Why did Xu Da become the first person who contributed to the founding of the Ming Dynasty?

Xu Da (1332- 1385), a native of Yongfeng Township (now northeast of Fengyang, Anhui Province), was a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, an outstanding strategist and commander in chief.

General Xu was one of the most popular heroes in the early Ming Dynasty. He was Zhu Yuanzhang's childhood playmate. Zhu Yuanzhang relied heavily on him and called him "the first hero of the founding of the country", but according to folklore, he was finally killed by Zhu Yuanzhang's steamed goose. There are countless mysteries and legends surrounding the general. What magnificent life has he had?

Because of his poor family background and the tempering of hard life, he grew up burly, determined and resourceful. Xu Da served as the supreme military commander for a long time in the war of Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty to pacify the separatist regime, overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty and establish the Ming Dynasty. He fought many wars and achieved remarkable achievements. He "takes wisdom and courage as the pillar", "sweeps Jianghan, clears Huai and Chu, sweeps the Central Plains with electricity, and goes straight to the Great Wall". He made great contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang's establishment of the Ming Dynasty, and was known as the "first hero of the founding of the country" in the Ming Dynasty.

In June of 13th year of Zheng Zhi (1353), Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his hometown to recruit soldiers. When Xu Da, 22, heard the news, he resolutely joined the army, defected to Zhu Yuanzhang's subordinates, and began his military career with Zhu Yuanzhang.

This year, Xu Da and Zhu Yuanzhang successively conquered Xintang, Sanchahe and Yangquan in Hezhou, saved the camp of the great scholar Huachi and captured Xuguancang Village, and Zhu Yuanzhang's department gained great momentum. In May of 14th year, Xu Da conquered Quanjiao with Zhu Yuanzhang and Chuzhou in July. In the first month of the fifteenth year of spring, Zhu Yuanzhang's troops stationed in Chuzhou attacked Hezhou (now Anhui County) for lack of food to raise rations. Xu Daxian led the army and captured Hezhou with Zhang and Tanghe. Xu Da attacked Hezhou with outstanding military exploits and was promoted to town governor.

Shortly after Xu Da was appointed as the town governor, an extraordinary event happened in the Rebel Army: Sun Deya came to Hezhou for lack of food in the army and asked Zhu Yuanzhang for assistance. Zhu Yuanzhang put the overall situation first and let bygones be bygones. Guo Zixing, who was angry with Sun Deya, personally rushed from Chuzhou to Hezhou and reprimanded Zhu Yuanzhang. Sun Deya was very worried after hearing about it and wanted to slip away quietly. Zhu Yuanzhang could not stay long, so he had to see me off. About thirty miles out of the city, he suddenly reported that he was at war with Sun Deya, but Sun Deya did not leave the city. Sun Deya was caught by Guo Zixing and locked up in the city. Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised when he heard that he wanted to go back to the city to persuade Guo Zixing to let Sun Deya go. Sun Deya's men mistakenly thought that this was a conspiracy planned by Zhu Yuanzhang, so they tied him up and threatened to kill Zhu Yuanzhang and avenge his coach. Xu Da heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was detained in the city by Sun's subordinates, and his life and death were uncertain. He resolutely requested to replace Zhu Yuanzhang as a hostage to calm down the incident. After many mediations, Sun and Zhu released each other and the crisis was resolved. But in this incident, Xu Da won the appreciation of Zhu Yuanzhang, and the relationship between them became closer.

Soon, Guo Zixing died, and Zhu Yuanzhang became the actual leader of this rebel army. Zhu Yuanzhang felt that it was difficult to realize his grand plan only in Yizhou, so he had to cross the river and develop southward, suffering from no ships. While hesitating, Zhao Pusheng, Yu, Yu Tonghai, Liao Yongan, the leaders of Chaohu Water Army, led their troops into the battle. Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed, and said to Xu Da and others, "Fang seeks to cross the river, and the Chaohu Water Army is attached to it. I am doing a good deed! " Therefore, in June of the 15th year of Zheng Zheng (1355), Zhu Yuanzhang sent troops to deploy the operational strategy: "The quarrying town (now the quarrying town in Maanshan, Anhui) must be prepared. Niuzhuji (now southwest of the Yangtze River in Maanshan, Anhui Province) faces the great river, so it is difficult for him to get ready. If we attack it today, it will be defeated. " (2) Xu Da and all the generals, their troops, straight to NiuZhu Los Angeles. Chang Yuchun was ordered to be the pioneer, landing first, and Xu Da laid troops. After a period of fierce fighting, the Yuan army was exhausted and fled. Xu Da and others occupied Niuzhu and quarrying. Yuan troops along the Yangtze River fell with the wind.

Zhu Yuanzhang was encouraged by this victory, and according to the situation at that time, he put forward a plan to continue attacking the surrounding counties in time. He said to Xu Da and other generals, "We are lucky to cross the river today. If we win, we will have peace. If you listen to the army and get your property back, it will be difficult to raise it again. Jiangdong is not mine, it's a big deal! " Xu Da and others agreed. In order to strengthen the determination of the soldiers to move forward, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted the strategy of "putting them to death" and ordered to cut off the ferry cable and push the boat into the river and downstream. When all the soldiers saw it, Zhu Yuanzhang took the opportunity to say, "Those who achieve great things will not make small profits. Too close to peace. Why not give up and ridicule? " Soldiers must obey orders. After eating, they went to Taiping from Guandu (near quarrying) and arrived at the gate via Taiping Bridge. Soldiers rushed in, and the Yuan army guarding the city could not resist. Those who completed the garrison fled before entering the city, and captured thousands of households in Naha.

In March of the following year, Zhu Yuanzhang led an army to attack Qing Ji, and Xu Da was ordered to be the pioneer, leading the amphibious sergeant to go hand in hand. To Jiangning Town, Chen Zhaoxian's camp was broken, and Chen Zhaoxian led his troops to surrender and won more than 36,000 soldiers. After October, they attacked Qing Ji again and defeated the Yuan Army in Shan Jiang (now Zhongshan). Fushou, an imperial physician in the Yuan Dynasty, went out of the city to participate in the war and was defeated by Xu Da and others. Zhu Jun captured the city with 56 points. Sheng Feng led Chen Zhaoxian's troops to March forward and finally broke through the city gate and entered the city. Fu Shou died, and Man Zi fled to Zhang Shicheng in The Hague. Marshal Kang Maocai led more than 500,000 soldiers and civilians to surrender. After the occupation of Qing Ji, Zhu Yuanzhang changed Qing Ji Road to Yingtianfu Road.

In the river-crossing quarrying, Taiping and Qing Ji campaigns, Xu Da fought bravely and made outstanding achievements, becoming Zhu Yuanzhang's right-hand man.

After the occupation, Zhu Yuanzhang had a base area, and the food problem was basically solved, but the military situation was extremely grim: Yuan in the east would definitely defend Zhenjiang; Tsing yi army Zhang Mingjian according to Yangzhou; Zhang Shicheng occupied Pingjiang (now Suzhou, Jiangsu) and Changzhou, and also occupied parts of western Zhejiang. In the south, Yuan Yuan stationed Barner Buhua in Huizhou (now Shexian County, Anhui Province), You Mo in Chuzhou (now Lishui, Zhejiang Province), Shi Mo was born in Wuzhou (now Jinhua, Zhejiang Province), and Song stayed in Quzhou. Finally, Xu Shouhui captured Chizhou (now Guichi, Anhui). In order to get rid of the unfavorable military situation, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Xu Da as the general in the same month when he occupied Yingtian, and unified his forces to attack Zhenjiang, the gateway to the eastern front.

Before the army set out, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately discovered Xu Da's mistake and threatened to deal with it according to military law in order to rectify the army discipline and prevent soldiers from looting after entering the city. Secretly, I asked Li Shanchang to beg in front of everyone, and then I let him go and warned him face to face, "I started my own army, and I didn't kill him indiscriminately. Send your troops today, be my heart, and stop beating foot soldiers. At the gates, don't burn, don't rob and don't kill. Those who violate the order will be punished by military law, and those who violate it will not be forgiven. " The whole army stood in awe, and Xu Da and others led an army to attack Zhenjiang. In less than two days, they defeated the Yuan army guarding the city and killed the commanders Ding Ding and Duan Wu. Xu Da entered the city from Renhe Gate with a great army. The troops were disciplined and ordered to purge. The people lived as usual as if they had never fought a war, so they won the support of the people. The nearby places are all looking forward to their early arrival when they hear the news.

In the Battle of Zhenjiang, Xu Da was promoted to marshal of the whole army by virtue of his meritorious military service, guarding the country. He is conscientious. On the one hand, to appease the people and supervise farming and mulberry, on the other hand, to divide our forces to attack Jintan and Danyang, to consolidate Zhenjiang, the easternmost outpost, and to prevent Zhang Shicheng from invading the west.

In July of the same year, Zhu Yuanzhang claimed to be Wu Guogong, set up his own administrative organization, and at the same time set up his own military management organization, the Privy Council of Jiangnan Bank, and appointed Xu Da as the Privy Council. Xu Da, a colleague of the Privy Council in Jiangnan and commander-in-chief of Zhenjiang Army, repelled Zhang Shicheng's attack again and again and advanced to surround Changzhou.

However, the enemy troops on the defensive in Changzhou clung to the city and refused to surrender. Plus the soldiers in the city have enough food, so Xu Da and others can't attack. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately demoted Xu Da and his men by military law to show his punishment, and wrote a letter blaming Xu Da, saying, "Because of abuse, my mentor was useless, so I blamed the general, and the general encouraged me to make up for the past. Otherwise there will be no punishment! " Xu Da was anxious that Changzhou could not be attacked for a long time, and he had to ponder over Zhu Yuanzhang's humiliation and deal with Zhang Shicheng's repeated attacks. However, Xu Da's calm and commanding troops to fight made Zhang Jun's attempt difficult to succeed. At the same time, Chang Yuchun, Liao Yong 'an and Hu Dahai, who were stationed three miles outside the city, came to reinforce, attacked from inside and outside, defeated Zhang Jun, and captured the enemy general Zhang De alive. The remaining enemy escaped and ran into the city. Seeing that Changzhou was in danger, Zhang Shicheng sent an expert, Lv Zhen, to sneak into Changzhou by night to strengthen his defense ability. Xu Da overseers took turns to storm, seeing that morale was low and it was difficult to support, so they had to abandon Changzhou and flee. In March of the 17th year of Zheng Zheng (1357), the battle of Changzhou, which lasted for half a year, finally ended successfully. Zhu Yuanzhang set up the Privy Council of Changchun in Changzhou, appointed Xu Da as the Privy Council, and Tang He as the Privy Council's companion, and unified the army to guard the city.

Then, Xu Da and others fought against Ningguo (now Xuancheng, Anhui Province), won more than 100,000 soldiers and 2,000 war horses, and then attacked Yixing, Changshu, Jiangyin and Mashusha (now Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province) and other places. The line from Yixing to Jingjiang is all owned by Zhu Yuanzhang.

After more than two years' efforts, Zhu Yuanzhang's regime in the south of the Yangtze River centered on Yingtian gradually stabilized, and generally controlled Jiangsu, southern Anhui and northwestern Zhejiang. Xu Da, as the commanding general under Zhu Yuanzhang, has made outstanding achievements.

In April of the 23rd year of Zheng Zheng (1363), Chen Youliang "hated the shrinking of its territory", built a huge ship several feet high, assembled an army of 600,000 people and swarmed into Nanchang. Zhu Jun garrison commander Zhu Wenzheng, Deng Yu, Zhao Desheng and Xue Xian led the troops to the death for 85 days, while Chen Youliang held the city back. Nanchang defenders fought bloody battles, which won valuable time for Zhu Yuanzhang to calmly adjust his troops and prepare for a decisive battle with Chen Youliang.

On the sixth day of July, Xu Da followed Zhu Yuanzhang's instructions and went to Li to rescue Nanchang. Zhu Yuanzhang took an oath in Longjiang (now outside Zhong Xing, Nanjing, Jiangsu) and led 200,000 troops to attack Chen Youliang. When Chen Youliang heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was advancing, he broke the siege of Nanchang and returned to Poyang Lake in the east. This is a decisive battle related to the life and death of both sides, which is called "the Battle of Poyang Lake" in history. As the main force, Xu Da led the army first, then joined forces with Chen Youliang in Kang Langshan (now Kangshan, Nanchang, Jiangxi), and the two armies confronted each other by the lake. Chen Youliang's army is huge, and its ships are tall and aggressive. Xu Da waded in and took the lead, risking his life to rush into the battle. His men and soldiers were greatly encouraged and they all fought bravely. Xu Da defeated Chen Youliang striker in one fell swoop, killed more than 1,500 people and seized a huge ship, winning the first battle. Then Yu Tonghai and others shot in the wind, burned more than 20 enemy ships, burned to death and drowned many enemy troops. Xu Da fought tenaciously and continuously in the enemy lines. The fire burned from enemy ships to Xu Dali's warships. While directing the soldiers to put out the fire, he continued to fight against Chen Jun. The more he fought, the braver he became, and he directed the warships to advance to the enemy lines. The two sides fought fiercely in Kang Langshan all day. The lake was red with blood, and the sky was dark with gunfire and smoke. Zhu Jun led Xu Da and other brave generals to resist Chen Youliang's attack to the death. In this campaign, Xu Da won the first battle, which strengthened the prestige of the whole army and laid the foundation for Zhu Yuanzhang to win the decisive battle. That evening, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Xu Da to quit fighting and defend his life for one day in order to prevent Zhang Shicheng on the eastern front from invading by the Poyang Lake War. After Xu Da left, Zhu Yuanzhang commanded the officers and men to continue fighting bloody battles with Chen Youliang on Poyang Lake, and finally killed Chen Youliang, wiped out the main force of Chen, and won the battle of Poyang Lake.

Xu Da returned to Yingtianhou, trained strictly and strengthened the eastern garrison. Reconnaissance and repair of the city, Zhang Shicheng is flawless, and we dare not invade rashly. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang praised Xu Da and said, "I made Xu Da feel most at ease when he returned to Yingtian. No matter what problems he encounters, he can handle them properly. " It can be seen how much Zhu Yuanzhang trusted Xu Da.

After the battle of Poyang Lake, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the army, and Xu Da led the army to conquer Luzhou. Soon, he was ordered to return to the front line of Huguang. Xu Da led his troops to capture Jiangling, Yiling (now Yichang, Hubei), Xiangtan (now Xiangtan, Hunan), Chenzhou (now Yuanling, Hunan), Hengzhou (now Hengyang, Hunan), Baoqing (now Shaoyang, Hunan), Jingzhou (now Jingxian, Hunan) and other places, completely eliminating the remnants of Chen Youliang and occupying Huxiang area. In the battle to destroy the separatist group in Chen Youliang, Xu Da fought for dozens of battles. In recognition of Xu Da's achievements, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself Wu Hou in the first month of the 24th year, and appointed Xu Da as the left, ranking above others.

In October of the 25th year of Zheng Zheng (1365), Xu Da and others were ordered to go hand in hand with "ma bu" or horse stance just look and captured Huaidong, Taizhou and other places. The army crossed the Yangtze River, conquered the Haian Dam in Taizhou (now Haian in Jiangsu) and surrounded Taizhou. After more than a month of bloody fighting, Taizhou was finally conquered, and more than 5,000 people were arrested and defended by Yan Zaixing. Later, Xu Da captured Tongzhou, Xinghua and Haozhou. In these battles, Xu Da learned quickly and changed endlessly, showing excellent command ability.

On August 12th, 26th year, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Xu Da as general and Chang Yuchun as deputy general, and led 200,000 troops to crusade against Zhang Shicheng. Xu Da used the double agent to win and completely isolated Zhang Shicheng's lair at Pingjiang (see the Battle of Pingjiang). The following year, Xu Da personally led the soldiers to break through Fenmen, and the army entered the city at Pingjiang. Zhang Shicheng was fighting in the street, but his soldiers had no fighting spirit and surrendered in succession. Zhang Shicheng saw that the tide was gone, set fire to his wife and children, hanged himself behind closed doors, and was saved by this department. Xu Da escorted him to Yingtian. On the day of breaking the city, Xu Da strictly bound his subordinates and issued a military order: "Those who rob the people and wealth die, those who destroy the house die, and those who leave the camp for 20 miles die!" Leading the army into the city, strict military discipline, no offense in autumn, won the hearts of the people. Xu Da was awarded the highest title for meritorious service.

On October 21st, the first year of Wu (1367), Xu Da led a division of 250,000 troops from Huaihe River to the north to take the Central Plains (see the Battle of Ming and Yuan Dynasties). In December, Jinan was conquered (see the Ming Dynasty attacking Shandong), and 3,855 Yuan troops and 429 war horses were captured. In the sound of successive victories of the Northern Expeditionary Army, Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in Yingtian in the first month of the following year, with the founding name Daming and Jianyuan Hongwu. Xu Da was named Prime Minister of Zhongshu Right, Shaojun.

After Yuan Shundi fled to the capital, he still maintained a set of government agencies and still possessed certain military strength. In February of the second year of Hongwu (1369), General Xu Da's army captured Shanxi (see Ming's attack on Shanxi) and Qinlong (see Ming's attack on Gansu and Shaanxi). In the whole campaign of sweeping down the right side of the mountain, starting from Qin Long, Xu Da seized the opportunity of Timur's northward extension, left Yanmenguan, attacked Peiping, took advantage of it, and went straight to Taiyuan, overturning the extended nest, making it in a dilemma and pacifying Shanxi in one fell swoop. The Yuan Army in Shaanxi seized the opportunity of Li Siqi and Zhang Si Road and did not dare to take the initiative to attack. They went straight into Fengyuan, advanced into Lintao and besieged Qingyang, as if to destroy everything, leaving Li Siqi, cutting off Zhangsi Road and closing Gansu at a noble pace. Xu Da's surprise attack, incessant fighting, expected the enemy to win, showed his courage and command ability.

After Xu Da made his fortune in Qinlong and decided to close down Guanlong, the northern territory of Ming Dynasty had reached Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu. However, Kuokuokuo Timur was still stationed in Sheneryu (now northwest of Dingxi, Gansu). Anger suddenly replied that he was stationed in Yunzhou (now Yunzhou Town, north of Chicheng, Hebei), Naha was stationed in Jinshan, and Abraham was stationed in Xiliangzhou (now Wuwei, Gansu). Timur's activities were rampant in the northwest, so he took Xu Da's troops to pacify Guanlong and won a great victory in the capital, and laid siege to Lanzhou on a large scale. In the spring of the third year of Hongwu (1370), Xu Da was ordered to be the general of the expedition, and led Li Wenzhong, Shengfeng, Deng Yu, Tanghe and others to divide their troops to sweep away the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty invading the north (see "The First Battle of Ming Taizu Desert Exploration"). Xu Da marched from Tongguan to the west, stormed Dingxi on the west road, and expanded the profile. Xu Da led the army northward this time, and won a great victory, forcing the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty to retreat to Yingchang and Dingxi. Since then, the defense in the north of the Ming Dynasty has tended to be stable.

In November of the same year, Xu Da moved troops back to Korea, and Zhu Yuanzhang personally went to Longjiang to meet the soldiers of the Northern Expedition. Subsequently, Xu Da, the hero of the great seal, awarded the founding of the People's Republic of China, assisted transportation, advocated honesty, promoted Dr. Guanglu, Zuo, a teacher and Prime Minister Zhongshu Right to join the army as a state affairs, and named Wei Guogong, aged 5,000 stone, and his descendants were hereditary.

In order to further crack down on the remnants of the Yuan Army, in the first month of the fifth year of Hongwu (1372), Xu Da once again led the army northward as a general (see the second desert expedition). This is a large-scale military operation, divided into three roads, "clearing the desert" (referring to using troops to deal with Mongolia). Xu Da from yanmenguan fortress, straight for the forest, as the route army. In March, Master Xu arrived at the Shanxi border and sent Aquamarine as the pioneer, leaving Yanmenguan and advancing northward. Aquamarine defeated the mobile troops of Tuoba Department in Yemachuan, and Xu Da led the army to tuul river (now tuul river of Mongolian People's Republic), and then defeated Tuoba Army. After the defeat, he joined with He Zongzhe as one army, set an ambush in the north of Lingbei, and stopped Xu Da troops. Expanding the outline and making a desperate attack together, the Ming army was frustrated and killed tens of thousands of people. Xu Da calmly accepted the challenge, stopped fighting and stood firm, so as to avoid a crushing defeat. Then, Xu Da rally troops to return, rally troops, keep the plug. Seeing this, I dare not rashly pursue it.

Because Mongolia's military power was difficult to destroy for a while, the Ming Dynasty's strategy to the north changed from attack to defense. Since then, Xu Da has been training in Beiping and Shanxi for a long time, guarding Beiping for more than ten years.

During his stay in Beiping, Xu Da moved Shanxi farmers to Beiping for reclamation three times to strengthen Beiping's defense. Xu Da scattered them to the health centers along the Great Wall and taxed them according to their household registration. Those who belong to military households get clothes and food, so they should be sent to the army; Those who belong to private families are given fields, cattle and seeds to pay rent tax. Before and after, more than 35,000 households190,000 people migrated, more than 250 settlements were established, and cultivated land 1300 hectares were reclaimed. These measures taken by Xu Da greatly eased the food supply problem of the northern army and made the northern frontier of the Ming Dynasty more and more stable. At the same time, Xu Da strictly trained foot soldiers, repaired the city, and strengthened its garrison to guard against the invasion of Mongolian troops. Xu Da is on the Great Wall. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, with the improvement of civil servants' status, military attaché s who had made great contributions in the past gradually got the cold shoulder, while Xu Da was always reused by Zhu Yuanzhang, defending the security of the northern part of the Ming Dynasty.

Long-term military career, running around tired, let Xu Da's body gradually support not to live, finally break down from constant overwork, easily fall down. In October of the seventeenth year of Hongwu (1384), Xu Da was seriously ill in Beiping, and Zhu Yuanzhang sent messengers to call him back. On February 20th of the following year, he died in Yingtianfu at the age of 54. Chasing Zhongshan Wang and Shi Wuning. Give the burial of Zhongshan, enjoy the ancestral temple, ranking first in the group.

Regarding the cause of Xu Da's death, there are historical records: "(Xu) was sick and gangrenous, just recovered, and was given a steamed goose and died of tears." Although these materials are not completely reliable, they are not fabricated at will. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, in order to ensure the "eternal series" of Zhu Ming dynasty, he did everything possible to strengthen the imperial power, and whatever he thought hindered dictatorship, whether it was a master or a general, was eliminated. Hu, the blue army, almost wiped out the old heroes. A year ago, he secretly poisoned Li Wenzhong, his adopted son and nephew, who were in the north and southern operations. Although Xu Da is the first hero of the founding of the People's Republic of China, his contribution to the world is enormous, and he has always been faithful. However, the fact that Zhu Yuanzhang "gave steamed geese" is not necessarily false when he thinks of his shock.