Chapter 36 Section 6 Why did Zhu Yuanzhang massacre heroes

War is such a powerful hammer that it changes people's mentality, character, and way of thinking irreversibly. Zhu Yuanzhang, who came to Guo Zixing's army, was already a good piece of iron.God inadvertently arranged for this child at the bottom of society to have an excellent brain.The hardships, setbacks and blows experienced since childhood gave Zhu Yuanzhang a strong body, but also a cold heart and a high degree of self-control. Of course, even with these qualities, Zhu Yuanzhang is nothing more than a good piece of iron.It is the battlefield that made the ultimate Zhu Yuanzhang, the absolutely cold, shrewd, cunning, and powerful Zhu Yuanzhang.

The battlefield is where a man is made.In ancient and modern China and abroad, the top men are all refined on the battlefield, because only the battlefield can provide the high temperature and high pressure necessary for their cultivation. The first quality that war requires soldiers to possess is to "not be moved" and to maintain absolute rationality. What is the battlefield like?It's a very easy place to make mistakes.In war, soldiers are under tremendous pressure that ordinary people cannot experience in normal life.There are many crises, a crisis is at stake, and life and death are at stake. Amidst the blood, corpses, beacon smoke, and shouts, it is easy for a person to lose his mind.However, the battlefield is also a place where no mistakes can be made, or where every mistake has a heavy price.

At all times and in all over the world, many military masters have repeatedly emphasized the importance of rationality.Laozi said: "A good fighter is not angry." Sun Tzu clearly pointed out: "A monarch should not be angry to provoke a teacher, and a general should not be angry to fight. After the anger is over, people can calm down, but the country that has died because of this cannot survive. Soldiers who died because of this cannot be brought back to life." Cao Cao also said the same thing: "You should not use your troops for your own joy or anger." There is often only one opportunity on the battlefield, which requires that soldiers' thinking must not be disturbed by emotions, and they must calmly choose the most reasonable strategy in the most complicated situation.The battlefield brought Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, which was already quite cold, to zero degrees.A great commander must be indifferent to the blood and groans of soldiers, he must be able to treat each living life as a bargaining chip in his gambling field, he must be able to send his closest people to the place of death, he must be able to kill Compassion, pity, and fear in the heart must be ruthless, desireless, and selfless.Only in this way can he achieve "Mount Tai collapses in front of him without changing his color, elk rises to his left without blinking his eyes", "suddenly approaching it without being surprised, and without reason and without anger", in order to avoid the death of his own people to the greatest extent. and power consumption.

The war trained Zhu Yuanzhang's already very shrewd mind to be more precise. In war, a commander needs to consider too many variables.Weather, geography, enemy situation, our situation, logistics... War requires a person to think quickly, carefully, and rigorously, and every tiny factor must be taken into consideration. One inadvertent move will lose everything.War requires soldiers to turn their brains into a super-high-performance computer, which can perform high-speed and accurate calculations in the battle cry. The war corrected Zhu Yuanzhang's already cautious personality to be more rigorous.On the battlefield, he has become a very patient wolf, not dragging the enemy to exhaustion, and never attacking rashly when he is not 90% sure.Under the oppression of great pressure, he can stand still and endure for a long time. Once the opportunity comes, he will "move like thunder" and destroy the enemy in one fell swoop.

In crises, escapes, deaths, and desperate situations, the impurities in this piece of iron were smashed out bit by bit by the hammer of fate.After more than ten years of military career, Zhu Yuanzhang finally became a piece of steel with excellent quality.He developed a superhuman heart, as hard as iron, as cold as ice, as calm as water, and as flexible as a bowstring.This heart is only governed by interests, and will never be softened by feelings.This heart can bear any great pressure, can calmly face any difficult challenge, can command his hands and mouth, and issue any cruel, barbaric, and unjust orders that others dare not issue.It is the battlefield, which turned Zhu Yuanzhang from a man of flesh and blood into a machine, a steel machine equipped with high-performance chips.

The iron fist, thoroughness, and cruelty that the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty later displayed in governing the country were all determined by this heart.The various major measures taken after the founding of the Ming Empire have a great relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang's long-term war-oriented way of thinking. Military thinking is a way of thinking formed in vicious competition.As the scholar Wu Xingming said: The starting point of military strategy is "in the multiple relationships of life, it determines the relationship between everyone, in the many relationships between people, it determines the interest relationship, and in the coordination of interests and the struggle In the two-way relationship, it goes on to only determine the relationship of struggle." The so-called "fighting with others is endless fun" is a typical expression of military thinking.

When dealing with the relationship between people and me, people who are accustomed to military thinking always use others as the means and self as the core.It is the behavioral instinct of soldiers to preserve themselves and attack others.In war, only by taking all unfavorable factors into account can we remain invincible.In this way, when judging characters, military strategists are often accustomed to starting from the evil side of human nature, and taking into account the dangerous factors for themselves to the extent that they are not leaked.When dealing with people and things in this way of thinking, the crises we see are naturally ubiquitous. Therefore, "fear is the basic state of mind of people in a strategic zone."

In this way, it is not difficult for us to understand why Zhu Yuanzhang "sleeped restlessly, with worries hanging in his heart" as soon as he ascended the throne of God.On the second day of his enthronement, he warned his courtiers, "At the beginning of starting a business, it is difficult, and after it is established, it is even more difficult." Those who are bright can see things before they are formed, those who are ignorant can still be covered by them, and things can be figured out before they are formed, but they can't be solved if they are already in trouble." Not long after he ascended the throne, he ordered to set up a special person to work at five o'clock every day At that time, he blew the painted corner on the Qiao Tower of the city gate and sang loudly: "It is difficult to be a king, it is difficult to be a minister, and it is also difficult; it is difficult to start a business, and it is even more difficult to maintain success; Difficult and difficult!"

In the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" written to his descendants, he taught his descendants in this way: When you are emperors, even if you live in peace, you must always be vigilant, and you must not neglect for a moment.In this way, your life will be safe, and the power of the country will not be lost.If one sees peace in the world, one relaxes one's guard. If a traitor succeeds, one's wealth and life will be lost, and the country's foundation will not survive! For this reason, he took the trouble to instruct future emperors how to pay attention to safety, and his caution has reached the level of nervousness:

Although you are in contact with those who meet and are close to you like flesh and blood, you must be more vigilant in your heart, and you must always be on guard against others!If you want to avoid left and right and discuss secrets with trusted ministers, then the guards with swords can only be ten feet away from you, no further! Get a few sets of armor, knives and guns and keep them by your side.Choose a few good horses and keep them at the gate of the palace, and prepare a few horses for each of the four city gates, so that they can run away if something happens! Every night, be vigilant.It's okay to listen to the movement in the city often, and listen to the sound of the city to see if there is anything unusual?You can also go to the yard to see the weather and astrology. Is there any sign of disaster?

The reason why he tried his best to "protect the family" was not only because the "home" was not easy to come by, but also because once it was lost, his family would have to pay the price in blood. During his long military career, Zhu Yuanzhang was used to high-intensity and high-intensity mental work, used to assess the situation every moment, calculate opponents, used to the exciting and high-spirited marching rhythm, and was used to enjoying the fun of fighting with others.The most unbearable thing for those who have come down from the battlefield is not having an opponent.Therefore, after Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, and the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty disappeared one by one, he began the long process of finding his opponent.The original fellow villagers and comrades-in-arms, the so-called "Huaixi nobles", came into his field of vision. Zhu Yuanzhang was originally a narrow-minded person. He paid attention to every move of his ministers, and often expressed dissatisfaction with his ministers' behavior, saying: "Such fools are ignorant, brave and rude. They either sit idle, or During the banquet, I will be regarded as ignorant, and I will be insulted by clever words, and there will be no courtesies in everything I do." Under the magnifying glass formed by his "crisis magnified" military psychology, the little carelessness and disrespect in their daily performance , were magnified into signs of rebellion, and one by one his original friends became opponents in his vision, so he raised the butcher knife to slaughter heroes. The second characteristic of war thinking is the pursuit of practicality.The purpose of war is practical, and military thinking is very utilitarian thinking, which instinctively requires a concise, convenient and practical way of thinking.Zhu Yuanzhang did not pursue form in his life, but only sought practicality.Zhu Yuanzhang was good at not being constrained by form in the political struggle after the founding of the People's Republic of China.He created a large village-style method of governing the country. Although it is not beautiful, it is very practical. Zhu Yuanzhang has no real belief in anything except the self-interest of his own family. The long-term habit of strategic thinking, benefiting from tactics again and again, made him form a habit of thinking about tactics.Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang's method of governing the country is to take no coincidences, seek no benefits, and do everything.He tried his best to maintain the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Principles, and advocated Confucian orthodoxy.However, because Mencius said that the people are more important than the emperor, which violates his self-centered mentality, he dared to delete "Mencius". He doesn't believe in superstition, but in order to deceive the people, he teaches with the way of gods, even pretends to be a ghost, and uses superstition to frighten people. He liked to read "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and other military books during the war, and he was proficient in the use of power and tactics.After the war, he dismissed the tactics of maneuvering and contingency in military books as inferior knowledge, and opposed people to study it.He said: "Those who use benevolence are invincible, those who rely on skill will perish." He has long-distance friendship and short-term attack, is tolerant to the outside world, and cruel to the inside.For the ethnic minorities and frontier countries that he can't rule, he has a kind face.However, for the subjects and people whom he whipped, he was cruel, cruel, harsh and ruthless. For the sake of his own family, he tried to imprison all the people forever and become his domestic slaves. Some specific methods in the war were also retained and became his method of governing the country. Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.Zhu Yuanzhang is one of the generals who used spies best in Chinese history. He is very experienced in handling secret agents. When he was in Jiangxi, why did he send guards to Yuanzhou to spy on the enemy? Why did he gather to report to him? "There are two stone lions in Pingzhang Gate, and I cut off the tip of their tails."Later, after capturing Yuanzhou, he also specially inspected this matter, and he was relieved only after the inspection was true.The situation provided by historical materials shows that Zhu Yuanzhang's spy reconnaissance methods are quite effective.It is the materials obtained from these reconnaissance activities that provide a reliable basis for his correct strategic decision-making. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he also used spies in political life to monitor every move of the people across the country, and he was blatant and unscrupulous.He created the "Jinyiwei", the first open secret service agency in Chinese history, and raised a large number of spies, called "inspectors", who went around to spy on the activities of ministers, specializing in suppressing "unruly rumors". The "censorship" specifically told people about their secrets, and everyone was afraid, but he appreciated it very much, saying, "There are such a few people, such as vicious dogs, and people are afraid" ("Stories of the Early Kingdom"). These people do not investigate and report everything, and every level of society is within the scope of their reconnaissance. The small officials of various ministries in Nanjing used to carry lacquer scarves and put a plaque on the door. The "inspector" found that some small officials in the Ministry of Rites were sleeping during the day, and there was no patrol at the entrance of the military department, so they stole the sleeper's headscarf and military department badge and reported it to Zhu Yuanzhang.Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that small officials in the Ministry of Rites were not allowed to wear lacquer scarves, and the Ministry of War was not allowed to list their plaques as punishment, which became the custom of the Ming Dynasty.He also particularly likes to spy on other people's private lives, for fear that others will talk about him behind his back.The old Confucian Qian Zai felt that the government affairs were too annoying, so he wrote a poem: "Dongdong wears clothes on the four drums, and it is too late to meet at the Meridian Gate. When can we have fun in the countryside and sleep until the food is cooked!" The next day, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Qian Zai at the court and said: "Yesterday was a good poem, but why do you dislike you? Why don't you worry about words?" So he sent Qian Zai back to his hometown and said, "I will let you go now so that you can sleep soundly. " The sweetness gained from discipline during the war made Zhu Yuanzhang superstitious about discipline.Strictly governing the army is his consistent style.After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this style of work continued.He also killed and beat those ministers who had worked hard, and the imperial staff system came from this.He will never show mercy to anyone who violates the laws and disciplines he has formulated, and will never let them go.Prince Consort Ouyang Lun is the husband-in-law of Empress Ma's own daughter, Princess Anqing. He disregarded the court's ban and sent his slaves to Shaanxi to smuggle private tea out of the border for sale many times.Zhu Yuanzhang was relentless, and after learning about it, he was ordered to arrest him and give him death. It can be imagined that he is so harsh on his closest relatives and treats the common people.He said: "Hu Yuan lost by being lenient, and I have to take over China, so I must be fierce!" After the founding of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang's policy for governing the country was to use severe punishments and laws to frighten the people by killing people.The laws and decrees he promulgated are endless, comprehensive, and all-encompassing, and they stipulate every aspect of the life of the empire in every detail.Any slight violation will be punished with inhuman punishment.Under his rule, he embezzled sixty taels and was skinned and executed.Committing minor offenses such as not carrying a "pass" when traveling, "not doing business properly" at home, and failing to report in time when encountering illegal things, etc., Zhu Yuanzhang's punishment measures are "moving the whole family out of the country", "showing the head of the owl", "breaking hands", " Broken foot"... Open his "Da Gao", everywhere you can see the tragic and serious cases that Zhu Yuanzhang personally created. Even, in order to escape from the local area, hundreds of families were slaughtered and confiscated.Zhu Yuanzhang himself described this tragic case and said: "There is nothing more stubborn among the people than the three hundred and seven households in Liyang, Guangde, Jianping, Yixing, Anji, Changxing, Gui'an, Deqing, Chongde and Jiang Shilu... all of them will be the people of Haomin. Zhao Zhensheng slaves confiscated more than 200 families, and killed all those who held sticks. Along the way, 170 households were delivered every festival, and all their families were confiscated according to the order of the lord."

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