In fact, everyone knows a little about the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, but only a few people know it comprehensively. Therefore, everyone listened carefully to the words of this old jinshi master, and they should listen to a good story.

The master said: "Our founding ancestor, Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, was very bitter when he was a child, and his original name was Zhu Chongba. He is the youngest child in the family, with seven older brothers and two older sisters. But the family has no land, and they make a living by farming for other people's families. No one in the family can support the children, so when Zhu Chong is eight or six years old, there are only three children in the family, and the other children are either starved to death or given away. The two elder sisters have long been given to other people's families as child daughters-in-law. But that's it, no one in Zhu Chong's eight families has ever had a full meal. At that time, the imperial court raised taxes again, and Zhu Chongba's parents couldn't survive anymore, and Zhu Chongba's father hanged himself with a rope. Zhu Chongba's mother had been sick in bed for a long time, and she didn't have the strength to get out of bed, so she hit her head and died on the kang head of her house. Zhu Chongba suddenly lost his only support. The three children shared the only property in the family, thirteen grains of rice with skins. Zhu Chongba became a cowherd baby of the landlord's family, and soon because he killed a cow of the landlord's family without authorization because he wanted to eat beef for his friends. For this matter, the landlord almost killed him. In the end, Zhu Chongba was sent to Huangjue Temple by the landlord to become a monk on behalf of the landlord to pay off his debts. Zhu Chongba, who was a monk in Huangjue Temple, was also bullied by the old monks in the temple. Soon after, the troublesome little novice Zhu Chongba left the Huangjue Temple. Not because he was kicked out, but because the Huangjue Temple was burned. Without a temple, Zhu Chongba was not a monk who had officially been ordained, so he had to go all the way. Along the way, it's not so much about turning into a fate as begging for a life like a beggar. So when he later became the emperor, he once told everyone that he not only herded cattle and did hard labor, but also became a monk and had to eat. ”

Everyone didn't speak, and continued to listen to the master's story.

The master said: "At that time, there were many rebel troops, and one of the generals named Guo Zixing took in Zhu Chongba. Zhu Chongba's military command talent was discovered, and many childhood partners helped Zhu Chongba on the side. Soon after, Guo Zixing took a fancy to this young man with no background. In order to recruit Zhu Chongba, Guo Zixing not only recognized Zhu Chongba as his godson, but also helped Zhu Chongba change his name to Zhu Yuanzhang. At that time, Guo Zixing had a friend's daughter named Ma Xiuying, who was the later Queen Ma. The reason why Ma Xiuying fell in love with Zhu Yuanzhang is very simple, Zhu Yuanzhang not only knows how to fight, but also is a real man who values righteousness and righteousness. With the help of Ma Xiuying, Zhu Yuanzhang escaped the persecution of Guo Zixing's son again and again. But later she was still designed to be imprisoned by the righteous army, in order to save Zhu Yuanzhang, Ma Xiuying moved Guo Zixing with family affection and allowed her to meet Zhu Yuanzhang. Ma Xiuying knew that Guo Zixing's son was going to starve Zhu Yuanzhang to death, and he didn't give Zhu Yuanzhang anything to eat for several days. put the pancakes that he secretly baked overnight in his arms, and escaped the search and gave them to Zhu Yuanzhang. When Zhu Yuanzhang saw the slightly hot pancakes and the scalded Ma Xiuying, Zhu Yuanzhang vowed to be good to Ma Xiuying for the rest of his life. With the help of Ma Xiuying, Zhu Yuanzhang once again persevered. Later, with the help of his brothers, he left the prison and went to the front to kill the enemy. In order to reassure Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang not only kept his new wife Ma Xiuying as a hostage, but also only asked to open up a new base with his best seventeen brothers, plus a total of eighteen people. Soon after, with the help of the famous man Li Shanchang, Zhu Yuanzhang's army was disciplined and strict, so the army grew rapidly. Ma Xiuying not only gave birth to a child for Zhu Yuanzhang, this is the later prince Zhu Biao, but also returned to Zhu Yuanzhang's side. Guo Zixing was jealous of his ability and prestige was not enough, so he made everyone betray his relatives, so Guo Jiajun was about to fall and scatter. Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the advice of Li Shanchang and his wife Ma Xiuying, and launched an attack to incorporate all the Guo family troops under his command. Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang has his own army and base area. Soon after, Zhu Yuanzhang got generals Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, etc., and invited military advisers Liu Ji and Liu Bowen. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty was established, and the great mountains and rivers were gradually unified. Every time Zhu Yuanzhang wants to be comfortable and enjoy, Queen Ma Xiuying always hums a flower drum play, or uses suona to blow the Fengyang tune. As soon as he heard about his hometown, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately remembered his father who hanged himself and killed his mother on his kang. I remembered my own difficult childhood, hard youth. forced Zhu Yuanzhang to work hard. ”

After glancing at everyone, the master continued. He said: "Since Zhu Yuanzhang became Emperor Taizu Hongwu, he not only sealed his brothers and comrades-in-arms, but also began to reward his family members vigorously. Queen Ma is absolutely in charge of **, and her status is unmatched. As the emperor's hometown, although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't want to go back to Fengyang, which made him sad, his parents were buried in Fengyang. Zhu Yuanzhang established an ancestral mausoleum in his hometown, and named his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather as emperors, and his poor relatives became relatives of the emperor. It's a pity that not long after, Queen Ma died, and Zhu Yuanzhang was missing someone to restrain him. Zhu Yuanzhang, who is suspicious and stingy, distrusts his little brothers more and more. One by one, the great heroes who contributed to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty have become Zhu Yuanzhang's goals. Many of the original brothers not only died well, but even their descendants almost died. Only a few family members who stayed in Fengyang escaped the disaster. ”

Some officers and soldiers who didn't know the truth showed a look of surprise, they didn't expect this old ancestor to be so ruthless.

The master said: "There are more than three in Fengyang, first, there are many broken families of the emperor's relatives and relatives. Second, there are many children of unlucky heroes. Third, there are many eunuchs who have fallen from power. In Fengyang, there are many poor relatives who only have fame and no status and wealth. These people are tyrannical in the local area, and they are the emperor's own family or relatives. The descendants of those unlucky heroes gradually became emboldened, not only began to secretly annex land, but also openly colluded with the government to oppress the local people. The eunuch is another scenery here, although it is said that the phoenix is not as good as the chicken, but the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse. Most of these eunuchs who used to have a good time were eunuchs who committed crimes. They were sent here to guard the tomb of Emperor Taizu's father, which was already unlucky enough. But they can't stand up to their money, these eunuchs who have no descendants have roots, and what they like most in their lives is to make money. This money can not only buy food and drink, but also buy a way out and a way back. These eunuchs, who should have been beheaded or sent to more miserable places, used money to open a bloody path, and stayed here not only to survive, but also to have a chance to make a comeback in the future. After the emperors of all dynasties registered, they would have a big move against the eunuchs. When Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of Hongwu, in order to ensure the status of the crown prince Zhu Biao, Empress Ma suggested that Zhu Yuanzhang carry out a purge of the eunuchs in the palace. drove some old and uneasy people out of the palace. After the death of Queen Ma, soon the crown prince Zhu Biao also died. This dealt a great blow to Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, and more eunuchs colluded with foreign ministers and vassal kings in an attempt to oust Zhu Yuanzhang from power. Zhu Yuanzhang once again lit up the butcher's knife and killed nearly half of the eunuchs at once. And some of the remaining eunuchs were imprisoned in this Fengyang ancestral tomb. After Zhu Yuanzhang's grandson Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, Emperor Jianwen listened to the words of his teacher Huang Zicheng and cleaned up the eunuchs in the palace again. Kill some eunuchs who are secretly connected with the feudal kings in various places, and close them off. Another group of eunuchs went to Fengyang. Zhu Di, the fourth son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the fourth uncle of Emperor Jianwen, united several brothers to successfully rebel against his nephew Emperor Jianwen, not only forced Emperor Jianwen away, but also became Ming Chengzu. When he became emperor, the first thing he did was to clean up the eunuchs. Some eunuchs loyal to Emperor Taizu and Emperor Jianwen were once cleared. Although a lot of them were killed, another group of eunuchs went to the ancestral tomb. From then on, every emperor would send batches of eunuchs who had lost power to the ancestral tomb. There are more and more eunuchs in Fengyang City, and there is a name for the 'eunuch's nest'. ”

The eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were the strangest, and even if the eunuchs of other dynasties were majestic, they did not have the prestige of the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty. Originally, eunuchs were servants of some high-status royal families, and they were called "eunuchs" in ancient times. Why is it called "eunuch"? Because they have lost their right to be men. It turned out that there was only one man in the royal backyard, and the others were women. Because in order not to ****, men can't enter **. The only exception is the king himself. But there are more women, and things are not completely calm. Women love to be jealous and calculating, and they always cause bloodshed for these little things. Knowing that a man who was born with a disability was mistaken for a woman and sent in**. The king found that this man who did not grow a beard was not only stronger than a woman, but also could not be as petty as a woman, and had a special loyalty to his master. The king found a few more such men, and found that this kind of man is not only docile, but also not ****, and can also improve the state of ** women. It's a pity that there are not many of them, and later it was found that after castrating the roots of some normal men's offspring, the effect was the same. The king chose some acceptable castrations from some prisoners who had committed serious crimes and were about to kill their heads, and after a period of training, they became "eunuchs" who served their masters. The first "eunuch" to gain power was Zhao Gao, the eunuch next to Qin Shi Huang, who, after the death of Qin Shi Huang, falsely passed on a holy decree to establish Qin Shi Huang's second son Hu Hai as emperor. Later, the famous idiom "refers to the deer as a horse", which is about him. In the Tang Dynasty, the "eunuchs" were renamed eunuchs. At this time, because of the unique culture and concepts of the Tang Dynasty, eunuchs had the same dignity as human beings. But eunuchs are still servants and are still looked down upon by some people, especially literati and officials. Until the time of the Ming Dynasty, the suspicious emperor Zhu Yuanzhang did not trust his officials, and secretly sent his own eunuchs and privately organized people to monitor the officials. These people who sped on the privacy of officials and secretly spied on the inside and outside of the court were the famous Jinyiwei and Dongchang. From then on, the status of eunuchs suddenly rose to the same high status as officials. Some generals who have heavy troops in their hands have eunuchs by their side. They supervised the generals on behalf of the emperor and, if necessary, directly took over the generals' military power. There are not only spies and guards around the local officials, but also eunuchs who watch the officials openly. Anyway, the number one at that level has a eunuch of equal status by his side. These inhumane eunuchs trembled all of a sudden, not only were they no longer inferior, but they also became superior people. In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, officials not only stopped arguing with eunuchs, but were also more proud of being able to worship the eunuchs in power as godfathers. Some powerful eunuchs not only have many eunuch godsons, but also many godsons and godbrothers who are high-ranking officials. This is the strange image of the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty.