Zhu Yuanzhang's great and brilliant achievements, and because of his notoriety for slaughtering the founding heroes, Zhu Yuanzhang has always been one of the most controversial historical figures in ancient China.

The cause of the Ming Dynasty, like many other undertakings, was by no means created by a single person, but Zhu Yuanzhang, his military generals, and his right-hand men worked together to create it.

Among Zhu Yuanzhang's founding ministers, only a very small number of people, such as Tang He, Mu Ying, and Geng Bingwen, did not die in Zhu Yuanzhang's massacre, and Zhu Yuanzhang has been criticized, reprimanded, and even criticized by later generations for several hundred years.

How did Zhu Yuanzhang treat Empress Ma after he won the world? Did he throw it away when he ran out of it? Or did he always love and respect her? The facts are very clear: Although Zhu Yuanzhang, who became the emperor, like all emperors, could have as many beauties in the harem as he wanted, he did not wantonly expand the harem, but concentrated on state affairs and was relatively restrained.

Among the flowers, Zhu Yuanzhang has always regarded the virtuous Ma Xiuying as the queen, not only never abandoned, but also respected him all his life, and even obeyed his words many times. It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang is a person who believes in adversity and sees the truth.

Zhu Yuanzhang's young playmate Tang He, in addition to having the same outstanding military exploits as the main founding heroes, also has a merit that no one else can compare. The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang participated in Guo Zixing's Red Turban Army was the result of Tang and his invitation in a letter.

In this way, Tang He can be said to be the introducer of Zhu Yuanzhang joining the organization. So in the bloody storm after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Tang He, who played a key role in Zhu Yuanzhang's entire life, what is his fate?

Tang and Rongma have fought in the south and north for more than 30 years, and they have been successively named the Marquis of Zhongshan and the Duke of Xinguo, which can be said to be a high-ranking meritorious service. Zhu Yuanzhang has killed countless founding heroes, but Tang He, such a key guide, is safe and sound after all, Tang He himself has also done a good job, with the rise of status and power, he chose to disarm and return to the field in time, and he became more and more cautious.

Not to mention Guo Zixing, there is no doubt that he is Zhu Yuanzhang's first nobleman. After Zhu Yuanzhang joined Guo Zixing's peasant army, it was precisely because of his appreciation that he was able to be promoted step by step, and Guo Zixing also married his adopted daughter to Zhu Yuanzhang, with Zhu Yuanzhang as his right-hand man.

Although Guo Zixing was suspicious of Zhu Yuanzhang because of his mistaken belief in slander, Zhu Yuanzhang did not take revenge because of this, but tried every means to rescue Guo Zixing in danger in the midst of infighting. After Guo Zixing died of illness, Zhu Yuanzhang did not seize power with Guo Zixing's son, but fought together.

It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang, who has a higher talent, originally controlled the backbone troops, which were basically based on the more than 700 people recruited by Zhu Yuanzhang when Guo Zixing was in an embarrassing situation, and gradually developed and expanded through recruitment and expansion. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang did not forget to posthumously crown Guo Zixing as the king of Chuyang.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from the lowest level of society, wandered for three years in order to avoid famine when he was young, that is, he was thoroughly tempered by suffering and beaten three rounds of cold winter and heat, and soon after, Zhu Yuanzhang joined the Red Turban Army as a monk, and after 17 years of brutal war career of violent baptism, he miraculously achieved the founding emperor of a new era, Zhu Yuanzhang can be said to be one of the most legendary very few emperors in Chinese history.

At the age of twenty-four, he joined the peasant army with his bare hands, and at the age of forty, he ascended to the throne and sat on the world, and the whole process of development took only 17 years for Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang died in office at the age of seventy-one, and he served as emperor for a total of thirty-one years. Among the founding emperors who unified Kyushu Island in the past dynasties, Zhu Yuanzhang was the one who reigned for the longest time.

Zhu Yuanzhang has been fighting all his life and can live a long life, seventy-one years old is considered a high life expectancy in ancient times, which should be attributed to the fact that he has a good body, perhaps honed by wandering. And Zhu Yuanzhang's longevity enabled this outstanding ancient military strategist to devote the second half of his long life to the great cause of governing the country and become an emperor with outstanding political achievements.

In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the demons danced wildly and the heroes competed against each other, the situation was really rare and so chaotic and complicated, and Zhu Yuanzhang was able to come from behind in this huge chaos, defeat all the devils and heroes, and harvest all the crops and fruits. And his contributions to cleaning up the war, expanding traditional culture, and restoring the Zhengshuo status of the Han nation have made this emperor who is outstanding in history radiate great light.

However, it is a pity that there is a voice that says: "Zhu Yuanzhang is too brutal! He slaughtered so many heroes and generals, how can such a person be worthy of the word great?" This voice became stronger and bigger after the death of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation became worse and worse.

Who are the heroes who fought side by side with Zhu Yuanzhang to fight the world together? Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Liu Bowen, Li Shanchang, Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu, Zhu Wenzheng, Tang He, Zhu Liangzu, Hu Dahai, Zhou Dexing, Liao Yongzhong, Fu Youde, Feng Guoyong, Feng Sheng, Mu Ying, and Lan Yu...... It can really be described as a gathering of talents and heroes.

It's a pity that most of these founding heroes ended badly, and many of them were killed by Zhu Yuanzhang with excuses, even including great heroes like Xu Da and Liu Bowen, folk legends say that they died at the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Let's talk about Xu Da's death first, folklore says that Xu Da suffered from back gangrene in his later years, and Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a steamed goose to eat, and after Xu Da ate it, he died within a few days. Another theory of Xu Da's death is that Xu Da died of illness at the age of 54 because of his long years of fighting and working so hard that he became ill from overwork.

When Xu Da died, Zhu Yuanzhang was heartbroken, dropped out of the dynasty to pay deep condolences, and tied Xu Da as the first hero among the founding generals, and praised him as the Great Wall. Xu Da's loyalty and humility, and moving Xu Da is like moving the foundation of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang is not so nonsense.

Regarding Liu Bowen's death, after Liu Bowen became seriously ill, he died because he received treatment from the doctor sent by Hu Weiyong, and people usually suspect that Liu Bowen actually died at the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang. He actually died of Hu Weiyong's plot, Hu Weiyong, who was the prime minister at the time, hated Liu Bowen, so he instructed someone to slander Zhu Yuanzhang and frame Liu Bowen, Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally very angry and took Liu Bowen's title. Under the suppression of Hu Weiyong's forces, Liu Bowen, who was depressed, finally fell ill, and then it happened that Hu Weiyong sent a doctor to treat him Liu Bowen died of illness.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had absolutely no idea of killing Liu Bowen; first, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just been in good health for seven years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, did not have to do so early even if he wanted to kill meritorious heroes; second, Liu Bowen, a senior military advisor who was 17 years older than Zhu Yuanzhang, was far less powerful than the Huaixi clique in the DPRK and Central China, and he was far from posing a threat to Zhu Yuanzhang; Zhu Yuanzhang only wanted to create a balance of power between the Huaixi clique headed by Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong and the Zhedong clique headed by Liu Bowen.

Zhu Yuanzhang invited Liu Bowen to be the prime minister after Li Shanchang's retirement, but Liu Bowen repeatedly declined, he did not want to get involved in the whirlpool of factional struggles in the imperial court, he was afraid of high merit, and he had already made up his mind to retire. Zhu Yuanzhang also knew Liu Bowen's thoughts, so it was difficult to be reluctant, so he turned to Liu Bowen to consult the candidates for prime minister, including Hu Weiyong. Liu Bowen's answer was that none of these people could succeed.

But Zhu Yuanzhang finally appointed Hu Weiyong as prime minister, and he seemed to have other plans. But what Zhu Yuanzhang never expected was that Hu Weiyong had the audacity to kill Liu Bowen.

Liao Yongzhong, who was killed by Zhu Yuanzhang for the reason of overstepping the system, is believed to be the real cause of his death because he carried out the mission of murdering King Xiao Ming.

In the feudal society where the imperial power is great and powerful, the courtiers privately wear clothes embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns, and when it comes to crimes, I am afraid that they will be sentenced to death, and according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, it is no exception. Zhu Yuanzhang strictly enforces the law, he is a rare person in ancient and modern China and foreign countries who does not recognize the six relatives who do not recognize the strict law enforcer, Zhu Yuanzhang will never forgive even his relatives for breaking the law, Zhu Wenzheng, the founder of the country and his own nephew, violates the law and discipline, and is imprisoned according to the law; after being discovered, he is also executed according to the law.

Liao Yongzhong's death was actually not unjust, and Zhu Yuanzhang's treatment of Liao Yongzhong did not exceed the provisions of the law. But if Liao Yongzhong's death is linked to the death of King Xiaoming, it is not impossible to say that Zhu Yuanzhang killed the hero under the pretext of doing so.

What was the cause of King Xiao Ming's death? Zhu Yuanzhang has always relied on himself to build down the country, and although Zhu Yuanzhang was a nominal subordinate of King Xiao Ming and Liu Futong from the time when Guo Zixing commanded the army, in essence the two sides were actually only an alliance between peasant rebel armies. When the power of King Xiao Ming was lost, Zhu Yuanzhang rescued King Xiao Ming out of morality and enshrined him for several years.

The Ming Dynasty opened the country, and the military generals can be said to be as brilliant as the stars. However, many of these people died in successive wars, many died of illness or normal old age during the war years or the peaceful years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and some died because of breaking the law, and some died on suspicion of rebellion or because of consequent.

Chang Yuchun, died of illness on the way to the Northern Expedition. Li Wenzhong died of illness after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Zhu Wenzheng was imprisoned for violating the law and died of illness in prison. Deng Yu died of illness before the founding of the People's Republic of China. Hu Dahai, who died before the founding of the People's Republic of China, died in the conspiracy of the general. Zhu Liangzu died after breaking the law after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Zhou Dexing died of his son sitting in a mess. Fu Youde, who was given to death by Zhu Yuanzhang for inviting a field of appreciation. Feng Guoyong, died in the army. Feng Sheng, even sat on the blue jade case and died. Mu Ying, who has guarded Yunnan for generations. Kang Maocai, died of illness in the army. Guo Ying died of old illness. Ye Chen, captured by the rebels, died unyieldingly. Zhang Yi died of illness.

It is generally believed that Fu Youde and Feng Sheng were executed by Zhu Yuanzhang under the pretext of protecting the throne of the emperor and grandson from any possible threat. These two heroes were indeed wronged, and Zhu Yuanzhang's excuse to kill the heroes was not all made up, but it was true.

What really made Zhu Yuanzhang famous for killing heroes was mainly the Hu Weiyong rebellion case and the Lanyu Party case, Zhu Yuanzhang used these two major cases to massacre 30,000 people and 15,000 people respectively. In feudal society, rebellion and forming a party were usually crimes that the emperor hated very much, and the punishment was usually done at all costs, including torture and joint sitting.

Hu Weiyong, who followed Zhu Yuanzhang in his early years, was quite favored and trusted, and successively served as a variety of low- and middle-level official positions such as the Marshal's Mansion, the county magistrate, and the general judge, and was almost not ranked among the founding heroes. In other words, in the process of Zhu Yuanzhang fighting the world, Hu Weiyong's achievements were very small, because he followed Zhu Yuanzhang, he mixed up in the troubled times.

Hu Weiyong's career is mainly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, three years after Hongwu, Hu was appointed as the governor of Zhongshu Province, six years after Hongwu, and was appointed as the right prime minister, Hongwu ten years, Hu Weiyong even became the first of the hundred officials of the left prime minister. Hu Weiyong did not make great contributions in the process of fighting the world, but because he was a close confidant of Li Shanchang and was also trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang, he was promoted quickly, and he can be said to be a beneficiary in the struggle for the balance of power.

Hu Weiyong, a native of Huaixi who was originally just a clerk under Zhu Yuanzhang's account, was promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang to be entrusted with important tasks, in fact, it was just a pawn that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to use to balance Li Shanchang, the most powerful leader of the Huaixi faction in the imperial court, but Hu Weiyong was favored by Zhu Yuanzhang in the first few years of becoming prime minister, on the one hand, he was favored by Zhu Yuanzhang, and on the other hand, he relied on Li Shanchang tightly, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very uncomfortable, and Hu Weiyong himself had so many problems.

Hu Weiyong saw that he was becoming more and more powerful, and he became more and more arrogant and domineering, dictatorship, bribery, self-consolidation, trying to rebel, and colluding with Japan and Mongolia, so Zhu Yuanzhang simply abolished his ambitious and growing force.

After that, Zhu Yuanzhang, who didn't do anything, calculated for his children and grandchildren, and simply uprooted the tangled tree of Li Shanchang. At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang finally decided to put into practice the idea of abolishing the post of prime minister that had been germinating in his heart for a long time.

Is Hu Weiyong's charges really not true? Was he wronged or not to be wronged when he was sentenced for the crime of treason? Excluding Zhu Yuanzhang's intention to abolish the prime minister, it should not be wronged. In the case of Hu Weiyong's rebellion, Zhu Yuanzhang's murder was indeed too extensive.

Of course, such a criminal law as Lianzai is very unreasonable from the perspective of today's people, but in ancient China, whether it was a slave society or a feudal society, there was no one in all dynasties, including the Tang and Song dynasties, who did not implement this law.

Lan Yu, the brother-in-law of King Kaiping Chang Yuchun, listened to orders under Chang Yuchun's tent in the early days, was brave and strategic, and repeatedly made military achievements, and belonged to the later stage of the show among the many founding heroes in the early Ming Dynasty. In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Fu Youde to lead 300,000 troops to conquer Yunnan, Lan Yu was appointed as the second in command, and Mu Ying was the third in command.

In the twenty-first year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Lan Yu to lead 150,000 troops as a general to crusade against Mongolia, and Lan Yu led the army to the fishing sea, defeated the Mongolian army, and the Mongols fell into civil strife from then on. Lan Yu was named the Duke of Liang Guo in this way.

Lan Yu's military exploits are indeed great, but he is arrogant, arrogant, and has many problems, encroaching on people's land, raising thousands of false sons of Zhuang slaves, and encroaching on many trophies such as treasures during the Northern Expedition. In addition, Lan Yu also expressed his concern for Zhu Di to the crown prince Zhu Biao, and offended Zhu Di, Zhu Di later said bad things about Lan Yu in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very dissatisfied with Lan Yu, and later Jin Yiwei reported that Lan Yu was trying to rebel.

Even if it is not counted as the crime of treason, according to the law, if Lan Yu's various illegal acts are strictly investigated, it must not be far from the death penalty. But after all, Lan Yu was a general with great military achievements, and it was a big loss to kill him to the Ming Dynasty, so Zhu Yuanzhang's decision was to kill him.

If the Ming Dynasty intends to take the territory occupied by the Mongols as territory, then Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive in his later years, and Lan Yu, Fu Youde, and Feng Sheng were naturally the best generals to expand the territory, but unfortunately Zhu Yuanzhang was not interested in the desolate desert north that was only suitable for grazing and not suitable for farming, so the value of blue jade was not of great use.

In the eyes of the elderly Zhu Yuanzhang, the many blue jade under his henchmen has become a major threat to the imperial power. After the death of the crown prince Zhu Biao, in view of the weakness of the imperial grandson, Zhu Yuanzhang felt the great threat even more, coupled with Lan Yu's words and deeds, Jin Yiwei secretly told Lan Yu to rebel, so Zhu Yuanzhang simply served him in a pot.

Zhu Yuanzhang wants to protect his own country forever and build a beautiful society with a strict legal system, he can't allow the country he created to be chaotic and filthy, and he wants to avoid any risk of chaos in the world after his death, so he has repeatedly made iron bowls and heavy punches.

And what about the major heroes? They are all heroes who have been killed in blood and fire, who have endured hardships, sweated, and shed blood, and want to live a little more comfortably and enjoy a little after sitting in the country, so they can't help but indulge and be more wanton, although this is understandable, but the premise is to abide by the law and be strict with themselves.

Because of the emperor's sense of precaution, it is inevitable that there will be a number of meritorious heroes who have or have no faults who will die more unjustly.