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  The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner!

  At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was the left deputy commander of the righteous army, while Guo Zixing was the commander-in-chief, and Zhang Tianyou, the husband of Guo Zixing's wife, was the right deputy commander. This position was sealed by Liu Futong, and Zhu Yuanzhang's status was the lowest. However, it is clear that these two people did not have the capital to contend with Zhu Yuanzhang at all. The actual commander of the army was Zhu Yuanzhang. At this time, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty were already very worried, and there were rebellious armies everywhere, without the energy to care about the small Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang seized this opportunity and launched a general attack on Jiqing.

  Because the fleet was too weak and underestimated the city defenses of Jiqing, Zhu Yuanzhang attacked Jiqing twice in August and September 1355 but was defeated by the Yuan army both times. However, defeat was not necessarily a bad thing for Zhu Yuanzhang as Guo Tianshou and Zhang Tianyou were killed in these two battles, allowing Zhu Yuanzhang to become the commander-in-chief naturally.

  In the second year (AD 1356), Zhu Yuanzhang personally led his troops in a three-pronged attack on Jiqing, and after ten days, he captured Jiqing and renamed it Ying Tian.

  Poor Zhu Yuanzhang finally got rid of Fengyang, got rid of Chuzhou, and came to the rich Nanjing, but his true career has just begun, keep working hard!

  Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Ying Tian, which was a good thing for him, but from the perspective of historical trends, his situation was not optimistic. Since ancient times, occupying the north has had the advantage of heaven and earth, China's terrain is from north to south, and it is rare to start from the south and attack the north to achieve victory.

  However, Zhu Yuanzhang's occupation of Ying Tian was a great bargain.

  Let's introduce Zhu Yuanzhang's neighbors. To his east in Zhenjiang were the Yuan army, to his southeast in Pingjiang (Suzhou) was Zhang Shicheng, to his northeast were the rebel forces of Zhang Mingjian, to his south was the Yuan general Bayan Temur (what a name), and to his west was Xu Shouhui.

  On the surface, Zhu Yuanzhang's neighbors were all stronger than him, with big houses and businesses. Zhu Yuanzhang was surrounded by them, just like a migrant worker who had come to work in a foreign land, relying on others for shelter. However, although these neighbors did not particularly like Zhu Yuanzhang, it was precisely because he was too weak that no one took him seriously, and they were all busy with their own affairs, without the time to bother with him.

  More importantly, Zhu Yuanzhang's northern neighbor was Liu Futong, who was the commander of a brother unit. He helped Zhu Yuanzhang to resist the attack of the Mongol army. The ruler of the Yuan Dynasty attached great importance to Zhu Yuanzhang, but couldn't defeat him. As a result, there appeared such a situation that those who could fight didn't want to fight, and those who wanted to fight couldn't fight.

  Zhu Yuanzhang made full use of this characteristic. For him, the Yuan Dynasty was an object of his deep-seated resentment and revenge, but it wasn't time yet; he first had to deal with his two neighbors. To him, these two neighbors were the truly formidable opponents.

  Next we will introduce his two neighbors, whose names are Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang.

  These two men are both heroes of the age. If they had appeared in different dynasties, they should have been able to achieve great things. Unfortunately, history has destined this era to be a bit more lively.

  This is a knockout match, and only those who persist until the end can win.

  According to Gu Kaizhi's theory of eating sugarcane, let's introduce a weaker one first.

  Zhang Shicheng, male, born in 1321, occupation: private salt trader, from Tai State, Shandong Province. Here it is necessary to mention the industry of private salt trading which existed for a long time during the feudal era. Salt was a state-controlled commodity and could not be sold without permission, but seawater was just there, so many people saw this as a way to get rich.

  According to economic theory, monopoly inevitably leads to the degeneration and bureaucratization of industries, and ancient salt industry is no exception. Ordinary people can buy private salt that is much better than official salt at a price that is only one-third of the official price. In order to strictly control the interests of this industry, successive feudal governments, whether they were Han, Wei, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Song and Yuan, regardless of their methods of governing the country being Taoist, Confucian or Legalist, all followed the theory of Han Feizi in dealing with this issue.

  This theory holds that ordinary people know that going to the river to pick up gold will result in the death penalty, but they still do it because of a mentality of trying their luck, so the punishment should be increased.

  The punishment for selling private salt was also constantly increasing, and by the Sui and Tang dynasties, selling one dan (about 100 catties) of private salt would result in the death penalty. Everyone knows that Cheng Yaojin was a private salt seller, looking at his appearance, he should not have sold only 100 catties of private salt, but he was actually able to be released from prison through a general amnesty, which is indeed puzzling.

  So Zhang Shicheng's character should be clear, first of all, he should be a man who is not afraid to die, if he is afraid of death, he cannot do this. In addition, he should be a relatively wealthy person, with money, he can make many friends. Finally, he must have a deep hatred for the Yuan dynasty's rule, because this government does not allow him to sell private salt and also executed many of his friends.

  In the 13th year of Zhizheng (1353 AD), Zhang Shicheng launched a rebellion in Taizhou, Shandong Province. He was a private salt merchant, so most of his rebel brothers were also engaged in this trade. He did not belong to the Red Turban Army series with poor peasants as the main force, which laid the groundwork for his long-term conflict with Zhu Yuanzhang.

  As one of many rebels at that time, Zhang Shicheng's place in history was determined by a campaign of bitter and exceptional severity.

  The most arduous battle — Gaoyou War

  In the 13th year of Zhizheng (AD 1353), Zhang Shicheng rose in revolt and successively captured Taizhou, Xinghua and other places. He established his capital at Gaoyou, proclaimed himself King Cheng, with the national title of Great Zhou, and adopted Tianyou as his reign name.

  It seems now that this Tianyouji year name was indeed well-chosen.

  Zhang Shicheng's reign had not lasted long when the Yuan dynasty sent troops to attack, actually the officials of the Yuan dynasty were also stubborn, whoever claimed the throne would be attacked, if they encountered someone who rebelled without claiming the throne, they would ignore him instead, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of this.

  We mentioned earlier that the famous minister of the Yuan Dynasty, Toghto, led a large army of one million (note: this is an actual number) to attack Gaoyou. As it was said, "the grandeur of the expedition had never been seen before" (Yuan History). At this time, Zhang Shicheng, the private salt smuggler, showed his bravery and determination.

  At that time many people suggested giving up Gaoyou, Zhang Shicheng thought for a long time and said: "Where else can we go?"

  Yes, where else can we go?

  I'd rather die here!

  The original army used various weapons to attack the city, including multiple cannons. Zhang Shicheng and his two younger brothers, Zhang Shiying and Zhang Shide, were defending on the city wall, and all the generals could see their figures. More importantly, these rebels had a belief in their hearts.

  Surrender is death, resistance is also death; rather die fighting! At least die with dignity!

  Thus, the seemingly weak city of Gaoyou resisted the million-strong army for three months under the support of this spirit, which is the power of daring to fight to the death.

  As Gaoyou outer city was breached and the inner city was about to fall, problems arose within the Yuan government.

  In the history books of the past, we always see many treacherous officials who only care about themselves and not the country, and are hated by everyone. For example, Qin Hui, for example, Jia Sidao, always come at a critical moment to ruin the country's major events. In fact, minority regimes also have treacherous officials and will do so.

  What followed was a cliché. The sycophant slandered the general to the emperor, who became worried that the general outside would rebel and ordered him to return immediately. As a result, Toghto withdrew from Gaoyou, and his efforts to save the Yuan dynasty were thus wasted.

  At the critical moment there was heavenly help, and although the name was well-chosen, if he could not hold out for those three months, there would be no final victory. So it was not the good year that decided Zhang Shicheng's fate, but his courage.

  After this battle, Zhang Shicheng's name spread throughout the land. He continued to press his advantage and successively conquered the rich regions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, becoming the person who occupied not the most land but was the richest (no wonder he did a private salt business).

  However, from then on, Zhang Shicheng changed. He used to do small business, but suddenly he had the richest territory in the country and no longer needed to sell private salt. He had money, a house, and could dip his mantou (steamed bun) in white sugar or red sugar as he pleased.

  Zhu Yuanzhang had an accurate evaluation of him: a small talent.

  This man indeed had no great ambition, but he was truly a good person, and still a very good person. He was born taciturn, generous to others, and exempted the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions from taxation. The people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang received his kindness and built temples for him one after another. However, his excessive generosity and lack of leadership also made it impossible for him to become a heroic figure, but only a hero.

  The Chen Youliang we are going to introduce is a real hero.

  But before introducing him, we must introduce his former boss, Xu Shouhui.

  Xu Shouhui, birthdate unknown (but death date is very precise), from Luotian, Hubei Province, was a cloth merchant. It's said that he was quite spirited and upright, and was considered the number one handsome man in Luotian. Due to frequent extortion by Yuan dynasty officials, he harbored discontent towards the Yuan dynasty. In the 11th year of Zhizheng (1351 AD), when Liu Futong's rebellion passed through his hometown, Xu Shouhui's long-accumulated anger finally burst forth, and he prepared to rebel. His method was still spreading feudal superstition, this time it was Mingjiao.

  In order to promote, he also found two helpers, one was Zhou Pusheng (strong man) who was ironing in Macheng, and the other was Peng Yingyu (everyone should be familiar with), a monk from Jiangxi. After promoting Mingjiao for several months, he launched an uprising in the Dabie Mountains area, and captured Luotian at once. He was a branch of the Red Turban Army, so he also wore a red turban. The insurgent army fought continuously, capturing Huangzhou and Xishui one after another, and finally settled in Xishui County.

  His national title is worth mentioning, and it can be said that it is the most peculiar since ancient times. It's called Tianwan (not a year number). How did this year number come from? Let's play a word game together, remove the top of the two characters "Tian" and "Wan", and you'll find that it becomes "Dayuan". This cloth merchant was afraid that his national title couldn't suppress the Yuan Dynasty, so he came up with such a bad idea to take advantage of the character. Every time I see this year number, I feel like it's going to be over in a few days.

  At that time, Xu Shouhui's territory was very small, only in the area of Huangzhou and Xishui, but his setup was very large. The Yuan Dynasty had institutions, he had them all, with just a few thousand people, setting up the General Military Command, Central Secretariat, Imperial Secretariat, and the Six Ministries. I don't know if there were any soldiers under him, probably they all went to be officials. Zou Pusheng was made Grand Preceptor, Nian Wenjun was made Commander-in-Chief of the Army, at this time a man from Xishui joined his ranks, this person had an extraordinary appearance, wrote well, and was Chen Youliang.

  The Legend of Zhu Yuanzhang Chapter 7

  Chapter word count: 4579 Updated time: July 2nd, 2022 15:45

  The powerful Chen Youliang

  In the rebellious armies of the late Yuan Dynasty, many leaders could not withstand the attack of the Yuan Dynasty's sugar-coated cannonballs and were bought off. Even Zhu Yuanzhang had secretly communicated with the Yuan Dynasty before. Only this man resisted the alien rule of the Yuan Dynasty from start to finish, dared to take responsibility, was unyielding and persistent, and was a real hero!

  Chen Youliang, male, born in 1320, originally surnamed Xie, was a fisherman by trade and from the county of Xishui. He had previously worked as a clerk in the local government when Xu Shouhui's rebel army arrived in his hometown, he joined Xu's forces. Due to his cultural background and strategic thinking, he quickly gained the trust of Xu Shouhui and then Prime Minister Niu Wenjun.

  In the 13th year of Zhizheng (1353 AD), because Xu Shouhui had already proclaimed himself emperor, the Yuan rulers mobilized troops from several provinces to besiege and annihilate Xu Shouhui. They broke through the capital city, Peng Yingyu died in battle, and only then did Xu Shouhui come to his senses. He led his troops to retreat to the area of Huangmei in Hubei Province to engage in guerrilla warfare, while also reorganizing his army. Then the Red Turban Army launched a large-scale counterattack, retaking Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, and rebuilt their capital city at Hanyang County (present-day Wuhan's Hanyang District), changing the year title to Taiping.

  At that time, Xu Shouhui's method of revising the troops was really vicious. He wrote a Buddha character on the back of each soldier and said that this could make them invulnerable to swords and guns. This lie seemed easy to expose, because once the soldiers arrived on the battlefield, they would discover it wasn't true (if you don't believe me, try stabbing yourself with a spear). But there was a second half to this lie: if you were unlucky enough to die in battle, it wasn't that the character didn't work, but rather because your heart wasn't sincere. In other words, if you didn't die, it was because of the character I wrote; if you did die, blame yourself - who made your heart not sincere?!

  This absurd logic similar to the 22 military rules was actually very popular at that time, so his soldiers had to recite scriptures before going into battle, which made many Yuan government troops confused and thought they had encountered monks.

  In contrast to him were his generals, who were not vegetarians at all, but were all famous generals. Under Xu Shouhui's command, they were known as the Four Great Diamond Warriors. They were Zou Pusheng (Commander-in-Chief), Ding Purlang (Madman, for reasons that will be explained later), Zhao Pusheng (Double-Edged Sword Unbeatable) and Fu Yongde (who had never lost a battle). These four men led their troops to sweep across the Yuan army and established the Tianwan regime.

  In Xu Shouhui's troops, brotherly righteousness is valued. If someone betrays his brothers, he will be despised and punished by everyone. This organizational system easily reminds us of the famous Hongxing Gang, but where there are those who uphold righteousness, there must also be those who do not. Since ancient times, there has been no exception.

  Grand Chancellor Nie Wenjun was such a person, he had always been by Xu Shouhui's side, deeply aware that this man, apart from being handsome, did not have any outstanding talents. He himself was well-versed in both literature and martial arts, so why should he work under Xu Shouhui? Therefore, he attempted to assassinate Xu Shouhui and usurp the throne. However, his plan was exposed, and having no other choice, he could only flee from Hanyang to Huangzhou, because Huangzhou was Chen Youliang's old haunt.

  Ní Wénjùn had always trusted Chen Youliang, not only was he Chen's superior but also promoted him to become a high-ranking officer in the army, and could be considered his mentor.

  But he forgot an old Chinese saying ——

  The kind of teacher you have is the kind of student you will get.

  Chen Youliang was a kind of person who could be described in eight words: ruthless, cruel, and daring to do anything. From his later behavior, it can be seen that there is nothing he dare not do. While others consider loyalty more important than anything else, he regards loyalty as worthless as dog shit.

  Others dare not kill their superiors or brothers, but he does it without hesitation and then openly admits it, saying "I did it, what can you do about it?"

  To analyze this character, we need to start from his childhood. He was originally a fisherman and also the lowest class of fishermen, equivalent to an untouchable. This kind of fisherman in the Yuan Dynasty generally did not go ashore, eating and living on the boat, villagers did not interact with them because they always had an unstoppable fishy smell on their bodies. Chen Youliang grew up in such an environment.

  Since childhood, he has been subjected to discrimination, ridicule, and the kind of actions and eyes that make him hide far away, making him have a deep sense of inferiority. For him, changing his fate can only rely on himself!

  He worked hard to read books and finally found a job writing documents at the local county government office, but this job did not bring him dignity. Those who looked down on him still looked down on him, and the constant whispers and gossip made him go crazy.

  Originally reading books couldn't change one's status, but after a long period of contemplation, Chen Youliang seemed to have finally found a way to make others respect him.

  Climb up, keep climbing up, until the highest peak, those who look down on me will eventually bow their heads in front of me.

  When Xú Shòuhuī's rebel army arrived in his hometown, Chen Yǒng Yuè, who was a government official of the Yuan dynasty, joined the rebellion and turned against the Yuan dynasty that paid him. His motivation for joining the rebellion was clearly different from those poor farmers, this motivation is a signal, representing that loyalty and faithfulness do not exist in Chen Younge's heart.

  In his heart, the only thing that matters is power and status, it's when he's high above that no one dares to look down on him!

  Among the things Chen Youliang learned, the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as historical and philosophical works, were unimportant to him. What he grasped best was the philosophy of "killing people and silencing them", "cutting grass and eliminating roots", "no poison is not a man" and so on. The study of villainy should also be his specialty. Nian Wenjun appreciated this aspect of him, but what he did not expect was that one day Chen Youliang would use this trick on himself.

  Ni Wenjun's nose was not a nose, his face was not a face as he ran to Chen Youliang's place. Chen Youliang still received him with kindness, prepared a room and clean clothes for him, accompanied him in conversation. Ni Wenjun suddenly felt that he had not misjudged the person, so he poured out all the inside information, getting more and more indignant as he spoke, leaving tears behind. Chen Youliang looked at him calmly and asked a key question:

  "What happened to Zhao Pu and them"

  Ni Wenjun was even more sorrowful and said: "Those few people, you still don't know, are all Xu Shouhui's loyal followers. However, if we join hands, we can definitely defeat them."

  That's enough, I don't need to ask anymore.

  The next day, Xu Shouhui of Hanyang received Nie Wenjun's head.

  Chen Youliang became the first minister of Tianwan after killing Niu Wenjun, with his ability fully demonstrated. He was good at knowing people and using them well, had strong organizational skills, and more importantly, he was a skilled military commander.

  Han Gaozu Liu Bang once asked Han Xin how many soldiers he could lead, and Han Xin told him only 100,000. This matter fully illustrates that the number of soldiers is not the more the better, the key lies in whose hands they are in and how to use them, while Chen Youliang's ability is far from being able to accommodate 100,000 soldiers.

  Compared to him, Xu Shouhui was far inferior. This person was indeed a good man, but apart from being a good man, he was nothing else. Chen Youliang would get annoyed every day seeing Xu Shouhui sitting high up on the throne. Why is this waste sitting above me? I still have to ask for his advice. When this thought appeared more and more frequently, the plot in his mind would turn into action.

  It's easy to get rid of Xu Shouhui, but before that, we must first deal with his Mingjiao brothers, the first one being Zhao Pusheng.

  Soon after, Zhao Pu was killed on the grounds of plotting a rebellion. Ding Puluang and Fu Youde were not fools, seeing that things were not going well for them, they slipped away and fled to Zhu Yuanzhang's place to continue serving.

  At this time, Xú Shòuhuī truly became a lone commander, a pawn in Chen Youliang's hands. Therefore, in almost all historical books, there is this strange description: In the 20th year of Zhì Yuán (1360 AD), under Chen Youliang's control, Xu Shouhui attacked Zhu Yuanzhang.

  Attack, or be taken hostage, being an emperor has come to this point, it's better to die.

  Xu Shouhui did not want to die, he handed over power to Chen Youliang, just hoping to survive.

  Chen Youliang was the kind of person who would never let others sleep soundly before him, and he would not let Xu Shouhui off.

  This day finally arrived, on June 16th of the year Zhizheng 20 (AD 1360), Chen Youliang led an army of one hundred thousand down the river to attack Zhu Yuanzhang's Caishi. He invited Xu Shouhui to go to the Wutong Temple in Caishi City to worship, and Xu Shouhui was always enthusiastic about such activities. So he accepted the invitation and came to the temple.

  When he arrived at the temple, Chen Youliang was standing in front of the window with two guards beside him, and it was raining heavily outside.

  Chen Youliang ignored him, and Xu Shouhui felt somewhat embarrassed. He walked over to Chen Youliang's side and said in a tone that was almost flattering: We're about to take down Ying Tian, this is all thanks to your efforts!

  Chen Youliang didn't turn his head back, he just said lightly: It's a pity you won't see that day.

  Xu Shouhui was stunned, he wasn't without thinking about the arrival of this day, but when it arrived, it was still so cruel.

  The two people stopped talking.

  Deathly silence.

  Xu Shouhui's sweat and tears flowed down, the fear in his heart was like a big hand pulling him into an endless abyss.

  I'll abdicate and let you take the throne, I'll be a commoner, is that alright with you?

  Chen Youliang finally turned around, he looked at Xu Shouhui with an unbelievable gaze, and said the last sentence he heard in his life: "How did you survive in this chaotic world?"

  The guard stepped forward and smashed Xu Shouhui's head with a previously prepared iron hammer.

  When Xu Shouhui fell down, the last thing he saw was Chen Youliang's icy gaze.

  The guards had washed away the bloodstains of the former boss and arranged the grand hall, as it was about to hold the coronation ceremony for the new emperor.

  In June 16th of the year 1360, Chen Youliang ascended to the throne as Emperor in Wutong Temple during a stormy weather and determined the national title as Han.

  This is the law of survival in a chaotic world, Xu Shouhui, you don't understand.

  Chen Youliang was indeed a man who did not speak of righteousness, but he was a man who dared to do and dare to be. The year number of his Great Han State was "Great Righteousness".

  How ruthless, the usurper who dared to name his reign "Great Righteousness", this tells us that he is a person who does not follow the rules of the game, in his eyes, all morality and ethics are worthless. Aren't you ashamed of your regicidal behavior? You Confucian scholars, I'll show you what it means to be righteous, my reign will be called "Great Righteousness"!

  Indeed, such a person is difficult to deal with. To deal with such a person, the way of the gentleman does not work, and adhering to rules does not work either.

  Who can resist such a terrible person?

  It seems like Zhu Yuanzhang is the only one left!

  After Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Ying Tian, both Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng felt the potential of this opponent. They were all very formidable people, who posed the greatest threat to them, and their hearts were very clear. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was still weak, he absolutely could not be underestimated.

  However, Chen Youliang did not control the government of Tianwan at that time. The first to conflict with Zhu Yuanzhang was Zhang Shicheng. Both sides had been fighting continuously since Zhu Yuanzhang captured Ying Tian in the 16th year of Zhiyuan (1356 AD), and they fought hundreds of battles, big and small. Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely annoyed by Zhang Shicheng, who only occupied a piece of land but couldn't get along with himself. Originally, his military strength was already exhausted, but he encountered continuous rain at night, and in June of the same year, Zhu Yuanzhang's general surrendered to Zhang Shicheng. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang made an important decision.

  He wanted to negotiate with Zhang Shicheng and wrote a letter to Zhang Shicheng, roughly saying: I am a poor peasant, you are a private salt merchant, we are all suffering people, why do you want to fight me? Let's get along peacefully, isn't it good to visit each other from time to time?

  Zhu Yuanzhang did this because he had already gone to war with Xu Shouhui, and fighting on two fronts was very unfavorable for him. However, Zhang Shicheng was not a pushover either, and he saw through Zhu Yuanzhang's plan. He wrote back to Zhu Yuanzhang, roughly saying: "You came from somewhere, now go back there! I have already made an appointment with Xu Shouhui, and we will definitely destroy you."

  If we can't talk it out, then let's fight.

  In July of the same year, Zhang Shicheng launched a large-scale attack on Zhenjiang, which was controlled by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang had made preparations in advance and ordered his ace generals Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to respond to the battle. They defeated Zhang's army at Longtan, and then Chang Yuchun led the charge all the way to Changzhou, capturing it in the following year (1357). Later, during the battle of Ningguo, Chang Yuchun fully inherited Xiahou Dun's spirit of not leaving the battlefield despite being injured. Despite being shot with three arrows, he persisted in fighting and captured Ningguo. Zhang Shicheng was defeated miserably.

  In fact, Zhang Shicheng's army was not inferior in combat effectiveness and had more troops than Zhu Yuanzhang's army, but it suffered a disastrous defeat. From the above situation, we can draw the conclusion that "it is easy to get an army of thousands, but difficult to find a good general".

  Chang Yu Chun

  Chang Yuchun did not follow Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time. He came to surrender when Zhu Yuanzhang captured Hezhou in the 15th year of Zhizheng (1355 AD). Although he was late, he was not polite at all and said as soon as he opened his mouth: I came here to be the vanguard, give me the vanguard seal.

  Zhu Yuanzhang had seen many arrogant people, but never one as arrogant as this. He was very angry and said: "You are just a refugee who can't even get enough to eat, coming here to beg for food, how could I possibly give you such an official position?" (Ming Shi Ji Ben Mo). But Chang Yuchun smiled and said: "Just wait and see."

  He proved his strength with action.

  In the battle of Zhu Yuanzhang's capture of Caishi, the Yuan army lined up on the shore, and Zhu Yuanzhang's naval forces could not get close. Just as he was getting anxious, Chang Yuchun's ships passed by, and Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered his words, shouting loudly at Chang: "Young man, didn't you want to be the vanguard? Now is the time!"

  Chang Yuchun charged forward with a loud battle cry, wielding his long spear and charging towards the Yuan army on the shore. The Yuan army caught his spear (Chang Yuchun charged forward with his spear, the enemy caught it), but they did not expect that Chang Yuchun's goal was to use this opportunity to jump onto the shore (this seems to be a pole-vaulting motion). He killed several people in a row, opening up a beachhead, and the soldiers behind him rushed forward and occupied Caishi.

  After this battle, Zhu Yuanzhang re-recognized the young man named Chang Yuchun and personally granted him the official position of Vanguard of the Grand Commandery.

  The Legend of Miyue: Zhu Yuanzhang Chapter 8

  Chapter word count: 3084 Updated time: July 2nd, 2022 15:45

  Chang Yun-chun was born with the makings of a vanguard, skilled in using cavalry to break through enemy lines, accurately choosing positions to attack from, and able to calmly judge battlefield situations. Moreover, he was also a master of martial arts, his personal fighting skills were exceptional, this advantage played a huge role later on.

  But he also has a fatal weakness, he is fond of killing, and it's the most immoral kind - killing surrendered people.

  As the ancient saying goes, killing a surrendered enemy is unlucky. From a moral standpoint, once the other side has surrendered, it seems unglorious to continue fighting, but he just happens to have a fondness for this, and this fondness brought great disaster to Zhu Yuanzhang.

  After Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Zhang Shicheng, he put his main energy on dealing with Xu Shouhui, but he knew that his real opponent was not the superficial Xu Shouhui, but the huge shadow behind him - Chen Youliang.

  During this period, Zhu Yuanzhang made two decisions that ultimately led to his victory in the war. The first decision was to build high walls, accumulate large amounts of grain, and delay declaring himself king. This decision allowed him to avoid drawing attention from others, while other peasant uprising leaders became arrogant with imperial ambitions, using tiger skins as banners, and trying to feed thousands of people with only a few kilograms of rice. Meanwhile, Zhu Yuanzhang took full advantage of the time to continuously develop his own strength.

  Another decision was to choose between Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, at that time everyone generally believed that Zhang Shicheng was weaker, hoping to deal with him first, and use the occupied Jiangsu and Zhejiang territories to expand his own power, and then have a decisive battle with Chen Youliang. It can be said that this decision is correct from any angle, but Zhu Yuanzhang showed his genius strategic vision at this time.

  It is difficult not to be influenced by others, especially the opinions of the majority. When many people speak with one voice, many will follow the crowd and even change their original views. Zhu Yuanzhang used his wisdom to tell people that truth often stands on the side of the minority.

  Zhu Yuanzhang said to his strategists, "Your views are reasonable, but you haven't seen the key to the problem. Zhang Shicheng's characteristic is that he is narrow-minded, and Chen Youliang's characteristic is that he is arrogant. Being narrow-minded means lacking foresight, and being arrogant means liking to provoke trouble. If I attack Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng will certainly not rescue him, but if I attack Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang will definitely mobilize the national army to rescue him, and I will have to fight on two fronts, which would be difficult to deal with."

  Fantastic! Truly fantastic!

  Such insight, if this man cannot conquer the world, who can?

  The Prelude to the Great War

  No matter how they tried to avoid it, the day of their final battle would eventually come, this was a consensus between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang.

  In the 19th year of Zhuyuan (1359 AD), Chen Youliang had completely controlled Tianwan State, his troops were more numerous than Zhu Yuanzhang's, and their training level was also stronger than Zhu Yuanzhang's soldiers. What's more, his strong point was exactly Zhu Yuanzhang's weak point - the navy.

  Chen Youliang occupied Hubei and Jiangxi, that is to say, he occupied the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, while Zhu Yuanzhang's Yingtian was downstream, which had to be fought with its head held high. Since they were on the same waterway, naval warfare became an inevitable way of war. The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly avoided decisive battles is also due to this.

  Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand physics, he also knew that taking a fishing boat to fight a warship on the water was no different from suicide.

  Just at this time, an event occurred that caused the final battle to erupt ahead of schedule. This was something Zhu Yuanzhang had never anticipated.

  In November 1359, the 19th year of the Zhuyuan era, Chang Yuchun led his troops to capture Chizhou. Chen Youliang was greatly shocked and prepared to arrange his troops to retake it, but the plan leaked out. Zhu Yuanzhang made preparations and ordered Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to adopt an ambush tactic. Chang Yuchun and Xu Da set up an ambush at the foot of Jiuhua Mountain, defeated Chen Youliang's army, and captured 3,000 soldiers.

  At this time, Chang Yuchun's old problem recurred. He told Xu Da that he wanted to kill the three thousand people. Xu Da strongly disagreed and said he would report it to Zhu Yuanzhang. However, he did not expect Chang Yuchun to be so bold as to bury all three thousand people alive overnight without asking for instructions!

  Chang Yuchun's massacre was deliberate; he left a few people alive to bury, and had them take back a message to Chen Youliang.

  I am Chang E Chun, it was I who defeated you!

  This is going to be a big trouble.