Revealing why Zhu Sheng was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang?

"A wily rabbit dies, a running dog cooks", and almost all the founding heroes of the past dynasties can't escape the fate of a dead rabbit being cooked by a dog, especially the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang was a famous counselor in Zhu Sheng period and played an important role in the construction of Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang praised his "nine-character national policy sets the world". So, how did Zhu Sheng, the founding adviser of the Ming Dynasty, die? Was he killed by Ming Taizu?

Statue of Zhu Sheng

In A.D. 1357, Zhu Yuanzhang, the leader of the Red Scarf Army, led an army to attack Huizhou. Zhu Sheng stood alone under the city wall and persuaded Fu Tong, commander-in-chief of the Yuan Dynasty, to surrender, thus saving Huizhou people from the war. The following year, Zhu Yuanzhang led the troops to attack Wuyuan again, but did not take it. One of his men said, "There is a hermit named Zhu Sheng here. He is very knowledgeable and has the same intelligence as Zhuge Liang. " Zhu Yuanzhang personally inspected Shimen, and Zhu Sheng gave three suggestions: "Build a high wall, accumulate grain, and become king slowly". Zhu Yuanzhang adopted it. He didn't become a prince until he defeated his old enemy, Chen Youliang. He has always been the king of Wu. Zhu Sheng's stratagem made Zhu Yuanzhang avoid becoming the key target of Yuan Dynasty, and gained valuable time for his power expansion.

In A.D. 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor, and Zhu Sheng was called to Nanjing, where he was on an equal footing with the founding heroes. Knowing the truth about retirement, Zhu Sheng asked for retirement the next year. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to give him an official position, but Zhu Shengjian refused. In addition, after retiring, Zhu Sheng did not "return to his hometown". Instead of going back to his hometown to worship his ancestors, he moved to Xixi and finally settled in Nanlonggang. Zhu Sheng and his wife died of illness, lived in Nanlonggang for one year, and were buried in Nanlonggang. So, how did Zhu Sheng die? Was he killed by Ming Taizu? The answer is no.

Zhu Sheng was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Who's Zhu Sheng? Many people can guess his last name more or less. He should be from the Ming Dynasty. Indeed, as everyone expected, Zhu Sheng was a native of the Ming Dynasty and a historical hero of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. He is proficient in literature and military affairs. During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, he made suggestions for Zhu Yuanzhang's country.

Portrait of Zhu Sheng

It is said that Zhu Sheng began to study in the academy at the age of eight, and by the age of 19, he had the title of scholar. He also opened a library to give lectures in his hometown. He likes to study the changes of astrology and divination methods, and later published a series.

In fact, as early as when Zhu Sheng was 24 years old, he wrote his first book, A Record of Mo Zhuang, which shows Zhu Sheng's profound literary skills. Zhu Sheng's erudition and knowledge have a great influence on himself.

In A.D. 1357, when Zhu Yuanzhang surrounded Huizhou City, Zhu Sheng risked his life and came to the gate to persuade the generals guarding the city to surrender. The relationship between Zhu Sheng and the Ming Dynasty began here. The following year, Zhu Yuanzhang attacked Wuyuan for a long time, and he was very upset. Deng Yu, commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, proposed to invite Zhu Sheng, who has the reputation of Zhuge Liang.

Let's see what he can offer. Zhu Yuanzhang personally visited Zhu Sheng's residence. Zhu Sheng put forward the world-famous strategy of building high walls and accumulating grain, and strategically gave Zhu Yuanzhang a series of founding strategies. These strategies not only showed their strong military thoughts, but also made great contributions to the unification of the Central Plains and the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

After Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor, Zhu Sheng continued to serve as a counselor, occupying an important position in Yingtianfu, and his political status was equal to that of the founding fathers. Zhu Yuanzhang also praised Zhu Sheng's personality. Zhu Sheng was an official in North Korea for ten years, and his achievements were outstanding, which was highly valued by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even if he knew so much about the way of the monarch and the minister, he had already expected that Zhu Yuanzhang would slaughter the hero. So in the second year of Hongwu, Zhu Sheng wanted to resign and retire on the grounds that he was too old to serve his country. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to seal him on the grounds of outstanding achievements, but he celebrated the New Year.

At the beginning of the Red Scarf Uprising, Zhu Yuanzhang was able to be a worthy corporal, so a large number of counselors gathered around him, such as Liu Ji, Li Shanchang and Zhu Sheng. Zhu Sheng, a native of Xiuning, Anhui Province, was born in a semi-agricultural family. He is free, intelligent and eager to learn. He began to write books in his twenties. During the Yuan Dynasty's visit to Zheng Zheng, he was promoted to Jinshi and was awarded the position of Zheng Xue by the court, but he didn't take office until he was in his fifties. When he was in office, Zhu Sheng formulated school rules and vigorously rectified school administrative corruption, which was praised by local teachers and students. However, after only three years, he resigned and moved to Shimen.

Zhu Sheng tomb

As for Zhu Sheng's resignation, there is an allusion in history that Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor and rewarded the founding hero Daxing. Everyone was happy to get a high position and high salary, but Zhu Shengjian refused to resign. Zhu Sheng and Zhu Yuanzhang didn't spend a long time together, but he had a premonition that Zhu Yuanzhang would not treat the hero well, so he retired to China in the second year of Hongwu. Although Zhu Sheng resigned from his official position on the grounds of old age, his son is still an official of the imperial court. In order to protect his son's safety, Zhu Sheng cried in front of Zhu Yuanzhang and asked the emperor to give him an iron roller to avoid death. Zhu Yuanzhang gave many heroes a death-free list, but not many, so he agreed to Zhu Sheng's request. Unexpectedly, just a few years later, Zhu Sheng's son was involved in the Guo Huan case and finally died in an unjust case.

As for Zhu Sheng himself, he was 70 years old when he resigned, and died the next year after returning to China, so he was able to die a fair death. After Zhu Sheng died, his family buried him nearby. So far, Zhu Sheng's tomb in the southern section of long gang zhen has a history of more than 600 years. Zhu Sheng's tomb looks like a granary, symbolizing the strategy of "accumulating grain widely" put forward by Zhu Sheng. The tombstone is made of white marble, which symbolizes the high quality of life in Zhu Sheng. There are eleven characters on the front: "Tomb of Zhu Sheng, a great scholar of Ming Hanlin Academy", and the small characters on the back describe his life story. 1999, Zhu Sheng Tomb was listed as a county-level cultural relics protection unit.