Chapter 29 Section 5 Buying Cultural Celebrities
The second reason for Zhu Yuanzhang's success, and the biggest difference between him and ordinary warriors, is his intellectual policy.
The most common mistake the reckless heroes make is their attitude towards intellectuals.On the one hand, because of their low level of education, it is difficult for them to get rid of their inferiority complex in front of intellectuals;Therefore, most of the leaders of the rebel army did not have a good impression of the scholars, and they mostly killed them after they were caught.Zhu Yuanzhang was different, perhaps because of the influence of his parents, he knew to respect scholars since he was a child.
Just as Ah Q did not dare to talk to Zhao Xiucai, before joining the rebel army, Zhu Yuanzhang had no "qualification" and no chance to deal with scholars.For these "masters" who are full of poems and books, he, who is at the bottom of the society, is full of admiration, but he can't climb high.The uprising turned everything upside down.When Zhu Yuanzhang led the army and established himself, some intellectuals took the initiative to join him.The first one is Feng Guoyong from Dingyuan.Feng Guoyong's family was well-off, and he had read some military books and war strategies since he was a child. He was the first scholar Zhu Yuanzhang had come into contact with since he started the army.Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally flattered and attached great importance to him, chatting with him whenever he had time.Feng Guoyong unfolded a map in front of him, and introduced to him that the place Jiqing was called Jiankang in ancient times, and the situation was very good. The ancients often said that "Jinling is the capital of emperors".If you want to win the world, you have to occupy this place first, "Pull it first as the root, and then go out to conquer, the world is not settled!"
Zhu Yuanzhang saw a map for the first time in his life.Looking at the map, the surrounding situation, including the overall situation of the world, is clear at a glance, and I can't help being overjoyed.It was under Feng Guoyong's suggestion that he determined the development strategy for crossing the river.
On the way to attack Chuzhou, a man named Li Shiyuan from She (she) County (now Huangshan City, Anhui Province) came to ask to see him. changed its name to Shanchang).Li Shanchang has a clear mind and is good at predicting things. "Few ambitions, poor reading and writing", "Learn the words of legalists, and many strategies", I heard that Zhu Yuanzhang led the soldiers passing by, and asked to see him "beside the road", wanting to see if this person is a master who can accomplish things Son.Zhu Yuanzhang hit it off with him immediately, and they chatted very speculatively.Li Shanchang said, when I saw you, I immediately thought of someone.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: Who?
Li Shanchang said: Han Gaozu Liu Bang!Like you, he also started from Kusano, and the current situation is similar to that of Han Gaozu Liu Bang:
During the chaos of the Qin Dynasty, Han Gao raised commoner clothes, was open-minded, knew people well, and was not addicted to killing people. He became an emperor in five years.Now that the Yuan Gang is in turmoil, the world is falling apart.Gonghao produced, not far from Pei.The royal spirit of mountains and rivers should be accepted by the public.If you follow what you do, the world will not be settled.
Zhu Yuanzhang has also heard of Liu Bang, but he never thought that this person has anything to do with him.Hearing what Li Shanchang said, he suddenly realized, and nodded repeatedly, "Praise be good".All kinds of suggestions from the intellectuals made him, who was still groping in the dark, feel like a bright light, and the road to the throne became clear in his mind.He appointed Li Shanchang as the secretary. From then on, he regarded Liu Bang as his idol and began to study his deeds.
Through interacting with scholars, Zhu Yuanzhang deeply realized that "knowledge is power". Intellectuals have a broad vision and many strategies.Moreover, these people often have great influence in the local area, "can influence the attitude of the people of one side. If they are won over, the people of one side will follow."With more contact with scholars, he also knows that the cost of recruiting scholars is not high: as long as you are polite, give them enough face, let them eat well and dress well, and give them a false job, they will be grateful and work hard for you. "It doesn't cost much, but makes a lot of money. It's really a good deal." Therefore, having tasted the sweetness, he tried his best to recruit scholars when he encountered scholars during his journey.Even when his generals went out to fight, he often asked them to bring them back to Zhu Yuanzhang when he heard that there were famous scholars somewhere.Sometimes, special personnel are sent to carry a large amount of gold and silver treasures, and ask around where there are scholars.
Zhu Sheng, an old Confucian from Huizhou, had a great academic name. When attacking southern Anhui, Zhu Yuanzhang followed Liu Bei's example and visited the thatched cottage three times.As a result, Zhu Sheng uttered a famous saying: "Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and become king slowly."
Zhu Yuanzhang heard that there was a scholar named Qin Conglong in Zhenjiang who was very knowledgeable.When Xu Da went to Zhenjiang, Zhu Yuanzhang specifically asked him to visit this person.After Xu Da found Qin Conglong, Zhu Yuanzhang personally sent his nephew Zhu Wenzheng and nephew Zhu Wenzhong to bring a large amount of silver and silk to hire him.After Qin Conglong came to Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang specially greeted him outside the city gate, and arranged for him to live with him, "visiting the current affairs of Israel day and night", "everything is big or small, and consult with him", "call him Mr. but not his name" .Every year on the occasion of Qin Conglong's birthday, Zhu Yuanzhang "has a gift, or visits his home personally, and drinks with him, and the courtesy is very generous."These practices spread, and the intellectuals were deeply moved.
Most of the scholars at that time had been enemies of the peasant army, and they were both suspicious and afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang specially announced: "I should take surrender as sincerity, and not the past as an exaggeration." As long as you surrender sincerely, you will never blame the past.There are also some intellectuals who look down on him, the king of the mountain, who came from a humble background, and think that the red scarf army smells bad, so they hide in the mountains and refuse to come out.Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think it was disobedient, but he became more humble and tried every means, and never gave up.
After most of eastern Zhejiang was pacified, the famous scholar Liu Ji (Liu Bowen) "considered himself an official, and was ashamed to be used by others", and refused to come out to be used by Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang asked Sun Yan, the governor of Chuzhou, to send someone to invite him, so Sun Yan wrote a letter of thousands of words, repeatedly explaining his interests and insisting that he go out of the mountain, and asked his friends Tao An and Song Lian to donate poems respectively. persuade.Liu Ji really had no choice, so he reluctantly came out of the mountain.In March of the sixth year of Longfeng, he came to Yingtian with Song Lian, Ye Chen and Zhang Yi. Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and said, "I am Mr. Qu Si in the world!" Invite them to live there.When talking to Liu Ji, he was always referred to as "Old Mister". In his letter to Liu Ji, he began this way: "Yuan Zhang bowed his head to the book, Mr. Bowen." "Mingwen"), the tone is extremely reverent and pious.
Zhu Yuanzhang's intellectual work was done well.His modesty, enthusiasm, patience, boldness, and heart-to-heart captivated a large number of cultural people.Many scholars whose livelihood was cut off in troubled times had already seen the hope of "being a stable slave" through the sign of Zhu Yuanzhang's army "not addicted to killing".Now that I know that Zhu Yuanzhang likes to be close to scholars, many people come to join him, hoping to rely on Zhu Yuanzhang to rebuild the ideal society of the three cardinal principles and five constant principles.Zhu Yuanzhang's investment has been rewarded a hundred times and a thousand times. They kept explaining various principles to Zhu, and Zhu was overjoyed.Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I read books and often benefit from it...Reading is sensible, so that people can use reason to judge in daily affairs, and it can make people make fewer mistakes." The root of standing out from the crowd.For example, Fang Xiaoru said that at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, "the land is big and the soldiers are strong, and there are more than a dozen people who look at China with their names and names, but none of them can get scholars; Emperor Taizu Gao set his capital in Jinling, and he was the only one who was able to hire Taishi Jinhua Gong (Song Lian) as a guest. Ritual... Those who know it already say that the world is not equal."
It is precisely because he knows that the role of scholars is so great, so while he is vigorously recruiting and appointing scholars, Zhu Yuanzhang has formulated a special policy: not allowing his subordinates to appoint scholars at will.He was always on guard against the collusion between his generals and intellectuals, so he stipulated that all Confucian scholars who came to join him should be inspected and appointed by him personally, and "the generals are forbidden to use them without authorization."He was afraid that scholars would enlighten the brains of these fearless generals, so he specially stipulated: "If you conquer a city, order the generals to guard it, and don't let the Confucianists discuss the past and the present. Stop setting up an official to manage the documents. If there is a mistake , the crime sits alone in the official."
This rule is strictly enforced.When his nephew Zhu Wenzhong was in Wuzhou, he took Confucian scholars Tu Xing, Sun Lu, Xu Yuan, Wang Tianxi, Wang Zuo and other scholars under his command.Zhu Yuanzhang heard that because Zhu Wenzhong was needed at this time, he did not deal with him severely, but ordered Zhu Wenzhong to escort these Confucian scholars to Yingtian. After interrogation, Wang Zuo, Xu Yuan, and Wang Tianxi were issued as letters Officials, put Tu Xing and Sun Lu to death in public.