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  Wang Bao looked at the scenery on the other side of the river after landing, feeling extremely sad and painful. Not long ago, he still had a large army, but now only himself, his wife and children were left.

  A hundred thousand troops, destroyed in an instant!

  After making a distant bow to the opposite bank, he rode his horse towards He Lin (now southwestern Ulan Bator, Mongolia), where he could still make a comeback.

  Things haven't ended yet, I still have a chance

  At the same time as Wang Baobao's defeat, Li Wenzhong was helping Emperor Yuan move house. Since he left Youyong Pass, he had continuously defeated the blocking Yuan Taibei Manzi (not a nickname), Ping Zhang Sha Bu Ding Duo Er Zuo Ba Ci (a relatively long name), and again captured Kai Ping. On May 21st, he arrived at Emperor Yuan's old nest Ying Chang.

  Yuan Shun Emperor was indeed a pitiful person, after being forced to move in the second year of Hongwu (1369), he only lived in Yingchang for a few months before dying. This emperor was really quite incompetent. However, before the memorial service could be held, old acquaintance Li Wenzhong came uninvited again. At this time, the Yuan Dynasty was indeed very stubborn and wanted to hold on. But holding on also requires strength, let alone attacking the city is Li Wenzhong.

  Li Wen Zhong showed no politeness at all, since you won't move yourself, I have no choice but to help you.

  His efficiency in attacking cities was astonishing, and he took down Yingchang in just one day. The Mongolian cavalry had always been known for their speed and mobility, but faced with Li Wenzhong's attack speed, they could only stare blankly.

  As they had not expected Li Wenzhong to be so formidable, the princes and nobles in the city did not have time to escape. The wives of Emperor Yuan Shun were all captured, and the princes and ministers were all arrested, including Buyan Temur, the grandson of Emperor Yuan Shun.

  The only one who escaped was the son of Emperor Toghon Temür, Elbeg Nigülesügchi, also known as the future Emperor Xizong. He fled to Karakorum and reunited with Wang Baobao, and the two brothers hugged each other in tears, vowing to avenge their grievances.

  Now that we've come this far, everyone may have doubts as to why Wang Bao was so badly defeated and yet still be referred to as a famous general. This involves a very important issue: what kind of person is a famous general?

  How is a famous general trained?

  As mentioned earlier, we will analyze some essential things in history, of course, still in my way.

  Many people admire the demeanor of famous generals and also want to experience the feeling of commanding thousands of troops on the battlefield, so military forums are often crowded with many military enthusiasts who regret not being born in the era of swords and horses.

  But in reality, the famous generals throughout history were only a minority, and most of them were like the small soldiers in the game "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", who died soon after going into battle. Moreover, famous generals are not that easy to cultivate.

  Let's discuss this view here, because it also helps us understand the growth process and experience of the later Ming dynasty generals and some problems with the Ming military system.

  On the road to becoming a famous general, we have to go through six hardships. Let's mark them with six grades. Only by overcoming the current hardship can we advance to the next grade. Of course, some talented students don't need to go through these six grades and are born fighters, but they are extremely rare and can be ignored.

  Alright, the Military Academy has started, and the first year students are learning military theory. Anyone who wants to become a famous general must learn some classic theoretical knowledge, including Sun Tzu's Art of War, Wu Zixu's Art of War, etc. Only after accumulating a large amount of theoretical knowledge can you enter the next grade. However, this school has a special rule because some students' families are poor and cannot afford to buy books, so they can only learn these theories in actual combat. The outstanding representative among them is Li Yunlong.

  The children of poor families start working early, and it's really not wrong to say that. These classmates who learn theory in actual combat will be able to skip the second program and directly enter the third program.

  Let's take a look at what we'll be learning in the second grade with most of our classmates. The content of the second grade is practical combat, which is extremely important. Those who excel in theoretical studies but cannot pass this level will be awarded a glorious title - "paper talker". The first recipient of this title is Zhao Kuang, and the presenter is Zhao She, the head of the second-grade class.

  Let's explain why actual combat is so important. Although military theories are the summaries of experiences by senior students, they were written under different circumstances and situations. In actual combat, if you simply copy from them, you will suffer greatly. Zhao Kuang didn't learn well, that's why he couldn't graduate.

  As a student, wanting to become a famous general, usually starts from being a small soldier, of course except for the children of high-ranking officials, such as Zhao Kuo's classmate. Because his father was Director Zhao Shuai, he became a great general from the beginning, which is not proper.

  Only the battlefield can make a man a true general, he must take up his sword and pursue the enemy in person, witness the cruelty of the battlefield, understand that being cut by a knife is to die, understand that if you don't kill me, I will kill you, this eternal truth on the battlefield, know that fighting is a matter of life and death, only then can they understand what a battlefield is, what actual combat is.

  Most mathematicians will be eliminated at this stage and change their careers to become lifelong military ticket friends, which is not necessarily a bad thing for them.

  And those who survived gradually understood the laws of war in the cruel actual combat and began to truly embark on the path of a famous general.

  Alright, let's lead the remaining students to third grade. In third grade, they will learn about cruelty.

  To become a famous general, one must bid farewell to words like benevolence and gentleness. He must be as hard as iron and steel, cold-blooded and ruthless. Of course, there have been many Confucian generals in history who are known for their benevolence, but please note that their benevolence is towards soldiers and civilians, while they are colder than anyone else towards the enemy.

  What is called benevolence does not bring soldiers, righteousness does not trade, coldness and cruelty are not killing innocent people, but perseverance. For example, a good friend of yours violated military discipline, but in order to enforce military discipline, you must kill him. Only in this way can you control the army, even if he is your best friend or even your relative, you have to do so.

  This is what true coldness looks like!

  The recruits will learn to be ruthless on the battlefield, they may all be kind young men who never quarrel with others in peacetime, but when they step onto the battlefield, seeing their fellow villagers and comrades being killed by the enemy or wounded and groaning in agony on the ground, they will be driven by anger and pain, killing anyone who opposes them mercilessly, finishing off the wounded soldiers on the ground with another blow, then muttering to themselves alone beside the corpses, it is in this hellish environment that they change.

  From being afraid to see blood when killing chickens to having the enemy's brains and fresh blood splashed on their bodies without knowing, from being elegant and refined to being cold-blooded and ruthless, they graduated in a cruel environment. Those who were unqualified would be eliminated, while those with hearts as hard as stone would enter the fourth-grade study, getting closer and closer to becoming famous generals.

  Fourth graders need to learn about rationality, which is also a very important link. As ordinary people, we will be influenced by many things in life that affect our emotions, such as winning a few hundred yuan in the lottery and being happy for half a day. If you make a lot of money from stock trading, it's even more so. So what if the game you're playing is betting on human lives? How would you react?

  When you have been in a state of extreme tension with the enemy for a long time and the enemy suddenly retreats, can you restrain your excitement and judge the situation before pursuing? When you are unable to withstand the enemy's attack and the whole army is about to collapse, can you calm down in time and find the enemy's weakness?

  Yes, this is too difficult. We are all ordinary people with emotions and easily get excited, but our drivers must remain calm and rational at all times, not controlled by their emotions, just like racing cars. Racing is a passionate sport, yet the driver must remain absolutely calm.

  This is what fourth-grade students need to achieve. Those who can pass this level are already very few, and the remaining elites will continue to move forward!

  The fifth grade is the most important grade, in this grade, students need to learn judgment.

  This is an important characteristic of a famous general, no reason is needed, no basis is needed, you can rely on your own judgment. What you need to understand is that you are holding the lives of countless soldiers in your hands, and everyone is waiting for you to take action.

  The little soldier only fights, when he encounters a problem, he will ask the squad leader, the squad leader will ask the hundred households, the hundred households will ask the thousand households, the thousand households ask the commander, you are the commander, who else can you ask?

  In the eyes of soldiers, you are God, the ruler of the world! Whether they can survive or not depends on you!

  The wonder of the art of war lies in a single word: change. The good are at a loss, infinite as heaven and earth, inexhaustible as rivers and seas! The battlefield is a world that changes in an instant, decisions are made on a thin line, whether to attack or defend, advance or retreat, all require your attention. There may be a large group of advisors around you, but they often do not stand on the side of truth, the decision is still yours. If the advisor is more brilliant than you, why should you be the commander?!

  If you can discover the subtleties in that ever-changing world and make correct decisions accordingly, then congratulations, you already possess the most important qualities of a great general. However, there is still one more hurdle you must overcome; only after passing this test can you be considered a true great general.

  Now we come to the last grade, and what we are going to learn in this grade is resilience.

  In a sense, this is an extremely important lesson to learn. The so-called victory or defeat is just a common occurrence in the military, but can you bear the psychological pressure of having lost a battle and killed tens of thousands of people? How do you face the families of those soldiers? How can you have the face to see your superior who handed over command to you? Those are tens of thousands of human lives, not tens of thousands of chickens!

  However, your only choice is to be strong. Even if you are defeated repeatedly, you must fight again and again! We can imagine that when you are defeated by the same person multiple times, you will fear this person. This is how phobias come about. Even if you have outstanding military talent, but cannot overcome your own weakness, then you still cannot become a famous general.

  And it is those who are strongest that can rise up from failure and challenge the one who has defeated them multiple times, this is what true strength is!

  When you have all of the above conditions, you become a true general, but there is one more thing that you must possess, and that is luck.

  It sounds a bit ridiculous, but this is also an important factor. Who knows, just when you're all set and ready to show off your skills, a stray arrow comes flying in and kills you on the spot. That would be even more unjust than Dou E's case. All your ambitions and abilities would go unfulfilled. In the annals of war history, it would simply be recorded that on a certain day in a certain month of a certain year, so-and-so was killed by an unknown soldier on the battlefield, with no further details provided.

  The path of a great general is a difficult road that only those with great wisdom and bravery, and destined for greatness, can tread.

  The military has no constant formation, water has no constant shape. Those who can adapt to the enemy's changes and win are called divine.

  On this ever-changing battlefield, to become a true god of war, you must survive in the midst of repeated slaughter, watching as those around you die, enduring endless suffering, learning from war in war, striving to obtain the unknown secrets and laws, experiencing countless failures, having the courage to stand up from the corpses of countless soldiers, to defeat your opponent.

  This is the true path of a famous general, a painful, lonely and bloody road. On this road, the only person you can trust and rely on is yourself. But as long as you reach the end, glory and victory will be waiting for you there.

  Whether it was Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Wang Baobao or later Qi Jiguang and Yuan Chonghuan, these famous generals grew up in this way. They have every reason to be proud of their growth experience.

  So when you are not famous generals, all of you students, you don't have to be sad and disappointed about this, because this job is not something ordinary people can do, it can even be said that it's not something humans can do. All of you ordinary students, just go back to being ordinary people, that's a happy life.

  The Things of Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang Chapter 22

  Chapter word count: 4353 Updated time: July 2nd, 2022 15:50

  After a series of victories in the war against Northern Yuan, the Mongol army finally realized that the enemy before them was no longer the easily bullied Southern Song regime of old, but a powerful opponent capable of thoroughly annihilating themselves.

  Wang Baobao understood, now all he had to do was wait. There would always be opportunities.

  Two years later, the Yuan army, which had been hiding for a long time, slowly extended its tentacles to the Ming dynasty. They launched a four-pronged attack, taking advantage of the Ming army's retreat, and reoccupied the vast areas from Jilin in the east to Gansu and Ningxia in the north. Using these strongholds as their base, they continued to attack the Ming army with guerrilla tactics, which were most detestable - you hit them and they ran, but when you left, they came back again.

  In this situation, Zhu Yuanzhang and his generals began to discuss how to deal with the Northern Yuan. There were differences in their responses, including Xu Da and most others who advocated for an attack to resolve the Northern Yuan once and for all. However, there were also those who opposed it.

  There were two people who opposed it, one was Liu Ji and the other was Zhu Yuanzhang.

  Liu Ji believed that the Northern Yuan still had great strength, and more importantly, Wang Baobao was still alive (Baobao was not to be underestimated). As for Zhu Yuanzhang, he relied more on his own military intuition. If it were ten years ago, he might have insisted on his own views, taking defense as the main priority, but now it's different.

  He is now a monarch of a great nation and cannot show weakness in front of others, so he agreed to Xu Da's request and made plans for an offensive.

  From this situation, it can be seen that Liu Bowen's reputation is not unfounded. He perfectly interpreted the law that truth is often in the hands of a few people. And Zhu Yuanzhang also proved that he gained the world without any luck.

  Leaders really have a level!

  Zhu Yuanzhang had drawn up an almost perfect plan, and all his famous generals participated in this action plan. He gathered 150,000 troops, appointed Xu Da as the General of the Expedition against the Barbarians, Li Wenzhong as the Left Deputy General, and Feng Sheng as the Right Deputy General, each leading 50,000 soldiers, marching out in three routes.

  Among them, Xu Da took the middle road, went out of Yanmen Pass to attack Helin, and along the way spread the propaganda that Wang Baobao and the Northern Yuan Emperor would be driven out of their hometown. However, this was just a trick, his real goal was to lure the Yuan army into battle and annihilate the enemy in a field battle. This plan can illustrate two points: first, at that time, the Ming army's strength had become quite formidable and could engage in a decisive battle with the Yuan army in the open; second, Zhu Yuanzhang's military thinking had reached a very high level, with the main goal of annihilating the enemy's living forces, which was extremely rare.

  Furthermore, Li Wenzhong took the right route, exiting through the Juyong Pass and approaching Helin, where he launched a surprise attack on the Yuan army during their decisive battle with Xu Da's forces, cutting off their rear. He then joined forces with Xu Da to strike at the Yuan army.

  Feng Sheng took the western route, attacking Gansu. He had no fixed strategic goal, only to create a diversion. It can be said that this route was basically for sightseeing and incidentally looting war spoils.

  Zhu Yuanzhang's strategic deployment had a main attack, auxiliary attack, and feint, with multiple routes of attack. Once the timing was right, they could launch a three-pronged attack. It can be called a perfect military plan.

  But as we said before, the changes on the battlefield are really too fast, and no one can fully grasp them, not even outstanding military strategists like Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da.

  The time for expedition has arrived, among the three generals, Feng Sheng's mood is the most depressed, because he thinks his military ability is not bad, but only plays a supporting role, while Xu Da and Li Wenzhong are quite arrogant, as the main characters of the war, this battle must be won to defeat the Northern Yuan!

  Feng Sheng, actually you don't have to be discouraged at all, because in war, the main character and supporting character are often swapped.

  In the fifth year of Hongwu, on January 22nd, the three armies launched a surprise attack on the Northern Yuan from different routes, awaiting them were different fates.

  Before the expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang let the main generals choose their vanguard. Unexpectedly, Xu Da chose a relatively inexperienced general. This person was the brother-in-law of Chang Yuchun, who was his old partner. Many people speculated that Xu Da had taken a back door approach and deliberately allowed this person to gain merit in order to console Chang Yuchun for not being able to go on the expedition. Since the Northern Yuan army was very powerful during this expedition, many people thought it would be an easy victory and everyone wanted to rush to gain merit. They were all dissatisfied with Xu Da's appointment of a personal favorite.

  They underestimated Xu Da too much, he is the real number one general of the Ming Dynasty, using troops like a god, and being fair to people. The reason why he chose this person to go on an expedition was only because this person was indeed the most suitable candidate.

  This person is Blue Jade!

  Feng Sheng, who was also depressed, chose his vanguard, Fu Youde, a real legendary figure who seemed to have never lost a battle before, but due to the lack of opportunities to show off, his reputation was far less than that of Guo Xing and others. Feng Sheng's choice of him as vanguard seemed to be a bit desperate.

  The choices of these two people have largely saved this unsuccessful expedition, which can only be described as "accidentally planting a willow tree".

  In the fifth year of Hongwu (1372), on February 29, Xu Da's army entered Shanxi Province. Lan Yu led the cavalry as vanguard and was the first to exit Yanmen Pass. His luck was good, and he encountered Wang Baobao's cavalry at Wild Horse River (now Khulun River in Mongolia). Lan Yu fought bravely and defeated Wang Baobao in one battle. This was Wang Baobao's first defeat.

  On March 20, Lan Yu pursued and attacked Wang Baobao again at the Tuolei River (now Ulan Bator, Mongolia), causing Wang to flee northward for the second time.

  Xu Da and Lan Yu were both excited, in their view, defeating Wang Baobao was only a matter of tomorrow!

  But at this time, Wang Baobao finally waited for his opportunity to avenge and revenge. As early as a month ago, he received the news of the Ming army's expedition. After careful consideration of his own military strength, he correctly recognized that his military talent was not as good as Xu Da, and his army's combat effectiveness was not as good as the Ming army cavalry. He could not fight against the Ming army head-on, and if he fought, he would surely lose. To defeat the Ming army, he could only use ambushes.

  To achieve this goal, he and General He Zongphi set up an ambush in Lingbei (now northern Inner Mongolia). So at the beginning of the battle, he repeatedly sent troops to contact the Ming army, intentionally losing battles. Blue Jade was a calm-headed general, he did not advance alone, but waited for Xu Da's arrival. At this time, Xu Da had also been blinded by victory and fell into the trap.

  On May 6, Wang Baobao suddenly appeared in Lingbei, and Xu Da immediately led his troops to pursue him. When he entered the mountainous area of Lingbei, He Zongzhe suddenly appeared and launched a surprise attack on the Ming army. Due to being unprepared, the Ming army suffered a great defeat, with over 10,000 casualties. At this time, Wang Baobao and He Zongzhe joined forces, preparing to annihilate Xu Da's large army in one fell swoop.

  But Xu Da was after all Xu Da, and the subjects he learned in fourth grade saved him. In extremely unfavorable circumstances, he steadied the situation with unimaginable rationality and calmness, safely withdrawing his troops and building fortifications to block Wang Baobao's dozens of attacks. Lan Yu was very brave in battle, covering the army's retreat many times and showing his quality as a famous general.

  Wang Baobao looked at the cooked duck flying away and could only sigh to the sky, this life can't surpass Xu Da!

  At the same time as Xu Da's defeat in the middle road, Li Wenzhong's military action also fully demonstrated the accuracy of the proverb "disaster does not come alone". On June 29th, Li Wenzhong led his troops to arrive at Kouwen (now south of Chagan Nur in Inner Mongolia), and the Yuan army retreated. Li Wenzhong seemed to have been infected by Xu Da's mistake and also began to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly. He left the baggage train behind and personally led the main force to pursue the Yuan army lightly.

  Li Wenzhong was not without strategic consideration, his military characteristics were in a word "fast", if Xu Da was like a marathon runner with meticulous planning, Li Wenzhong was a sprinter, at Yingchang, he created a record of breaking the city in one day, this time, he took advantage of the Yuan army's lack of defense and boldly pursued them to try to annihilate the Yuan army.

  When he chased to the Aru Khun River (now northwest of Ulan Bator, Mongolia), he finally found the defeated Yuan army, only to find that it was a bit different from what he had imagined. This unit did not have the appearance of fleeing wolves and fatigue, but on the contrary, each one was vigorous and eager to try.

  Seems like I've been cheated.

  The army was led by General Bayan Temur, a very capable general who adopted the same strategy as Wang Baobao, attracting the main force of the Ming army to attack and then seeking an opportunity for a decisive battle. At this time, Li Wenzhong's army had been pursuing continuously for several days and was extremely tired, while the Yuan army used small forces to lure them in, but the main force got sufficient rest. They had been waiting for Li Wenzhong here for a long time.

  It's come to this, no need to say anything else, let's fight!

  Li Wenzhong was indeed formidable. In extremely unfavorable circumstances, he personally led his troops to engage with the Yuan army, fighting fiercely for several days and unexpectedly defeating the Yuan army, killing tens of thousands of enemies, but also suffering significant casualties on the Ming side. At this point, they had already gained face and should have retreated. But Li Wenzhong was not someone to be trifled with.

  He led the army with his surprising willpower and command ability to pursue the enemy all the way to Chenghai (now Khalkha River in Mongolia), determined to wipe out the Yuan soldiers. The Yuan general, Manzi Haxi Zhang, knew he was in big trouble, having provoked this formidable opponent. He had already ordered his troops to retreat, trying to avoid Li Wenzhong.

  Unexpectedly, Li Wenzhong was too deceitful and didn't give any face, chasing all the way, determined to fight to the death. As the saying goes, a cornered dog will jump over the wall, let alone a human! The Yuan army immediately formed a decisive battle array, intending to engage in a life-and-death struggle with the Ming army. Although Li Wenzhong was brave and fierce, he wasn't stupid, and seeing that the Yuan army was determined to fight to the death, he retreated and built a camp, defending himself against the Yuan army. The Yuan army was shocked and didn't understand why this guy who had been chasing them for hundreds of miles suddenly stopped fighting. However, they were also afraid of the Ming army's cunning tactics and didn't dare to make any rash moves. Both sides thus reached a stalemate. Not long after, Li Wenzhong discovered that their food was running out, so he withdrew his troops in a grandiose manner, making it seem like a parade. The Yuan army saw him being so arrogant and assumed there must be an ambush, so they didn't dare to pursue. Li Wenzhong thus returned triumphantly.

  Xu Da and Li Wenzhong achieved their goal of defeating the Yuan army to some extent, but at most it can only be considered a draw, not a victory.

  But the Western Route Army, which was initially considered the least promising, created a miracle. The creator of this miracle was Fu Youde.

  The direction of the Western Route Army's advance was Lanzhou. After arriving in Lanzhou, Feng Sheng made a decision to divide the troops!

  Because this time his task was just a diversion, there were no combat tasks, and 50,000 people under his command were idle, so it's better to let them do something. However, Feng Sheng was after all a first-rate military commander, who knew that dispersing troops in the vast desert was a taboo, so he only gave Fu Youde 5,000 men. What's even more surprising is that he didn't give Fu Youde any clear strategic tasks either, which can't be blamed on Feng Sheng, because he himself didn't have any specific strategic tasks.

  In my opinion, Feng Sheng seems to be watching his 50,000 subordinates having nothing to do, letting them go out for a stroll.

  Five thousand men are indeed not many, but it depends on whose hands they are in. Once these soldiers were in Fu Youde's hands, they became a formidable force.

  Fantastic Fu Yude

  He did not shrink back because of his own inferior military strength. After assessing the current situation, he personally led 5,000 cavalry to attack Xiliang (now Wuwei, Gansu) and defeated Yuan General Shi Cilie.

  After winning, Fu Youde did not stop, attacking Yongchang (now in Gansu), defeating Yuan Taiwei Duoerzhuba, killing thousands of enemies. Two victories.

  At this time, Feng Sheng finally saw Fu Youde's strength, and he boldly handed over the main force to Fu Youde. For Fu Youde, this was like adding wings to a tiger. He personally led the army to attack the Yuan army again at Saolin Mountain (now north of Jiayuguan, Gansu), capturing Ping Zhang, a high-ranking official of the Yuan dynasty, and killing more than 500 Yuan soldiers, achieving three victories.

  At this time, the Mongol army in Gansu fell into extreme panic. They heard from all sides that there was a madman named Fu Youde who would fight whenever he saw the Mongols and had never lost a battle. They were extremely afraid and could only pray to heaven for protection, hoping that this madman wouldn't come looking for trouble with them.

  However, Fu Youde was like a wound-up alarm clock and couldn't stop. On June 3rd, he continued to attack, this time it was Yuan general Shangdu who was unlucky enough to encounter Fu Youde, resulting in his entire army being defeated and himself captured and surrendered. Four victories.

  On June 11, Fu Yongde's army attacked Yijinai Road (now Ejina Banner, Inner Mongolia), and the Yuan general Bayantemur heard that Fu Yongde was coming, without even having the courage to resist, immediately opened the city and surrendered. Five victories.

  Fu Youde's army continued to advance and encountered the main force of the Yuan army led by Wang Duoerzhiban, the King of Yuanyi, at Biedu Mountain Pass. Fu Youde didn't say a word and attacked as soon as he met them, defeating more than 10,000 Yuan soldiers and capturing over 20 civil and military officials. The King of Yuanyi, Wang Duoerzhiban, escaped alone.

  He then led his troops to pursue to Guazhou (now Gansu Anxi), defeated the local Mongolian army, and captured a large number of war spoils such as cattle and sheep. Seven victories.

  They continued to fight until October, when the spoils of war were so numerous that they seriously affected the speed of the army's advance. The Yuan army had been frightened and fled at the sight of the Western Route Army, and there was no battle to be fought. On the 24th, the Ming army returned to the capital.

  In the five months from May to October, the Yuan army suffered greatly. Fu Youde led tens of thousands of troops from Gansu to Mongolia, sweeping everything before them and repeatedly routing the Yuan army. The Yuan army was both fearful and hateful, unable to win in battle and unable to escape, living in terror every day.

  Fu Youde led tens of thousands of troops into the Northern Yuan territory, marching freely north and south, unstoppable! It is truly admirable to later generations, his seven victories in seven battles are an immortal legend that will be recorded in history.

  The Things of Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang Edition Chapter 23

  Chapter word count: 3965 Updated time: July 2nd, 2022 15:50

  In November, the Central Route Army led by Xu Da and the Right Route Army led by Li Wenzhong also withdrew due to unfavorable battle conditions. In this Northern Expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang did not achieve his goal of eliminating the Northern Yuan, while the Northern Yuan recognized the strength of the Ming, and both sides entered a stalemate. The legendary first generation of famous generals of the Ming Dynasty came to an end, and they would soon face their destiny.

  This stalemate was broken more than a decade later, and the person who broke it was Lan Yu, who grew up in this Northern Expedition.

  For now, let's put an end to the Northern Yuan War and take a look at how Zhu Yuanzhang set about establishing his country.

  After Zhu Yuanzhang established the country, the first task was to give it a name, which is extremely important, just like people today giving their children names, this name will be called for hundreds of years, and cannot be sloppy.

  In the eyes of many people, Mongolians are a nation on horseback with limited cultural refinement. However, the dynasty they established was named Yuan, which has a profound origin. The character "Yuan" is derived from the I Ching phrase "Great is the Origin", also representing their admiration for Chinese culture.

  When Zhu Yuanzhang named his dynasty the Ming, there was much controversy. Many people believed that this was because Zhu Yuanzhang came from the White Lotus Sect, so he had this name. Others believed that the Yuan was a northern regime, which according to Feng Shui is water and belongs to Yin, while Zhu Yuanzhang established his capital in the south and used the southern fire of Ming to suppress the northern water of Yin.

  Of course, the situation can only be asked of Zhu Yuanzhang himself.

  After giving his country a good name, he also considered finding himself a glorious ancestor. Although he often called himself "Huaiyou Bu Yi", putting on an air of heroism that didn't care about humble origins, the ministers all knew that these titles were only for him to say, and whoever dared to speak them in front of him would be waiting for their head to roll. He had originally considered recognizing Zhu Xi, a great saint of the Song Dynasty, as his ancestor, but an objective reason forced him to abandon this idea.

  Because Zhu Xi lived too close to their time, it was not easy to mix water and fish, and people like Zhu Ba Liu were still there, let alone deceive others, they could not even deceive themselves. So he gave up on this.

  After more than 20 years of war, the Chinese land was filled with starving people, and the fields were deserted. The main task of the founding emperor was to restore production. Zhu Yuanzhang did a good job in this regard. He paid great attention to the three rural issues and put all his enthusiasm on the peasants. In the third year of Hongwu (1370), he stipulated that anyone who opened up wasteland would be exempt from rent for three years. Moreover, in order to encourage reclamation, he formulated a law which stated that as long as you opened up wasteland, this land belonged to you, even if the original owner came back, you didn't have to be afraid, I, Zhu Yuanzhang, will support you. This greatly promoted the progress of reclamation.

  To encourage farming, he also issued a decree that all criminals, except those who committed capital crimes, would be sent to work in the fields, which was considered a good deed. It's worth noting that most of these so-called "criminals" were actually officials, and at one point there were over 10,000 officials working in the fields in Fengyang alone. The specific reason for this will be discussed later. At the same time, he also greatly reduced taxes in various places, except for one location.

  This place was the Jiangnan region occupied by Zhang Shicheng. Because of the support of local people for Zhang Shicheng, he was very dissatisfied and stipulated that the taxes in Jiangnan were several times higher than those in other places. This regulation was not abolished until later. From this we can see that Zhu Yuanzhang is a person who must revenge when there is a grudge. Please remember this personality trait of his, which will be very beneficial for us to analyze his later behavior.

  In contrast, he hated merchants extremely, which is likely related to his experience of being cheated by a merchant named Shen Wansan when he was young. At that time, the famous rich businessman Shen Wansan became the victim of his policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce. This Shen Wansan was very wealthy, with a legendary "聚宝盆" (a magical bowl that attracted wealth) in his home, so his money flowed endlessly. He also wanted to learn from Lü Buwei and engage in political speculation. He voluntarily surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang and spent money building one-third of the city walls of Nanjing. These city walls were very strong, built with high-quality granite and using glutinous rice as mortar, with a layer of lime on the outside, making them impregnable.

  Shen Wansan spent a lot of money, hoping that Zhu Yuanzhang would give him some benefits, but he never understood what kind of person Zhu Yuanzhang was. After hearing about this matter, Zhu Yuanzhang remained calm and waited until the city wall was completed before preparing to kill him. Shen Wansan was really too stupid - how could someone like Zhu Yuanzhang tolerate a merchant building the capital's city wall?! It wasn't until Empress Ma repeatedly advised him that Zhu Yuanzhang didn't take action, but he still confiscated Shen Wansan's property and exiled him to Yunnan.

  Shen Wansan was the first to suffer a loss in his business, but he was not the only unfortunate one. Almost all merchants were discriminated against. Zhu Yuanzhang's restrictions on merchants' behavior seemed ordinary, but they changed the development direction of China, which had been dominated by commerce since the Song Dynasty, and had a profound impact on China's development. We will elaborate on this later.

  In terms of political system, he almost copied all the institutions of the Yuan Dynasty. The central government set up the Secretariat, with the Left and Right Prime Ministers in charge of state affairs, and six ministries under it. At that time, many people thought that Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming government would continue to follow the official system of the Yuan Dynasty, but what happened later was beyond their expectations. This will be discussed later.

  There are many more systems in place tomorrow morning, and we introduce the above ones just to lay the groundwork for what happens next.

  Here, we also need to introduce the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty, which is a characteristic of the Ming Dynasty.

  The imperial examination system did not start from the Ming Dynasty, but it was in the Ming Dynasty that it flourished. It is interesting to note that during the Tang and Song Dynasties, although there were imperial examinations, the number of successful candidates was very small, with only a few dozen people selected per session. From the third year of Hongwu (1370), the Ming Dynasty began to hold imperial examinations and implemented expansion recruitment. As a result, those who wanted to become officials flocked in droves. They devoted themselves to reading books, and these people became the foundation of the literary official power of the Ming Dynasty.

  At that time, the examination was divided into three levels. The first level was the college exam, and the examinees were collectively referred to as "Tongsheng". Don't think they're all kids taking the exam, there are also 70- or 80-year-old Tongsheng. The scope of the exam is at the state and county level. Those who pass this exam are what we commonly refer to as "Xiucai". Don't think it's easy to become a Xiucai, the exam results have six grades, only those who score high can get the title of Xiucai, while those who score first or second grade can qualify for a higher-level exam called "Lu Ke".

  Now you have become a Xiucai, from now on you have shaken off the identity of a commoner and are also a member of the intellectual class. You have some privileges, such as being exempt from one person's labor service, and when meeting the county magistrate, you don't need to kneel down. But you're not an official yet, still far from it.

  It's already so difficult to become a Xiucai, but in order to become an official, comrades still need to continue striving!

  The next level of examination is called the provincial examination, and you must not misunderstand that this so-called provincial examination is not a test in the countryside, but a unified examination at the provincial level. Please note that the provincial examination is not something you can take whenever you want, it's only held once every three years, usually in August, with questions provided by the province and limited quotas. Those who pass this level of examination are called juren, which is a big deal, as they have the qualifications to become officials. It's said that having qualifications doesn't guarantee becoming an official, similar to how university graduation doesn't guarantee job assignment today.

  How can a scholar become an official? It's simple: when an official dies, you'll have the opportunity.

  So if you were in the Ming Dynasty attending a certain official's memorial service, and saw some people peeking out from the doorway with joyful expressions, unless they had a grudge against this family, they would generally be juren.

  Now everyone knows why Comrade Fan Jin went crazy after passing the imperial examination, if it were you, you might go crazy too.

  The person who gets first place in this exam is called a yuan. This is the first of the three yuans.

  All right, you have passed the imperial examination and become a Juren. You finally left the provincial city and are now heading to Beijing. For the sake of becoming an official, charge forward!