The Legend of Zhu Yuanzhang: From the Poor Boy to the Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty

In May of the 31st year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (AD 1398), Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of Ming Dynasty, who was 7 1 year old, ended his entrepreneurial career. He was an outstanding politician and strategist in ancient China. He worked hard and studied hard all his life. He grew from a poor little shepherd boy to the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. His literary achievements and martial arts are brilliant in history.

First, the unfortunate youth rose in troubled times. On September 18th, the first year of Yuan Dynasty (AD 1328), Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a poor peasant's home in Taiping Township, Bozhou, Anhui. My ancestral home is Pei County, Jiangsu Province. He has been an honest farmer for generations. Unable to stand the exploitation of the landlord, he moved several times until his parents settled in Haozhou.

Zhu Yuanzhang, also known as Xingzong, was nicknamed Eight and the word Guo Rui. His father is Shi Zhen. Everyone in the village calls him Zhu. Shi Zhensheng has four sons, and Zhu Yuanzhang is the fourth.

Mother Chen likes it very much. Summer went cold, and Xiao Yuanzhang grew up quietly in the warm arms of his parents. But the sufferings of society and life are also preparing for his baptism. The debt shortage is like a plague, keeping an eye on Zhu's crumbling hut.

Innocent Xiao Yuanzhang knows nothing about human sufferings, so whenever he is free, he goes to the Huang Jue Temple next to the village with his friends. The elders in this temple saw that he was clever and likable, so they took time to teach him to read and break words. Bird is very clever and never forgets anything. He knows when he hears it. Over time, I will also know some ancient and modern figures.

In a blink of an eye, several years have passed. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's three brothers had already been forced by life and chose long jobs for the landlord. Forced to make a living, despite all kinds of reluctance, Zhu Yuanzhang had to make a living independently. He was introduced to Liu Daxiu, the landlord of the village, to herd cattle.

In the fourth year of Yuan Shundi (A.D. 1344), Zhu Yuanzhang grew into a young man of 17 years old in the biting wind and rain. But this year in his hometown of Huaixi, the sun is like fire, the drought is thousands of miles away, locusts are flying all over the sky, and the plague is rampant. Taiping village is not peaceful. A few months later, hundreds of people died in Taiping Township.

The disaster also fell to Zhu Yuanzhang's house. The 64-year-old father Shi Zhen was the first to get sick and died. Three days later, eldest brother Zhu Zhen (also known as Chongsi) died of the epidemic again. 12 days later, my mother also died. The poor Zhujiajian family died three times in less than half a month. The scene of Zhu Yuanzhang's grief is really unspeakable. Parents who die of illness should always be buried as soon as possible to show filial piety. But the world is endless, but there is no Zhujiajian half-field. Later, thanks to a small piece of land given by neighbor Liu Jizu, the Zhujiajian family could not prepare the coffin, so they hastily buried three relatives.

Unexpectedly, just after the funeral of my father and brother was arranged, the two brothers contracted the epidemic again and died together. Zhujiajian Island's family, which used to be full of children and grandchildren, had only three people left in a few days.

Confused, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered that when he was a child, his parents made a wish in Huang Jue Temple and gave up becoming a monk when they grew up. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that there was no way out at the moment. Instead of starving to death, it was better to go to the ancestral temple, be a monk and eat a bowl of light rice to fill his stomach. When he made a plan, he didn't say hello to his sister-in-law's nephew, so he hurried to the Imperial Temple, where he worshipped Elder Gao Bin as a teacher and became a monk.

Temples make a living by collecting rents and giving alms from kind men and women. When Zhu Yuanzhang took refuge in the temple, there were dozens of monks with dozens of mouths, and there were too many monks to eat, and soon there was no food to cook. It didn't help, so old Gao Bin had to send his disciples out one by one and travel around to find his own way. So, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just entered the temple for a few days, had to wear a broken hat, carry a small burden on his back, take a wooden fish in one hand and a clay bowl in the other, bid farewell to Huang Jue Temple, cross the city and cross the village, and join the begging team.

Zhu Yuanzhang begged and wandered all the way. Day after day, year after year, I live in the mountains and stay in the wild. I go from village to village, seeking soft and hard, and I have experienced the hardships of the world. He went to Hefei first, then to Gushi and Xinyang, then to Ruzhou, Chen Zhou, Lu Yi and Bozhou, and finally to Yingzhou (now Fuyang, Anhui). In the past three years, I have traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers in the west of Huai River and the south of Henan Province. Giving alms made him familiar with the local customs and geographical conditions of mountains and rivers, and accumulated rich knowledge for him to command the war in the future. At the same time, because Zhu Yuanzhang personally tasted the hardships of life and witnessed the painful life of farmers, the idea of uprising and rebellion gradually sprouted in his mind. Three years of wandering life, although so difficult and painful, did lay the foundation for Zhu Yuanzhang's later career success.

In the eighth year of the Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1348), after enduring the hardships of asking for help and waiting for the evening, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Huang Jue Temple with a wooden fish and a clay bowl in his hand. Stepping into the temple, I saw the dusty cobwebs in the temple, a desolate and desolate scene. Zhu Yuanzhang asked his neighbors to know that in recent years, people's livelihood in his hometown has been depressed, bandits and thieves have been everywhere, and all his former brothers have died and escaped, and no one has escaped. After Zhu Yuanzhang was detained by his neighbors, he worked as a host in Huang Jue Temple for a period of time and told his own life.

China farmers could not bear the exploitation and oppression of the feudal rulers in Yuan Dynasty, and finally raised the banner of justice in Yingzhou in the 11th year of Yuan Dynasty. Peng Yingyu and Xu Shouhui followed closely and revolted in Hubei. Zhang Shicheng, a local tyrant and salt merchant, fought Yuan in eastern Zhejiang and northern Jiangsu. Soon, Dingyuan local tyrant Guo Zixing and party member Sun Deya also responded in Haozhou and occupied Haozhou. At this time, the peasant uprising is in full swing all over the country.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who lives in Jingmen, was already in a bad mood when he heard that the war was going on. Before long, Zhu Yuanzhang finally got involved in the torrent of peasant uprising and joined the rebel army in Guo Zixing.

After Zhu Yuanzhang joined the army, he fought bravely. No matter how strong he is, he always risks his life to get ahead. Besides, he knows some words, so he is highly valued by Guo Zixing. In case of war, Zhu Yuanzhang is always around. Soon after, he was promoted to be the commander of the ninth army of Qin Bing.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang lived up to Guo Zixing's expectations. He listened to the command more and more and practiced martial arts hard. He gave the spoils of every battle to the marshal's office; The rewards he received were also distributed fairly, and everyone had a reward. This up and down, all aspects are very satisfied, and it is very morale-boosting.

Marshal Guo Zixing saw Zhu Yuanzhang at a young age, but he was so insightful, courageous and capable, so he regarded him as a confidant and trusted him more.

Ma Shi is the adopted daughter of Guo Zixing and the only daughter of his clumsy friend Ma Gong. His wife Zheng gave birth to a daughter and died a few days later. Later, Ma Gong entrusted his daughter to Zixing for revenge and murder. Soon, Ma died in another country. Zi Xingyou is an orphan and a friend raised with Italy. This Ma Shi is also very clever. After several years, she has become a gentle and lovely lady, and has reached marriageable age, but she has not yet chosen a suitable husband.

The arrival of Zhu Yuanzhang reminded Guo Zixing of his adopted daughter's marriage. After consulting with his wife Zhang, he got the consent of his adopted daughter and Zhu Yuanzhang and got married on another day. In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang became Marshal Guo Zixing's son-in-law, whose social status rose by a hundredfold, and the soldiers also sat up and took notice of him.

Soon, infighting broke out within the rebels. Marshal Guo Zixing and Sun Deya, deputy commander of the Blood League, had a sharp conflict because of their differences in war. So sun set a trap and tricked him into his own house, trying to kill him secretly and make himself king. When Zhu Yuanzhang got the news after returning from the battlefield, he immediately led Qinbing into the bamboo slips and went straight into the living room. He said angrily, what is the reason why the deputy commander wants to kill the commander instead of the enemy?

Zhu Yuanzhang said, and waved Qin Bing to rush into Sun Deya's house with a shield. He searched everywhere and found Guo Zixing tied up in a low room. Zhu Yuanzhang broke the chain and returned. Guo Zixing survived. Naturally, from now on, he is grateful to Bird and loves him more.

/kloc-in the spring of 0/353, Zhu Yuanzhang and Guo Zixing agreed to return to their long-lost hometown, put up the banner of the Red Scarf Army and raise military forces. When I was a child, my friends, such as Xu Da and Zhou Dexing, heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was a soldier and became an official, and wanted to come to his hometown to recruit soldiers, so they all came to defect. A team of more than 700 people was formed in ten days. These people have been fighting side by side with Zhu Yuanzhang since then and have become the backbone of the uprising team. Among them, 24 people, including Xu Da, became the later founding fathers.

A few days later, Zhu Yuanzhang came back with all the talents. Guo Zixing was overjoyed to see this scene, so he was promoted to the general manager of the town, and all the 700 people gathered were under his command. Zhu Yuanzhang holds the relieving power and is no longer willing to be confined to Haozhou. After his secret discussion with Xu Da, he obtained the consent of Guo Zixing, that is, he went south with a group of heroes such as Xu Da and Tanghe, and broke into a new world. The battle of Dingyuan was the first battle for Zhu Yuanzhang to command his own team and realize his grand plan.

Dingyuan has more than 3,000 landlords armed and stationed in Lupai Village. Because there are many people in the village and there are strong walls, Zhu Yuanzhang had to use tricks. When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that the village was short of food, he had a plan. He let the soldiers get into the cloth bag and lied that the civilian was delivering food. Before he came to the village, he sent someone to inform the village owner to go out and get food. The stockade owner didn't know it was a plan, but he was worried about the lack of rations. Hearing the news, he was naturally overjoyed and rushed out to meet him. When the gate of the village was opened, Zhu Yuanzhang gave the order, and the soldiers rushed out of the bag and immediately took the village owner away. When the soldiers in the village saw that the castellan was captured, they were all unwilling to fight and fled for their lives.

Lu Pai Village won the first battle, and Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the starry night to attack another armed Miao tycoon in Dingyuan. Miao tycoon, who lives in Hengjian Mountain, has more than 20,000 troops. Miao tycoon never dreamed that Zhu Yuanzhang would sneak attack his camp so quickly. He got up in his sleep and hurriedly took up the battle. How can he resist the flood of rebel offensive? Miao tycoon saw that the tide was gone and weighed the interests, so he had to lead the people to surrender and submit to Zhu Yuanzhang.

After Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Dingyuan, he loved the people and trained his troops, and his prestige increased greatly. Feng and Feng are two small and medium-sized landlords in Dingyuan County. Afraid of the Red Scarf Army, they organized village soldiers to protect themselves. Later, they heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was brave and disciplined, and even defeated the enemy. When the people joined the army, they brought their own soldiers to see Zhu Yuanzhang join the army. Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see that the Feng brothers were polite and gentle. Knowing that they were two scholars, he asked them how to win the world. Feng said: Jinling (now Nanjing) is an important place in the south of the great river. It has always been a metropolis surrounded by emperors and dragons. You led the troops south, first based in Jinling, and then fought everywhere. Advocate benevolent government, win the hearts of the people, save the people from fire and water, not greedy for money, not greedy for wealth and treasure. It is not difficult to win the world in this way. Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed when he heard about it, and even made Guo Yong and Guo Sheng brothers as counselors Rongji. At the same time ordered to Jinling.

On the way to the army, another person visited Zhu Yuanzhang. This man surnamed Li is a good man who can't argue, and he is also a landlord intellectual who lives in Dingyuan. He studied since childhood, paid attention to the study of legalism and was resourceful. Zhu Yuanzhang happily had a heart-to-heart talk with him and asked him about his strategy to seize the world. Li Shanchang calmly replied: In the chaos at the end of Qin Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu set out in cloth. He was open-minded, good at knowing others, and didn't kill innocent people. He became emperor in five years. You are from Haozhou, not far from Pei County, Liu Bang's hometown. If we can imitate the strengths of Emperor Gaozu, the world will be settled. After listening to Zhu Yuanzhang, he repeatedly said that he was good, and immediately left him with him to help him make suggestions. The strategy of keeping a low profile and keeping a low profile has strengthened Zhu Yuanzhang's ambition to seize the world and accelerated his pace of sweeping and unifying the world.

In March of the 15th year of Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1355), the uprising leader died. The Song regime established by Liu Futong Peasant Uprising Army appointed Zhu Yuanzhang as the deputy marshal of the Uprising Army. Soon, after two lieutenants died, Zhu Yuanzhang was promoted to marshal. At this point, all the rebel teams created by Guo Zixing were transferred under the command of Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the mid-spring of 16th year of Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the amphibious generals and captured Jinling according to the established strategy. In a fierce battle outside the city, the Yuan army was defeated and only 36,000 soldiers surrendered. I don't know what Zhu Yuanzhang will do after the soldiers are arrested. Everyone is very scared. The soldiers around Zhu Yuanzhang advised him that he had gone too far and was afraid that he would change his mind, so it was better to deal with it before it was too late. But Zhu Yuanzhang did not take the soldier's advice. Instead, he selected 500 brave and strong people from the stroke, took them to his barracks and let them sleep around the sofa at night. Except staying in Feng's room, none of his usual guards spend the night. Zhu Yuanzhang took off his armor, went to bed and fell asleep until dawn. These 500 warriors are very grateful to Zhu Yuanzhang for his trust. A few days later, Zhu Yuanzhang reused these 500 soldiers as pioneers and attacked Jinling City. The soldiers were grateful and angry, bravely killed the enemy and marched straight into Jinling City, and everyone made outstanding achievements. More than 30,000 soldiers saw Zhu Yuanzhang's sincerity and were very grateful, and they will serve him faithfully in the future. Zhu Yuanzhang's team is invincible and famous all over the world.

After capturing Jinling, Zhu Yuanzhang changed Jinling to Yingtianfu. At this time, in his north are the rebels Han Liner and Liu Futong. To the east is Zhang Shicheng. To the west is Xu Shouhui. Although the territory is small, there are rebels on three sides, east, west, north and south, which protect Zhu Yuanzhang's rebel team like a barrier. Zhu Yuanzhang made full use of this favorable situation and quickly conquered Zhenjiang, Changxing, Changzhou, Ningguo, Jiangyin, Changshu, Chizhou (now Guichi, Anhui), Huizhou (now Shexian, Anhui), Wuzhou (now Jinhua, Zhejiang), Yangzhou and Quzhou.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang, after seven years of bullets, has grown from a monk who only knows how to beg for a living to a rebel general galloping on the battlefield; From a pawn to the overlord of the dominant side. At the end of Yuan Dynasty, he was the nominal leader of the peasant uprising army until nineteen years, when he established the Song regime Han Liner and appointed him as the left prime minister of Zhongshu Province in Jiangnan and other places.

Second, after the conquest of Huizhou in 1357, Zhu Yuanzhang personally went to Shimen Mountain to visit the old Confucian Zhu Sheng and asked him how to govern the country. Zhu Sheng was far-sighted, and gave him three words: build a high wall, accumulate grain widely, and be king slowly. That is to say, we should expand our troops and consolidate the rear; Develop production and reserve grain; If you don't want a false reputation, you won't be king for the time being, so as not to become an attack target. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded his head after hearing this. Zhu Sheng's words, though few, became a program of action guiding 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, attached importance to military training, and improved the combat skills of rebel soldiers. At the same time, between frequent wars, we should pay close attention to grain production. For the first time, a farming department was established in the uprising army, and Kang Maocai was appointed as the farming ambassador, who was responsible for agricultural production such as building water conservancy and reclaiming farmland. And also took out some soldiers, using the free time of the war to open up wasteland for farming. Several years' efforts not only solved the problem of food shortage in wartime, but also left a large amount of surplus food, which changed the habit of relying on military food in military operations. In this way, the burden on farmers within their sphere of influence was greatly reduced, and the army and the people were happy, and the rebels were welcomed by the people.

In order to avoid catching shadows, exposing himself prematurely and being eaten when his strength is weak, Zhu Yuanzhang maintained a suzerain-vassal relationship with Wang Xiaoming in form, and used the red flag of the Red Scarf Army as the slogan of struggle.

After several years of struggle, Zhu Yuanzhang accumulated strength, developed territory and consolidated base areas, and people unconsciously rose into a powerful rebel team that could compete with other rebels and the Yuan Army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

The war situation is changing rapidly. When Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Yingtianfu area, Zhang Shicheng, located in the east, occupied Taihu Lake basin and the vast and rich areas of the Yangtze River Delta centered on Pingjiang (now Suzhou). Xu Shouhui, which dominated the west, took Wuchang as the center and controlled a large area of fertile land in Huguang and Jiangxi. Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been unable to make ends meet, was caught between two sides at this time, and the situation was quite grim. At the same time, with the increasing military strength of Zhu Yuanzhang, the contradiction between him and the rebel separatist regime has become increasingly acute. At this point, it is finally time to farmland.

In May of the 20th year of Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1360), Xu Shouhui's army Chen Youliang killed Xu Shouhui in Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang) and proclaimed himself emperor, with the title of Han. Chen Youliang proclaimed himself emperor after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and immediately plotted with Zhang Shicheng to mobilize troops to attack the sky in an attempt to bring Zhu Yuanzhang's team down the river.

The battle lasted for 36 days and nights, and Zhu Yuanzhang fought with the soldiers day and night. He used flags during the day and lanterns at night to command and inspire soldiers calmly. Sometimes his command ship was hit, and he immediately switched to another ship to continue his command. Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang finally won a major victory in the decisive battle of Poyang Lake. Chen Youliang died under the 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. Vast territory and abundant resources, many soldiers, the situation has opened up. In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang's desire to be king and hegemony has expanded. Under the repeated persuasion of his subordinates, Zhu Yuanzhang claimed to be the prince of Wu in Yingtian in January of 1364, set up an official, and set up the province of Zhongshu, with Li Shanchang as the right prime minister and Xu Da as the left prime minister. In February of that year, Zhu Yuanzhang pursued the victory and personally marched into Wuchang. Chen Li demanded national surrender, the Han regime perished, and Huguang was brought into the territory of Zhu Yuanzhang's rule.

After Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed the Han regime, he began to March towards a new goal-to destroy Zhang Shicheng. Zhang Shicheng is a smuggler. Its backbone team is also some salt merchants, salt dicers, small and medium-sized landlords and some poor peasants. Unable to bear the oppression of the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, they rose up and fought bravely. However, its leadership has no lofty goals and is very corrupt. Zhang Shicheng, who is also a self-styled prince of Wu, has no ambition and opinions. Ignoring politics all day, chatting with a group of landlords and literati, dancing and writing, just for fun. Its subordinate generals and ministers are also scrambling to repair the garden, play antiques, raise a troupe, and have fun all day. Some generals even amused themselves with the company of * * *, completely losing their fighting capacity.

1At the end of 366, after Zhu Yuanzhang gradually captured the town, he led troops to surround Pingjiang, the capital of Zhang Shicheng. With a genial smile, Zhang Shicheng's generals Lv Zhen and Li Bosheng surrendered successively. Pingjiang city is very strong and difficult to conquer at the moment. Zhu Yuanzhang remembered Ye Dun's method of locking the city a few years ago, and ordered soldiers to build a long fence around Pingjiang River, set up a three-story wooden tower and climb to the top of the tower, so that they could clearly see the enemy's activities in the city. They also set up crossbows, guns and cannons at the top of the tower and bombarded them day and night. Soon the city was broken and Zhang Shicheng hanged himself.

After Zhu Yuanzhang captured a large area in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River occupied by Zhang Shicheng, he subdued Fang Guozhen in eastern Zhejiang, pacified Chen Youding in Fujian and conquered Guangdong and Guangxi in the south. After realizing the unification of the whole southern China except Sichuan and Yunnan, Zhu Yuanzhang lost no time in mobilizing elite troops to carry out the Northern Expedition and launched the final Armageddon with the feudal regime of the Yuan Dynasty.

At this time, under the continuous heavy blow of the Red Scarf Army, the Yuan regime was crumbling and gradually disintegrating.

In October of the 27th year (A.D. 1367), Zhu Yuanzhang sent Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to lead the northern expedition. Before the departure of the army, Zhu Yuanzhang personally formulated a set of careful operational plans: first, take Shandong and dismantle the barrier of metropolis; Then send troops to Henan and cut off its wings; Then seize Tongguan and occupy the threshold. In this way, the world situation is all under his control. In the end, most of the troops entered, and the Yuan army was helpless, so it was possible to win without fighting.

The Northern Expedition was almost completely carried out according to Zhu Yuanzhang's plan. 1367 1 1 month, Xu Da led troops into Shandong, and three months later, the whole territory of Shandong was pacified. Then the soldiers divided into two ways, winning the division and marching into Henan. By April 1368, the strategic goal of the Northern Expeditionary Army to encircle the metropolis had been completed.

While the Northern Expeditionary Army swept across the Central Plains and approached the metropolis, the Yuan Army was busy with the civil war for the throne. After the fall of Tongguan, Yuan Shundi quickly mobilized Kuokuotor (Wang Baobao) and Li Siqi's team to fight south. However, where the corrupt Yuan Army still has fighting capacity, it will lose every battle. Seeing that the tide was gone, Yuan Shundi fled to Shangdu (now Duolun, Inner Mongolia) in the middle of the night with the queen and the maharaja. In August of the following year, Xu Da led an army to attack Dadu, and the Yuan regime failed.

Then, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun attacked the northern provinces and invaded. 137 1 year, Zhu Yuanzhang sent an army of land and water to pacify Sichuan. 1382 Yunnan was pacified. 1387 Yuan Dynasty Prime Minister Naha went to Liaodong. At this point, except Mobei Xinjiang, the great cause of reunifying the whole country has basically been realized.

In the first month of the 28th year of the Yuan Dynasty, when the Northern Expedition Army successfully conquered Shandong, 40-year-old Zhu Yuanzhang officially ascended the throne in Yingtian, with the title of Daming Jianyuan Hongwu, and Yingtian was Nanjing. Ma Shi is the queen, and Zhu Biao, the eldest son, is the crown prince. With Li Shanchang and Xu Da as prime ministers. In this way, a shepherd boy and a poor monk, after hard struggle, finally became another founding monarch born in cloth after Liu Bang in Chinese history.

On the eve of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang called all the officials around him and asked everyone a question: Why did the Yuan Dynasty fall apart so quickly? What is the urgent task of the upcoming new dynasty? Please express your opinions. Liu Ji, a senior consultant, first made suggestions: since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, we have indulged for a long time, and we should clean up Ji Gang before implementing the New Deal.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that what he said was reasonable and that the urgent task of the Ming Dynasty should be to make laws to rule the country. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's order, the law was stepped up, and several revised Daming laws were officially promulgated in 1397. Daming Law is simpler than Tang Law and stricter than Song Law. The Daming Law stipulates that anyone who conspires or conspires against the Great Rebellion, regardless of the principal or accomplice, will be beheaded, and his grandfather, father, son, grandson, brother and cohabitant will be beheaded as long as they reach the age of 16. The punishment for official corruption is also particularly heavy. Once found, all officials who committed bribery were sent to the northern desert to be deported. If an official embezzles more than 60 taels of illicit money, he shall be punished by beheading and showing the grass to the public. He was ordered to set up a skin temple on the left side of the county government as an execution ground for peeling. Corrupt officials were brought here, beheaded, hung on poles for public display, skinned, stuffed with straw, and placed beside the yamen to warn subsequent officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang was full of confidence in his own laws and took the lead in enforcing them, which was rare among the ancient feudal emperors in China. His son-in-law, a man surnamed Xu, Lun Ouyang, the husband of his own daughter Princess Anqing, trafficked private tea to Shaanxi despite the court's ban. Later, a small official of He Qiao Inspection Department reported this matter to Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately ordered the execution of Lun Ouyang, and at the same time issued an imperial edict, praising the struggle spirit of this petty official who was not afraid of powerful people.

Zhu Wenzheng, Zhu Yuanzhang's only nephew and founding hero, also violated the law and discipline, and ruthlessly abolished his official position. The uncle of Tanghe, the founding hero, thought he had a hard backing, so he hid the land in Changzhou and didn't pay taxes. Zhu Yuanzhang also executed him according to law.

Zhu Yuanzhang also publicly suppressed several major corruption cases, the largest of which was the Guo Huan case. Guo Huan was an assistant minister at the time of the crime. In the 18th year of Hongwu (A.D. 1385), Yu Min, an imperial adviser, and others accused Cheng Xuan, Zhao, a provincial judge, of conspiring to embezzle and steal official grain. Zhu Yuanzhang seized the clue and ordered the judicial department to investigate it according to law. This case later implicated senior officials, such as Minister of Justice Zhao Xie, Minister of War Wang, Assistant Minister of Industry, Mai Zhide and many officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The money obtained from corruption and theft was converted into food, worth more than 24 million stones. After the case was found out, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhao Xie, Wang and others to be dumped on the street. Guo Huan and six other assistant ministers and tens of thousands of local officials below the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were executed. Tens of thousands of officials involved were arrested, imprisoned and severely punished. Numerous low-ranking officials and rich people involved in this case were robbed and executed.

In order to strengthen the monitoring of his subjects, Zhu Yuanzhang set up a special supervision department. At that time, the inspection department was responsible for inspecting the key points of Guanjin in all counties of the country, catching thieves and questioning traitors. If you want to go a hundred miles away, you must complete the route guidance in advance, otherwise you can't pass the checkpoint.

In the fifteenth year of Hongwu (A.D. 1382), Zhu Yuanzhang officially changed the pro-army Duwei House (formerly Gong Wei Department) around him into a Royal Guards. Secretly spy on the activities of large and small officials and report social injustice outside the law to Zhu Yuanzhang at any time. At the same time, it also gives the Royal Guards all the powers to investigate, arrest, try and punish criminals. The Royal Guard has set up special courts and prisons. Turned the Royal Guard into a formal secret agency.

During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign for more than 30 years, there were many spies all over the streets, closely monitoring the activities of civil and military officials inside and outside the ruling and opposition parties. Wu Lin, the official department minister, retired and returned to his hometown, but Zhu Yuanzhang was still not at ease with him, so he sent spies to Wu Lin's hometown to spy on his activities. When the spy came to the rice field, he saw an old man like a farmer standing up from a stool and asked, Is there a Wu Shangshu here? The old man replied: I am. Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy after listening to the spy's report.

Song Lian, a college student, once hosted a banquet at home to entertain guests. The next day, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him, did you treat him to a drink yesterday? What is cooking? Song Lian answered truthfully. Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, you are right. You didn't lie to me.

Song Ne, a wine offering in imperial academy, sulked at home one day. The spy who was spying on him actually drew him at the moment and reported it to the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang met Song Ne and asked: Why did you sulk at home yesterday? Song Na answered truthfully. He was surprised and asked how Zhu Yuanzhang knew about it. Zhu Yuanzhang handed him the portrait. He didn't wake up until the exhibition, and hurriedly kowtowed and apologized. Another minister did nothing one day, playing mahjong with his wife and concubine at home, and accidentally lost a card of 20 thousand, which could not be found anywhere. The next day in court, 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. Zhu Yuanzhang said after listening: I don't blame you for not bullying me. Say that finish from the sleeve took out a piece of twenty thousand, throw it to him.

Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of being deceived by courtiers, so he often visited courtiers' homes and conducted private inspections on courtiers. Mrs Luo, a bachelor of Hong Wen Pavilion, was originally a subordinate of Chen Youliang. He is upright and upright. After he defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, he often made faces and protested. Zhu Yuanzhang has always been very uneasy about him. One day, Zhu Yuanzhang personally came to Luojia, a suburb, for a private visit. Unfortunately, Mrs. Luo and her wife were painting the dilapidated walls of their home on this day. As soon as he saw the emperor arrive, he hurriedly asked his wife to move a small stool and asked the emperor to sit down. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the Luo family's house and furniture and was very moved to see that his family was poor. He said, how can a smart man live in such a shabby house? Immediately ordered to give him a big mansion in the city.