Cao Cao and Zhu Yuanzhang did not dare to proclaim themselves king easily. Why did Li Yuan dare to proclaim himself emperor immediately?

At that time, in addition to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Sheng, there were also Liu Ji and Liu Bowen who had the same views.

Liu Ji (July 1, 1311 - May 16, 1375), Han nationality, named Bowen, was a native of Nantian Township, Qingtian County, Chuzhou (now Wencheng County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province), so Known as Liu Qingtian, he was a military strategist, politician, writer, and the founding father of the Ming Dynasty in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties. In the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370), he was granted the title of Uncle Chengyi, so he was also called Liu Chengyi. In the ninth year of Zhengde reign of Emperor Wuzong, he posthumously gave him the posthumous title of Grand Master, Wencheng. Later generations called him Liu Wencheng and Wencheng Gong. From the Yuan Dynasty to the Shun Dynasty, he was promoted to Jinshi. He was well versed in classics and history, and was especially good at studying Xiangwei. His contemporaries compared him to Zhuge Liang. In the 19th year of Zhizheng (1359), Zhu Yuanzhang heard about the names of Liu Ji and Song Lian, and came here with courtesy. He wrote a letter stating eighteen policies on current affairs and was highly favored. Participated in planning military plans such as the pacification of Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang and the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. In the first year of Wu (1367), he was appointed Taishi Ling and entered the "Wushen Datong Li". Please enact legislation to stop indiscriminate killing.

Liu Ji also said a very famous saying: The one who succeeds in the way of heaven wins.

Liu Ji’s six words are also very insightful. They are a detailed explanation of Zhu Sheng’s three words "slowly becoming king". How to say it? In other words, why should we "slowly become king"? Because "the one who succeeds in the way of heaven wins". Don't rush to become king, because the laws of history tell us that the first wave of troublemakers will fail, and those who strike later will win.

So why do the first wave of troublemakers fail, while those who strike later and start their troops later are more likely to succeed?

Take the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising, which was the first peasant uprising in the history of our country. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were the pioneers, while Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, etc. were the later ones. The first mover failed quickly, but Liu Bang had the last laugh. If we want to use the explanation of "the one who succeeds in the way of heaven wins", it means that all the firepower of the Qin Dynasty was aimed at the one who moved first until he was completely extinguished.

Although the rebels have spread all over the country, the Qin Dynasty wants to find a leader to attack, which has the effect of shocking the world, so the target of the attack is the person with the greatest power and the most famous reputation. After Chen Sheng was killed, the other rebel leaders were shocked, because he was equivalent to the leader of the rebel army. Since the alliance leaders were dead, everyone just said, "You go back to your Liusha River, and I will go back to my Gaolaozhuang," right?

As for the court giving priority to cracking down on those who proclaim themselves kings and emperors, the meaning is similar. Maybe you are not too strong, but if you proclaim yourself kings and emperors, then your reputation will be very strong against the current dynasty. , this situation will make the emperor and the bureaucracy feel insulted, and they will prioritize dealing with you. Likewise, the purpose is to shock the world.

We all know that Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period spent his whole life "holding the emperor to order the princes." Many people advised him to proclaim himself emperor, but Cao Cao said: If destiny is mine, I would like to be King Wen of Zhou. That is to say, if I really have this destiny, I will be King Wen of Zhou. Why do you say that? Because this king of King Wen of Zhou was posthumously named by his son King Wu of Zhou. In other words, Cao Cao never wanted to cross the Lei Chi or stand on his own behalf for the Han throughout his life. He wanted to leave this matter to his son Cao Pi.

Cao Cao, whose courtesy name was Mengde, whose given name was Jili, and whose nickname was Amo, was from Qiao County, Peiguo (now Bozhou, Anhui Province). He was an outstanding politician, militarist, writer, and calligrapher in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the founder of the Cao Wei regime in the Three Kingdoms. Cao Cao served as the prime minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty and was later granted the title of King of Wei, laying the foundation for the founding of Cao Wei. After his death, his posthumous title was King Wu. After his son Cao Pi became emperor, he was honored as Emperor Wu, with the temple name Taizu. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos. In the name of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao conquered the four directions, internally eliminated the separatist forces such as Yuan, Lu Bu, Liu Biao, Ma Chao, and Han Sui, and externally surrendered the Southern Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, etc., unified northern China, and A series of policies were implemented to restore economic production and social order, expand farmland, build water conservancy, reward mulberry farming, attach importance to handicrafts, resettle the exiled population, and implement "rent modulation", thus gradually stabilizing the society of the Central Plains and turning the economy around. Under the rule of Cao Cao, the Yellow River Basin gradually saw political clarity, the economy gradually recovered, class oppression was slightly alleviated, and social atmosphere improved. Some of the measures taken by Cao Cao in the name of the Han Dynasty had a positive effect.

Because Cao Cao was nominally a subject of the Han Dynasty throughout his life, if he proclaimed himself emperor, he would lose the support of the people and suffer losses in terms of righteousness. Many people will make a fuss out of this. Therefore, Cao Cao never thought about proclaiming himself king and emperor at first. He wanted to use the power of the Han Dynasty and tell the world that he was a supporter of the Han Dynasty. On the contrary, when someone proclaimed himself emperor, he spared no effort to attack him. For example, Yuan Shu was quickly defeated.

This is where Yuan Shu's irrationality lies. In the world at that time, the Han Dynasty obviously still had great appeal. To betray the Han Dynasty was to commit treason, and no one would support it. Therefore, Yuan Shu was hated by everyone. Although everyone no longer attaches too much importance to the puppet regime of Emperor Xian of Han, they at least show respect in name. This guy is the only one who dares to openly provoke and destroy him?

It took more than ten years for Cao Cao to become king, but he never became emperor throughout his life.

Zhu Yuanzhang's use of "slowly becoming king" is amazing, and can even be said to be a "thief". Probably by Zhu Yuanzhang's time, everyone's separatist mentality had become very strong.

Why do you say that? Because at the end of the Qin Dynasty, whether it was Chen Sheng, Liu Bang, Xiang Liang, or Xiang Yu, the first goal of their uprising was to overthrow the Qin Dynasty. It was not until the Qin Dynasty was overthrown that they began to plan for themselves and fight for it. The world. The era of Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously different, although Liu Futong and others of the Red Scarf Army were directly targeting the Yuan Dynasty. But people like Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, etc. regarded everyone as enemies from the beginning, whether it was the Yuan Dynasty or the rebels of other factions, they were all enemies anyway.

Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-June 24, 1398), Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, was named Guorui. [1] His original name was Chongba, [2] he was later named Xingzong. He was a native of Zhongli, Haozhou ( Today's Fengyang, Anhui Province), the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang was poor when he was young and used to herd cattle for the landlord. In 1344, he entered Huangjue Temple. [3] At the age of 25, he joined the Red Scarf Army led by Guo Zixing to resist the Yuan Dynasty. [4] In 1356, he was regarded as Wu Guogong by his generals. In the same year, Jiqing Road was captured and renamed Yingtianfu. In 1367, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were ordered to carry out the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains under the call of "expelling the Huru and restoring China" [5], ending the Mongolian rule in China, and the sixteen states of Yanyun that had been lost for four hundred years were also recovered. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Yingtian Mansion. His country was named Daming and his reign was named Hongwu. Later, he first pacified the southwest, northwest, northeast and other places, and finally unified China. [7] During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, in view of the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he carried out reforms in all aspects. Politically, he abolished the prime minister, established the Department of Proclaiming Political Envoys, the Department of Promoting Punishments and Prosecuting Envoys, and the Department of Commanding and Envoys to separate powers, further strengthening the power. Centralize power,[8] severely punish corrupt officials and illegal nobles[9]; implement the garrison system in the military, and carry out the Northern Expedition to the Yuan Dynasty; economically, engage in immigration and military settlements, build water conservancy, liberate slaves, reduce tax burdens, and send people to Measure land across the country, conduct household registration checks, etc. [10-11]; culturally, focus on education, promote imperial examinations, and establish Imperial College to cultivate talents [12]; strengthen overseas exchanges and restore China's status as a suzerainty [13]. After the efforts of the Hongwu Dynasty, social production gradually recovered and developed, which is known as the Hongwu Rule in history.

Among them, Zhu Yuanzhang used it even more to the point of proficiency. On the one hand, he was attached to Liu Futong's Red Scarf Army and was considered a member of the Red Scarf Army. On the other hand, he secretly communicated with the Yuan Dynasty many times to express his allegiance. In this way, the Yuan Dynasty always believed that Zhu Yuanzhang was easy to compromise (at least he appeared friendly and docile on the surface), and people like Liu Futong not only established the title of "Great Song", but also continued to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. Needless to say , they must fight "Da Song" first, because they are too arrogant.

Zhu Yuanzhang showed his survival skills in this gap and continued to develop and enrich his strength. After the south was basically pacified, the banner of attacking the Yuan Dynasty was officially raised. Of course, this is understandable. Chen Youliang and others also did it for their own development. The Yuan Dynasty wanted to rule for itself. In fact, there was no distinction between good and evil, but they were just successful kings and defeated bandits.

Zhu Yuanzhang's "slowly becoming king" is the most brilliant way to use it. In fact, as long as you form your own force, you will have the instinct of self-preservation, but most of the other forces are hiding it. On the surface, they are righteous and awe-inspiring. To preserve strength, only Zhu Yuanzhang established the course of action through Zhu Sheng's words.

The Sui Dynasty had actually lost the support of the people, and its ability to inspire was very weak. Due to the tyranny of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and the abuse of people's power in the three conquests of Goryeo, the world could no longer bear the burden, so the situation in the Sui Dynasty and the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty were different. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was around, no one dared to proclaim himself emperor publicly, and all expressed their obedience in name. The Eastern Han Dynasty had great influence among the bureaucracy and the people.

The Sui Dynasty was just the opposite. Everyone hated the Sui Dynasty, and whoever rebelled would get more support. This is why the Li Yuan Group was welcomed after entering Chang'an. The rebel army suddenly gained support from the local people and bureaucrats and nobles, and grew to more than 200,000 people. In fact, at first Li Yuan made Yang You a puppet emperor and wanted to use the banner of the Sui Dynasty, but later he realized that the Sui Dynasty had actually lost the support of the people and there was no need to do so, so he simply proclaimed himself emperor, which ushered in support.