Zhu Yuanzhang started from scratch, and perhaps he himself did not expect to become emperor later. Although Zhu Yuanzhang, who became emperor, showed some talents in governing the country, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was suspicious by nature, had more things at this time, the more intense his suspicions about others became. The same is self-made, there is no difference between themselves and others, they can be emperors, others may also have the heart to be emperors, after understanding this idea, you can understand why Zhu Yuanzhang is so suspicious.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established Daming, he executed some founding heroes who did not trust, dislike, and did things that made him feel uneasy in his heart, leaving only a few officials he trusted, including Xu Da, the first military general of the Ming Dynasty. In order to find out how Xu Da's attitude towards himself was and whether he was loyal, Zhu Yuanzhang had tested Xu Da many times, and even put the drunken Xu Da on the dragon bed, but he did not expect that the witty Xu Da would react immediately to express his loyalty so that he would not be saved from death. Why did Zhu Yuanzhang test Xu Da? How did Xu Da react in the face of these temptations?
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First, Xu Da's early life
If you want to understand why Zhu Yuanzhang is so nervous about Xu Da, you first need to know what great achievements Xu Da has created for Zhu Yuanzhang.
Xu Da's family is not very well-off, his ancestors are farmers, but xu Da has been very interested in learning and literature since he was a child. In order to make a living, Xu Da helped people herd cattle when he grew up.
Xu Da has a strong and courageous personality, likes to read but has a chivalrous spirit to learn martial arts from an early age. The relationship between Xu Da and Zhu Yuanzhang is not ordinary, the two people are good friends from childhood to adulthood, and the relationship is very close.
In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Zixing launched a rebel army, and Zhu Yuanzhang also joined in. Guo Zixing told Zhu Yuanzhang that their numbers were too small, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to return to his hometown to pull some people to come and charge the army. After receiving the order, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his hometown, and the first person he came to look for was Xu Da.
Xu Da was full of righteousness and good skills, and the two hit it off immediately, just like that, Xu Da, who was only 22 years old at the time, began to fight with Zhu Yuanzhang, sharing honor and disgrace.
With the development of the rebel army, Zhu Yuanzhang also gradually had a little of his own power, he saw that although Xu Da was a reckless man, he showed amazing talent in the process of conquest and use of troops, and repeatedly built up qigong, and soon regarded Xu Da as his right hand and left arm and entrusted him with heavy responsibilities.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was unable to accomplish anything under Guo Zixing, so he took Xu Da and others out of his own way and went south to conquer Chuzhou as his "stronghold". The march was so smooth, of which Xu Da had a great merit, and Xu Da, who performed heroically on the battlefield, was also more and more liked by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Xu Da was also very loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang, once, Zhu Yuanzhang was captured, Xu Da learned of it, negotiated with the other side, wanted to exchange himself for Zhu Yuanzhang, and rescued Zhu Yuanzhang through "sacrifice" himself, resolving the contradictions between the two sides. After the contradiction was resolved, Xu Da was also released by the other party and returned to Zhu Yuanzhang's side.
Later, Xu Da repeatedly made great achievements, leading troops to conquer many important cities for Zhu Yuanzhang, and strengthening Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation and power. Whether it was against the generals of the Yuan Dynasty army or to resolve the contradictions between his colleagues in the uprising, Xu Da did a very good job. Xu Da's talent and achievements in establishment are in stark contrast to his origins, and no one expected that a child who grew up herding cattle could achieve such excellent results later.
Zhu Yuanzhang also trusted Xu Da very much at this time, and when he went to Zhejiang to fight, he left Xu Da behind and let him stay in his "hometown" Ying Tianfu.
Over the years, Xu Da helped Zhu Yuanzhang on his eastern expeditions and northern expeditions, and successively took huaidong, Tongzhou, Taizhou, Huai'an, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Haozhou, Jiangyin, and counties and towns, killing many famous generals and officials of the Yuan Dynasty, and some generals with little ability and fame were innumerable. Xu Da's great help helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish forces in the south, stabilize the situation and advance north, unifying the Central Plains and the North. Xu Da's army retreated after a period of time, wherever it went, the Yuan army would collapse and retreat, and even deter the Yuan Dynasty army in the surrounding cities, so that the other side would surrender without a fight.
Why is it said that Xu Da was the first hero of Zhu Yuanzhang's founding of the country? It is because Xu Da can fight in the habit of fighting, command well, where there is a victory, where there is Xu Da, in order to help Zhu Yuanzhang fight the world, Xu Da can be said to have bowed down to exhaustion, and after death.
In the first year of Hongwu, Xu Da led his troops to the city and besieged the Capital of Yuan. At this time, the Yuan Dynasty was already guarded by no one, so Xu Da took the Yuan Capital without much effort, and the Yuan Dynasty completely perished and withdrew from the stage of history. Zhu Yuanzhang, as the leader of the rebel army, eventually became emperor and established Daming.
2. Xu Da during the Ming Dynasty
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Da became an official of the imperial court because of his outstanding merits, and was also named a great general by Zhu Yuanzhang, living at the head of the heavy generals. After the fall of the Great Yuan, the original Mongol army also wanted to counterattack and regain its own power struggle, with 100,000 troops entrenched in Shanxi. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Xu Da to be the Grand Marshal and fight against the remnants of the Mongol forces.
Xu Da listened to Liu Bowen's advice and waited for the other side to attack when he was in a chaotic position. Unexpectedly, the opposing general Wang Baobao, in order to achieve results as soon as possible, was not ready to go to war. After Xu Da learned of this, not long after the other side started his army, he took advantage of a night to surprise the Mongol army, taking the lead as a soldier, heroic and fearless, so that the other side was defeated and fled. Xu Da took advantage of the victory to pursue and destroy Wang Baobao's forces.
Subsequently, he sent troops to the south and went on an eastern expedition, solving other former Yuan Dynasty forces and capturing nearly 100,000 Yuan Dynasty troops. Xu Da's great victory, the banshi returned to the dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang rewarded the three armies, promoted Xu Da's status, and made him a minister and concurrently served as the highest military division of the country. Later, Xu Da also pacified rebellions in many places in order to help Zhu Yuanzhang stabilize the situation in the world and the status of the imperial court.
Although Xu Da did a lot of things for Zhu Yuanzhang's power struggle and the imperial court, Zhu Yuanzhang was suspicious by nature, and successively dealt with many founding officials and generals, for Xu Da, Zhu Yuanzhang entrusted him with heavy responsibilities, but since becoming emperor, he began to distrust Xu Da very much, and he had a strong wariness of Xu Da.
Third, Zhu Yuanzhang's temptation of Xu Da
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Xu Da was indispensable and helped himself to do a lot, so he did not directly execute Xu Da, but first tested whether the other party was really loyal to him, and more than once, but they were all resolved by Xu Da's wit.
According to the records, Zhu Yuanzhang once tempted Xu Da and told him to play chess with himself, if Xu Da did not give himself face on the chessboard and marched everywhere like a unified soldier, it would mean that Xu Da did not respect himself very much, and even had the intention of opposing water.
Xu Da is very smart, this time playing chess, Xu Da has always maintained a draw with Zhu Yuanzhang, a game of chess from early in the morning to noon has not yet been divided into victory and defeat. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang finally ate two of Xu Da's chess pieces, laughing. Xu Da suddenly became particularly serious and unwilling to be under the son, Zhu Yuanzhang waited for half a day and asked, "Why doesn't Ai Qing go down?" Xu Da quickly reminded Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty please take a good look at the chessboard." ”
Zhu Yuanzhang looked confused, looked down, and let Xu Da use the chess pieces to pose the two words "long live", and Xu Da directly got up and knelt down to salute on the opposite side. Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy, and then rewarded Xu Da, but even so, Zhu Yuanzhang did not completely let down his guard against Xu Da.
The History of Ming records that when Xu Da returned to Zhu Yuanzhang's side, Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da said that they would reward Xu Da and asked Xu Da if he would like to stay in his former Wu palace. Xu Da quickly knelt down and said, "Long live, I can't help it, I Xu Da just did what I should do, And Your Majesty must not do anything to reward you." ”
Zhu Yuanzhang felt that if Xu Da promised to live in his former palace, it would be the dove occupying the magpie's nest, disloyal and unjust to himself, and political ambitions. However, Xu Da's approach and language made Zhu Yuanzhang very satisfied, saying: "If you don't want it, then I can't force you, then I will build you a gong workshop to show your merits." This is the origin of the current Nanjing "Great Gongfang", which was previously built next to the Wu King's Mansion. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang gave Xu Daxiu this thing, not only to praise Xu Da's merits, but more because Xu Da's loyalty satisfied Zhu Yuanzhang.
For Xu Da's temptation, Zhu Yuanzhang has not stopped. One of the most interesting is the story of Zhu Yuanzhang who put Xu Da intoxicated him and put him on the dragon bed.
Once, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Xu Da to come out for a drink, and it was when Zhu Yuanzhang was testing the imperial court officials. Therefore, when Xu Da learned that Zhu Yuanzhang was going to feast on himself, he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was actually "drunk and did not mean to drink", and if Xu Da's performance was not as good as Zhu Yuanzhang's intention, then this was most likely the last meal and the last sip of wine in the world. Because Xu Da did not know what problems Zhu Yuanzhang would give himself, for Xu Da, this was tantamount to a "Hongmen feast".
Coming to Zhu Yuanzhang's side, Xu Da was cautious and cautious, saying that he was having dinner with the emperor today. Even so, he could not escape, Zhu Yuanzhang must let him drink, he had no choice, he could only drink while pushing away. After three rounds of drinking, Xu Da was also drunk and fell asleep at the table.
Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't drunk much wine, and this time his purpose was to test Xu Da specifically. Seeing that Xu Da had drunk too much, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly ordered the people to act according to the plan, and carried Xu Da, who was drunk and unconscious, to his dragon bed.
Xu Da woke up after sleeping for a while, opened his eyes and looked confused, turned over to see that he was lying on the dragon bed that was dangling in the ming, covered with a golden quilt that Zhu Yuanzhang could use. Xu Da was shocked, this is still necessary, isn't this a matter of great disobedience! Xu DaGaoming was here, he did not ask himself how he had fallen on the emperor's bed, he understood that whether Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to or not, he could not lie here, otherwise he would be unfaithful and filial piety.
Xu Da was in a hurry, quickly rolled over and fell off the bed, followed by a few rolls away from the dragon bed, nervously knelt down, shouted: "The subject is rebellious, the subject is guilty, please your majesty to reduce the guilt." ”
This voice called out to Zhu Yuanzhang and other subordinates not far away. As soon as he saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming, Xu Da was so frightened that he quickly prostrated his head and apologized, kneeling on the ground and trembling, and did not dare to move his head. Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see Xu Da's attitude, and his heart was very satisfied with Xu Da's reaction, it seemed that Xu Da was really loyal to himself, and did not become unruly because of his ability.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and helped Xu Da up to comfort him: "I know that you are loyal to me, I don't blame you, rest well and hurry back." In this way, Xu Da, because of his wit and loyalty, defused the possibility of losing his head like other officials this time.
After this, Xu Da was more loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang, on the one hand, Zhu Yuanzhang was his friend for many years, and on the other hand, he adhered to the most basic sense of responsibility of a very popular subject. For the establishment of Daming, Xu Da poured a lot of effort into helping Zhu Yuanzhang guard the Jiangshan, in fact, it was also for Xu Da himself. Xu Da's loyalty made him one of the few officials who helped Zhu Yuanzhang fight the world and was reused with a good result.
In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Xu Da was seriously ill, and Zhu Yuanzhang was very worried, visited him many times, and instructed that Xu Da must be cured. But in the end, Xu Da still passed away. After Xu Da's death, Zhu Yuanzhang was very sad and personally attended Xu Da's funeral, and there were even rumors that Zhu Yuanzhang had not been in the court for several days because he was in a bad mood.
Xu Da's wit and ability in exchange for his life and status, since ancient times there has been a saying called "accompanying the king like accompanying the tiger", especially the new emperor who has just laid down the Jiangshan similar to Zhu Yuanzhang, after all the stability of the throne and the palace, in order to further consolidate the rule, will impose certain sanctions on the once famous generals and officials, Zhu Yuanzhang who came from the "grassroots" can not be exempted from vulgarity, so it is not unreasonable to say that "rabbits are dead dogs cooked, birds are bowed and hidden".