What was Zhang Shicheng doing when Zhu Yuanzhang was at war with Chen Youliang? Why doesn't he fish in troubled waters?

At the end of Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng became powerful vassal forces at that time. Among them, as far as Zhang Shicheng is concerned, in the 13th year of Zheng Zheng (AD 1353), he, Di Shide and Shi Xin led Ding Yan to take over Taizhou, Xinghua and Gaoyou. The following year, in Gaoyou, he was called Wang Cheng, the title of Zhou, blessed by the gods, led troops to cross the river and captured Changshu, Huzhou, Songjiang and Changzhou.

In September of the 23rd year of Yuan Dynasty (1363), the territory occupied by Zhang Shicheng reached Shaoxing in the south, Xuzhou in the north and Jingou in Jining. It occupies Runingfu (runan county, Henan), Yingzhou (Fuyang, Anhui), Haozhou (northeast of Fengyang, Anhui) and Sizhou (Xuyi, Jiangsu) in the west, and reaches more than 2,000 miles to the sea in the east. So, the question is, what was Zhang Shicheng doing when Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang were at war? Why doesn't he fish in troubled waters?

First of all, there is a saying about Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng that "(Chen) friends are the most rebellious and (Zhang) scholars are the richest". However, in the end, both Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng were destroyed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

In order, Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed Chen Youliang first, and then defeated Zhang Shicheng's massive attack. So from the perspective of hindsight, when Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang were fighting, Zhang Shicheng could have attacked Zhu Yuanzhang behind his back, thus taking advantage of the fisherman. In A.D. 1363, Chen Youliang led 60 Wan Shuijun to attack Zhu Yuanzhang, but he was defeated in Poyang Lake. Chen Youliang died at the age of 44.

After Chen Youliang's death, Zhang Dingbian and others made Chen Li, the second son of Chen Youliang, emperor in Wuchang, and changed his name to Deshou. The following year, Zhu Yuanzhang rose from Liao Yongzhong, made a western expedition to Wu Jun, arrived at Wuchang at the gates, and David Li Chen surrendered. In this regard, in my opinion, when Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang confronted each other at the peak, Zhang Shicheng missed the opportunity for the following reasons. On the one hand, Zhang Shicheng's short-sightedness and small pattern are the important reasons why he didn't fish in troubled waters for Zhu Yuanzhang.

Before going to war with Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang faced two major forces, Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, and was not sure which side should be dealt with first. In other words, for Zhu Yuanzhang, he is also worried that when attacking one side, the other side will take the opportunity to attack.

At the end of Yuan Dynasty, the territory of Zhu Yuanzhang was just between Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng. Coupled with the influence of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, it was the land of four wars. On this basis, Liu Bowen said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "I am sincere and self-controlled, and I am careless. Friends don't dare to rob the Lord, their names are not correct, their land is high, and they forget themselves day by day. Make it clear first. Chen's downfall and Zhang's potential loneliness can be decided at one stroke. Then go north to the Central Plains, and Wang Ye will succeed.

In Liu Bowen's view, Zhang Shicheng has more than enough defense and less attack, so there is no need to worry too much, while Chen Youliang is ambitious and should destroy Chen Youliang first. It was at Liu Bowen's suggestion that Zhu Yuanzhang made up his mind to go to war with Chen Youliang.

It is worth noting that Liu Bowen's judgment on Zhang Shicheng hit the nail on the head. Sure enough, in the battle of Poyang Lake, Zhang Shicheng almost stayed put.