙边种菜，不要建造楼台亭阁。为了让儿子们得到锻炼，他命令太监织造麻鞋、竹笠自用，规定诸王子出城稍远，要骑马十分之七，步行十分之三。由于他出身贫寒，从小没有读书的机会。从军后，到称帝晚年一直保持勤奋好学的作风。作战之余，理政之后，他常常请儒生们讲述经史。经过几十年的刻苦自学，他不但能写手札、军令，还能写诗作赋。他终生严格要求自己，不懈怠，不腐化。 洪武三十一年（公元1398年），朱元璋病逝于西宫，遗诏称：“天下臣民，哭临三日，皆释服，毋妨婚嫁。”并令皇太孙朱允炆继位。葬于孝陵，庙号“太祖”，谥“高皇帝”。永乐元年谥“圣神文武钦明启运俊德成功统天大孝皇帝”，嘉靖十七年增谥“开天行道肇纪立极大圣至神仁文义武俊德成功高皇帝”。