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  Those things in Ming Dynasty

  Alright, let's start work tonight then.

  It turns out that I have written quite a few things, mainly on psychology and history, occasionally on economics. Originally, it was just for my own entertainment, but unexpectedly, after publishing, there were people who praised me, so I became complacent. Objectively speaking, my writing attitude is not serious at all. Every time, I write whatever comes to mind, and some historical records are also used casually, writing down as much as I remember. Until one day, due to my careless writing attitude, I finally had a conflict with someone.

  It was also this matter that made me reflect on my own behavior and attitude, and I realized that I still have a long way to go. So I hope to start again, the following article has been conceived for about six months, mainly talking about some things about Ming from 1344 to 1644 in these three hundred years, based on historical materials, with dynasties and specific characters as the main line, and adding my own writing style and psychological analysis of the characters, as well as some evaluation of the political and economic systems at that time.

  I have a habit of writing articles. Since I read too many academic books in my early years, I am very disgusted with those pretentious articles. In fact, history itself is fascinating, and all histories can be written well. I hope I can do it too. I look forward to your evaluation.

  Actually, I don't know what I'm writing either. It's not a history book, so let's just call it "Ming Notebook" for now. Starting from our first protagonist, I'll be writing for over 300 years. Hopefully, I can finish it.

  We start from an archive

  Name: Zhu Yuanzhang

  Alias (Nickname): Zhu Chongba, Zhu Guorui

  Gender: Male

  Ethnicity: Han

  Blood type: ?

  Education: No degree, no scholar, no imperial examination candidate, all of which I was not; later self-studied.

  Occupation: Emperor

  Family background: (at least three generations) poor peasant

  Favorite color: Yellow (this seems like there's no choice)

  Social relationship: Father: Zhu Wu Four peasants

  Mother: Chen Shi (peasant)

  Your motto: What's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine.

  Main Experience:

  1328-1344 Herding cattle

  1344-1347: Became a monk, main job was going out to beg for food (this...)

  1347-1352: Became a monk, main work was striking the bell

  1352-1368: Rebelled (this fierce)

  1368-1398 Mainly worked as an emperor

  Everything started from that night in 1328, when Zhu Wusi's wife, Chen Shi, gave birth to a baby boy. Everyone knew that this baby boy was later known as Zhu Yuanzhang. Whenever an emperor is born, there are always some strange phenomena recorded in the history books afterwards.

  For example, gusts of wind, heavy rain, fragrant aromas, twinkling stars in the sky, and red lights everywhere. In short, it's to tell you that this person is not born like others. Mr. Zhu Yuanzhang was no exception. When he was born, the ground was filled with red light, and strange lights appeared in the house at night, causing neighbors to think there was a fire and come to rescue (Ming Shilu).

  However, at that time, peasant Zhu Wusi's mood was not like the anxious and joyful fathers we see outside the hospital delivery room today. As a father of three sons and two daughters, the first thing to consider is the problem of food.

  Farmer Zhu Wusi's work consists of two parts, he has a tofu shop, but mainly still relies on farming the land of the landlord to make a living, which determines that as a member of this labor family, in order to survive, one can only keep working non-stop.

  One month after the birth of Little Zhu, his parents gave him a name (as was customary at that time): Zhu Di, also known as Zhu Bubai. Here we introduce the characteristics of the names in the Zhu family.

  Zhu Bao Yu's great-grandfather's name was Zhu Bai Liu

  Zhu Bao's great-grandfather's name was Zhu Si Jiu

  Zhu Bao's grandfather's name: Zhu Chuyi

  His father was introduced earlier, named Zhu Wu Si.

  The reason for taking such a name is not because the Zhu family was engaged in mathematics, but because during the Yuan Dynasty, ordinary people who could not attend school or become officials did not have names and could only be named by adding their parents' ages or birth dates. (Those who registered households would definitely be dazzled)

  Zhu Chongba spent his childhood in a thatched cottage with good ventilation and lighting, where he mainly worked as a cowherd for the landlord Liu De. He had always wanted to read books, but Zhu Wusi couldn't afford the tuition fees. Unlike Li Mi who hung books on an ox horn, or Yang Su who was recognized by a high-ranking official, Zhu Chongba honestly herded cows for Liu De for twelve years.

  Because he wants to eat.

  At this time, Zhu Zhongba's dream was to live a good life. By the age of 16, Wu Lao Tai from Tuo Village would act as matchmaker and find a diligent and hardworking girl to be his daughter-in-law. Then he would have children of his own, possibly named Zhu San'er or Zhu Si Ling. When Zhu San'er and others grew up, they would go to Liu Xiaode's house to herd cattle.

  This was Zhu Zhanji's happy longing for his future life at the age of sixteen.

  At this time, China was under the extremely corrupt rule of the Yuan dynasty. The Mongol conquerors seemed to not consider the common people under their rule as human beings. They even frequently considered killing all these local inhabitants and using the land for grazing (Yuan History). From taxes to labor services, any conceivable subject that humans could think of was used to collect money. During festivals, they would collect "festival money"; when working, there was "regular example money"; when filing a lawsuit, there was "public affairs money". Are you afraid? If I don't go out, is it not okay? If I don't do anything, is it not okay? In any case, they still want money and would collect "flower scattering money".

  Thus, after more than sixty years of Mongol rule in China, their national machine had reached the point where it could no longer bear the load. The Yuan Empire was like a camel that could not withstand the weight, waiting for the last straw to break its back.

  The straw will arrive soon.

  The year 1344 was a year of special significance, in which Heaven finally prepared to abandon the Yuan. It brought two disasters to China, but also dug a grave for the Yuan and wrote its epitaph: A stone statue with one eye open stirred up the Yellow River and the world rebelled.

  He thought of everything and even prepared a successor for Yuan: Zhu Di.

  Of course, Zhu Di would never have thought that heaven would entrust him with such an important task.

  He was seventeen years old this year.

  A disaster is about to befall him soon, but at the same time, a great career is waiting for him. Only by going through hardships like the legendary phoenix, throwing himself into the fire, and being tempered thousands of times can he be reborn from the ashes and become a brilliant divine bird.

  Zhu Chongba, come on, the God of Fate is waiting for you!

  In the first year of Zhizheng (1344 AD), two pieces of news arrived. First, the Yellow River burst its banks, and tens of thousands of people in Shandong and Henan provinces became refugees. Even if they didn't treat ordinary people as human beings, they still had to guard against them rebelling, so repairing the Yellow River dikes became an essential task.

  But unexpectedly, in the government of Yuán, there were two different opinions. One believed that it must be repaired, and the other believed that it could not be repaired. In retrospect, this seems to be an unthinkable thing - the Yellow River is flooding and yet no one goes to repair it; would they rather let the Yellow River change its course and drown so many people? There have been too many unthinkable things in Chinese history, and this is no exception.

  Objectively speaking, in this matter, for the sake of maintaining the Yuan dynasty's rule, those who were mainly repaired were not necessarily loyal ministers, and those who opposed the repair were not necessarily treacherous ministers. The subtlety lies elsewhere, which will only be revealed seven years later.

  The one who strongly advocated for the compilation was Toghon Temür's famous prime minister, Toqto'a, who can be said to be the last of the Yuan dynasty's notable ministers. He implemented many reform policies and was known for his integrity and competence (the Song Shi was compiled under his supervision). However, what he did not expect was that his strong advocacy had already laid a large time bomb for the Yuan dynasty, pulling the fuse tight, waiting only for the weak spark.

  Another was the severe plague and drought along the Huai River, which was relatively simple for the Yuan government. Anyway, those who died of starvation or illness would no longer be a problem, and of course, superficial efforts still had to be made. The emperor (Emperor Shun of Yuan) had to issue an edict to provide disaster relief, and high-ranking officials in the Ministry of War had to contact grain and silver. Of course, it was also understandable for them to take some for themselves. Disaster relief supplies were allocated to various routes (local administrative units during the Yuan Dynasty), and local officials left some behind, then the provinces and counties. Layer by layer, only husks remained when they reached the hands of ordinary people. Then, local officials at all levels wrote to thank the emperor, as usual, saying something about thanking heaven's grace, and comparing the emperor with historical figures like Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang. The emperor saw the report, deeply felt that he had done a great good deed, and so he gave himself credit in his own heart.

  Everyone is delighted, everyone is delighted, everyone is very satisfied.

  But ordinary people are dissatisfied, many people are not satisfied.

  Zhu Zhongba was definitely one of those extremely dissatisfied people.

  After the disaster came, on April 6th, Zhu Chongba's father starved to death. On the 9th, his elder brother starved to death. On the 12th, his elder brother's eldest son starved to death. On the 22nd, his mother starved to death.

  If this is a diary, it should be one of the most miserable diaries in the world.

  Zhu Chongba's wish was not excessive, he just wanted a home, his own children, to give his hardworking life, never bullied others, honest and kind parents a peaceful old age, at least have enough food to eat.

  His home was not big, but the relationship between family members was harmonious and interdependent. Although his parents were poor, they would still bring back surprises for Zhu Chongba every day after working in the fields. Sometimes it was a small bamboo dragonfly, sometimes it was pork head meat that the landlord's family wouldn't eat. This was Zhu Chongba's home, but now everything is gone.

  Zhu Di's sister had already married out and his third brother had gone to live with his wife's family. Except for Zhu Di's second brother, there were no other members of this household left.

  At seventeen, Zhu Di watched helplessly as his loved ones died one by one. There is no greater sorrow in this world than this!

  His only way to vent was to cry bitterly, but after crying, he still had to face a major problem, which was to bury his parents. However, there were no coffins, no mourning clothes, and no burial ground. He could only go find the landlord Liu De and ask him to find a place to bury his father, considering that his father had been a tenant of Liu's for his whole life.

  Liu De bluntly rejected him, with a simple reason: your parents are dead, what does it have to do with me? You work for me and I've given you food to eat.

  Zhu Chongba had no choice but to cover his relatives' bodies with mats and carry them on a door plank, hoping to find a place to bury his parents. However, although the world was vast and everywhere was land, there wasn't a single piece that belonged to them.

  Luckily, some kind-hearted people saw that they were indeed pitiful and finally gave them a place to bury their parents. "The soul wandered around searching for his parents but couldn't find any, the will fell and the spirit was disheartened"; this is Zhu Yuanzhang's emotional recollection of being able to eat a full meal later on.

  Zhu Zhongba didn't understand why his parents, who had tilled the land their whole lives, couldn't even rest in peace after death. The landlord never farmed, yet lived without worrying about food or clothing. Why? But he couldn't think about this question now either, because he also needed to eat and survive.

  In desperation, Zhu Di repeatedly prayed to heaven, from the Taoist Taishang Laojun to the Buddhist Tathagata Buddha, as long as he knew the name, just hoping to live with his parents and have food to eat.

  The result was disappointing, and his young heart began to grow cold. He knew that no one could save him except himself.

  A flame of revenge began to burn in his heart.

  Such pain made him from fragile to strong.

  In order to have food to eat, he decided to become a monk.

  The Monk's Career

  Zhu Chongba chose a nearby temple, Huangjue Temple, where he did similar work to a long-term worker. He suddenly found that the monks there, except for having no hair, had an attitude towards him that was not much better than Liu De's. These monks had their own land and could get married (during the Yuan Dynasty), and if they had more money, they could even open a pawnshop.

  But they also need someone to do chores for them, the monks there don't chant scriptures, don't worship Buddha, and even the golden body of the Buddha is not wiped clean. These tasks naturally fall on the new monk Zhu Chongba who has just entered the temple.

  Zhu Chongba endured all this, but apart from doing these menial tasks, he also had to serve as a cleaner, warehouse keeper and lamp oiler. Even so, he was often scolded. When the monks were drinking and eating meat, he still had to wipe clean the floorboards trampled by the incense guests. Every lonely night, he could only sit alone in the firewood room, gazing at the sky outside the window, thinking of his parents who had been with him for over a decade.

  He is already very contented, he can eat his fill, isn't that enough?

  However, fate seemed to want to temper his will. Within just over 50 days of entering the temple, due to the severe famine, all the monks had to go out and beg for alms. What is meant by begging for alms is asking for food. Our familiar Comrade Tang Monk's usual phrase was: Wukong, go and beg for some vegetarian food. In colloquial terms, it means: Wukong, go and ask for some food. I have investigated the issue of begging for alms before and found that even Zhu Chongba was bullied when he went to beg for alms. Since there were many monks, they would often divide up the areas where they would go to beg, assigning leaders' relatives to the richer areas and sending Zhu Chongba to the poorer ones.

  It's your own fault if you starve to death, who asked you to be Zhu Di!

  Zhu Chongba was assigned a location in Huai West and Henan. This is also the main famine area, who can give it to him?

  But from here on, the goddess of fate smiled at him.

  The Legend of Miyue: Zhu Yuanzhang Chapter 2

  Chapter word count: 2748 Updated time: July 2nd, 2022 15:42

  In his wandering life, Zhu Chongba could only walk and had no ride to take, he was a real donkey on the go. He walked while begging for food, passing through cities and villages, from door to door, sleeping in the mountains and under the stars. Every time he knocked open a door, it was a test for him, because what he often faced were cold eyes, sneers and ridicule. For Zhu Chongba, knocking on that door might mean humiliation, but not knocking would mean starvation.

  Zhu Chongba had no parents, no home, all he had was a little self-respect, but the life of begging for food made him lose his last dignity. To beg for food, one cannot have dignity.

  Dignity of life and pressure of survival, which one is more important?

  Yes, Zhu Chongba, only when you lose everything can you understand your own strength and greatness.

  Zhu Chongba was different from other beggars, and it was precisely because of this difference that he did not remain a beggar (note this sentence).

  During his travels, he carefully studied the geography, mountains and customs of Huai Xi, broadening his horizons and gaining a deeper understanding. He also met many heroes (who were actually fellow beggars). At this time, he developed his own religious beliefs - Mingjiao, believing that when darkness envelops the earth, the great Maitreya Buddha will surely descend. In fact, given his life experiences, it's hard to say whether he really believed in Maitreya or not; we have reason to believe that in his heart, the true Maitreya was himself.

  But Zhu Chongba's most important gain was: he had transformed from a helpless child who could only watch his parents die, a menial laborer who could only hide in the woodpile and cry softly after being bullied, into a strong warrior who could face all difficulties. A warrior armed to the heart.

  Long-term hardship can hone a person's will. Many people, when faced with difficulties, can only blame heaven and earth, muddle along, while others, although also forced to bow their heads in the face of difficulty, have hearts that never surrender, they keep striving, believing they will ultimately triumph.

  Zhu Di was undoubtedly the latter.

  If it is said that before he went out to beg for food, he was still a confused young man, when he returned to Huangjue Temple after three years of drifting life, he had become a confident person who could conquer everything.

  This is a great transformation, and many people may spend their whole lives without being able to complete it. The key to the transformation lies in the heart.

  For many of us, the heart is the weakest place, it's especially easy to get hurt. Betrayal in love, loss in family, and loss in friendship are all heavy blows. But for Zhu Chongba, what else can't be endured? He has already lost everything, what's more unbearable than watching his parents die with no power to save them, fighting dogs for food to survive, being spat on and despised by people? We can believe that on a certain painful night, Zhu Chongba turned this weakest place into the source of the strongest power.

  Yes, even if you have a face that everyone envies, erudite talent, and wealth that can't be spent, it doesn't prove your strength, because the strength of the heart is the real strength.

  When Zhu Chongba was about to leave Huai Xi, where he had begged for food, and return to the Huang Jue Temple, he carefully recalled the place where he had stayed for three years, thinking about what he had gained and lost here, and then packed his bags and set off on the road home.

  Perhaps I will return, Zhu Di thought.

  In the eleventh year of Zhizheng (AD 1351), the last straw that heaven gave to the Yuan Dynasty finally came down, and the end of the Yuan Dynasty arrived.

  The mystery has been solved, and now it seems that Tuo's firm desire to control the Yellow River was good, but he did not understand the kindness of those who opposed him, nor did he understand the corrupt officials of the Yuan Dynasty. Now he will finally taste the bitter fruit.

  When the Yuan Dynasty ordered 1.7 million laborers along the coast to repair the river embankment, officials at all levels were also extremely excited. First, the funds allocated by the emperor for river repairs could be embezzled, and the workers' food rations could be embezzled. Anyway, it didn't matter if they starved or not. This was a huge source of income, and the engineering costs could also be embezzled. Anyway, the Yellow River's flooding wouldn't drown these officials themselves.

  This is the one who manages the river affairs, so how does the one who doesn't manage the river affairs make money? It's actually simple. Since it's such a big project, there must be a labor quota. Find dozens of people and go to each village, see men and take them away. Why? To repair the river embankment. Don't want to go? Give me money.

  No money? Take everything of value!

  Poor Tootoo, a good theorist but not a practitioner.

  The old trick has come on stage, when the migrant workers dug to Shandong, they excavated a stone man with one eye from under the river course, with the back of the stone man carved with one eye, stirring up the Yellow River and turning the world upside down. The migrant workers suddenly found that this was exactly the lyrics of the song they had been singing on the construction site for several years.

  This is really an old trick, it can be compiled into a computer program. Before the uprising, they always have to make some feudal superstition, but there's no way around it, people just eat this set.

  What happened next seemed to be a matter of course. A few days later, in the place where Zhu Di had dined (Yingzhou, now Fuyang, Anhui), Han Shantong and Liu Futong launched an uprising. Their rebellion was no different from previous ones, and as usual, they set up a religious organization, this time the White Lotus Sect. Since they dared to rebel, their identities should also be different. So, Han Shantong, who might have been a poor farmer for eight lifetimes, suddenly became a member of the Zhao family, becoming a member of the Song Dynasty royal family. Liu Futong also became a descendant of General Liu Guangshi.

  Their fate was similar to that of the peasant leaders of the first uprising, rising up, being suppressed, and later generations surpassing them, which seemed to be the destiny of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

  Although the form of their uprising was not novel, this did not prevent their greatness and position in history. In historical records, it will be forever recorded that in 1351 AD, Han Shantong and Liu Futong were the first to raise the great banner of resistance against the feudal rule of the Yuan Dynasty.

  Since ancient times, it has been difficult to establish a dynasty, but relatively easy to destroy one. As the saying goes, "when the wall collapses, everyone pushes it", and "when the drum is broken, thousands of people beat it". This is not without reason.

  In the Yuan Dynasty, which divided people into four levels, the highest-level Mongolians killed the lowest-level Southerners, and the only punishment was to compensate for a donkey. If they encountered an idle laborer, they might not even need to pay for the donkey. The thinking of the Mongolian nobles seemed strange; even after occupying China, they still seemed to regard themselves as guests. They would take whatever they wanted from the host's house, and it was none of their concern. In their minds, these Southerners could only endure their torment.

  But they were wrong, these slaves will rise up in revolt, when anger and discontent exceed the limit, when even survival like a dog becomes a luxury, resistance is the only way. Resistance is for survival.

  The fire has finally started, and it's spreading rapidly.

  In the short span of one year, dozens of uprisings broke out in the seemingly powerful Yuan Empire, with tens of millions of people joining the rebel army. Even the Mongolian cavalry, which was once invincible and swept across the land, had lost its former bravery and was unable to save the crisis. The Yuan Empire was like a crumbling wall that would collapse with just one more kick.

  At this time, Zhu Chongba was still striking the bell in the temple. From various signs, he did not seem to have any intention of joining the rebel army. Although he had an irreconcilable hatred for the Yuan dynasty, for an ordinary person like Zhu Chongba, rebelling would be risky and could lead to being beheaded if caught, which made him carefully consider his actions.

  In many books, Zhu Chongba is portrayed as a born hero. In such a script, the born hero Zhu Chongba immediately joined the temple and picked up his gear to join the rebel army after hearing about the uprising, showing his thorough revolutionary nature and so on.

  I think this is not the real Zhu Di

  As a normal person, when making a decision that could cost one's head, one would never be so rash. If Zhu Di was truly such an impulsive person, he wouldn't be a true hero.

  The real Zhu Di was a man with a fearful psychology, he had suffered great pain and had a deep hatred for the Yuan, but he also knew the preciousness of life, once he chose to rebel, there was no turning back.

  Knowing the possible difficulties and sufferings, struggling in the fear of death, yet still being able to conquer oneself and choose this path is true courage.

  I think this Zhu Di is a real hero, a hero who conquers himself and is not afraid of death.

  The Legend of Zhen Huan Chapter 3

  Chapter word count: 2649

  Updated time: Jul 2, 2022 15:43

  Zhu Chongba's life in the temple was dull and monotonous, but this dull and monotonous life was disrupted by the raging flames of rebellion. Ironically, it was not the rebels who specifically disrupted all this, but rather the officials of the Yuan dynasty.

  In the battle to suppress the rebel army, if a defeat is suffered, punishment from superiors will be meted out. However, the task of suppressing the rebellion must still be completed. Therefore, the Yuan dynasty officials resolutely decided to take it out on ordinary people. Since they couldn't defeat the rebel army, they would just arrest and kill those ordinary people who could be bullied, and then present them as the defeated rebels.

  From this perspective, the corrupt officials of the Yuan Dynasty have made great efforts to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty.

  At this time, the situation facing Zhu Chongba was serious. If he didn't join the rebellion, it's very likely that he would be caught by some official and killed as a rebel, then named Zhang San or Li Si. But joining the rebel army also had great risks, once defeated by the Yuan army, his life would also be in danger.

  At this moment, a letter completely changed his fate

  His childhood friend Tang He wrote a letter to him, the content of which was that he had become a thousand households in the rebel army and hoped that Zhu Chongba would also join the rebel army to seek wealth and honor together. After reading it, Zhu Chongba burned the letter without making any noise.

  However, at night, his senior fellow told him that someone had already known about his reading of the righteous army's letter and was going to report him.

  Zhu Di was finally forced into a desperate situation.

  Next is painful thinking and choice Zhu Chongba has three roads in front of him: one, guarding the temple; two, escaping; three, rebelling.

  Zhu Di also couldn't make up his mind, so he found someone to ask for his opinion. This person was named Zhou Dexing, whom we will mention frequently later on.

  Zhou Dexing also seemed to have no good ideas. His suggestion to Zhu Di was to calculate the auspicious day (what kind of idea is this) and see which road is suitable.

  The result of divination is "If you escape or stay, it will not be auspicious, but going to rebel may not be a problem."

  Zhu Chongba understood that he had no way out, all he wanted was to live a simple life, cultivate two acres of land, and be filial to his parents, but it was impossible. His parents were burdened with heavy taxes and labor duties, working hard every day, yet they ended up with a broken family. Hiding in the temple just to get by, now he had been reported and might lose his head.

  Unable to endure any longer

  Damn it! Damn his mother!

  This is a true version of "Forced to Mount Liangshan", and also the only choice for poor farmers in feudal era. Who does not cherish his own life, who wants to fight, when they can't survive, those farmers were forced to push the development of feudal society with their own blood and lives until its demise.

  This is their fate.

  So I think that peasant uprisings in Chinese history are indeed worthy of affirmation, they may not be so selfless, they may have their own various considerations, but they really had no other choice.

  Tang He thus became Zhu Di's first comrade-in-arms. In the days to come, he would accompany Zhu Di on this arduous journey.

  However, Tang He would never have thought that he was the only one who accompanied him all the way.