Wang Bi defeated Chen Youliang and helped Zhu Yuanzhang, but was killed
The cunning rabbit dies, and the good dog cooks"This idiom originated from Fan Li in the Spring and Autumn Period, who, after helping Goujian, the king of Yue, defeat the state of Wu, chose to retire to the mountains and forests, and left a letter to Wen Chong, intended to warn him that after the death of the cunning rabbit, the hound would lose its value and would only end up being killed.
Fan Li hoped to use this to remind Wen Chong, but Wen Chong did not listen and was eventually killed. Since then,"The cunning rabbit dies, and the good dog cooks"It is used to describe the tragic fate of the founding heroes.
In Chinese history, many emperors seized power by force, and the heroes who helped them rise to power often faced this fate.
Although most of these emperors reused the founding heroes, there are also a large number of ** heroes, among which Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang is the most vicious, he has ordered the execution of all the heroes who helped him fight the world, only one minister is different, when he learned that Zhu Yuanzhang was going to kill him, he was calm and only made a small request to Zhu Yuanzhang.
After hearing this request, Zhu Yuanzhang readily agreed, and this minister was the general Wang Bi. Today, let's tell the story behind him.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there was a heroic figure known as the "King of the Two Swords", and his name was Wang Bi. Although there are not many records of him in the history books, his great military exploits are well known.
Wang Bi was born at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, his ancestral home was Dingyuan, and later moved to Fengyang, where he was a fellow countryman with Zhu Yuanzhang. At that time, the society was turbulent, the style of martial arts was strong, Wang Bi was strong in martial arts, good at using double knives, and was known as the "King of Double Blades".
In order to survive in this troubled era, he gathered many of his fellow villagers to form an army of rebels, showing his bravery and resourcefulness. Whether on the battlefield or in life, Wang Bi is known for his excellent double-knife skills and leadership skills.
Wang Bi, although he is a military general, he understands the righteousness and understands that if he wants to achieve a career in troubled times, it is far from enough to rely on his personal strength, and he must find a master to rely on.
In 1356 AD, Zhu Yuanzhang led the army to Dingyuan, Wang Bi saw that his temperament was extraordinary, and he must have the ambition of great success, so he took the initiative to take refuge. Zhu Yuanzhang had long heard of Wang Bi's name as the King of the Double Swords, and was very pleased with it and accepted him.
Since then, Wang Bi has become a fierce general under Zhu Yuanzhang. Initially, Wang Bi served as Zhu Yuanzhang's guard, and whenever Zhu Yuanzhang participated in a battle, he did not hesitate to rush to the front line, invincible, and made great achievements.
Before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Bi had been following Zhu Yuanzhang to fight the enemy on the battlefield. In the Battle of Huzhou, he successfully repelled Zhang Shicheng's army. Next, he played a key role in the attacks on Taiping, Longxing, Ji'an and other battles.
In the battles of Chizhou and Shidai, he killed the defender Temur Buhua, successfully captured the city, and captured 3,000 sets of armor. In the Battle of Poyang Lake, he took advantage of the water superiority and successfully blocked the advance of Chen Youliang's troops, winning a decisive victory for the Ming Dynasty army.
After that, Wang Bi led the army all the way forward, successively occupied Wuchang, Luzhou, Xiangyang and other places, and made great achievements for the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.
After Chen Youliang was defeated, Zhu Yuanzhang marched eastward and fought a decisive battle with Zhang Shicheng. In this fierce battle, Wang Bi still took the lead, defeated Zhang Shicheng's personal guards, and finally captured Zhang Shicheng himself.
When the south was pacified, Wang Bi followed the general Xu Da to the north to pacify the Yuan Dynasty, and fought from the capital of Yuan to Shaanxi, defeating the invincible Chahan Naoer. In the end, Wang Bi followed the army and returned to the dynasty with the victorious and majestic class.
It can be said that it is with the help of people like Wang Bi that Zhu Yuanzhang was able to rapidly develop and strengthen the Ming Dynasty, become a veritable founder of the Ming Dynasty, and received the rewards he deserved.
In the third year of Hongwu, he was awarded the title of Governor of the Metropolitan Prefecture and the hereditary commander.
After consolidating the regime in Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang was eager to unify the whole country. In the eleventh year of Hongwu and the fourteenth year of Hongwu, Wang Bi followed Mu Ying and Fu Youde to successfully conquer Xifan and Yunnan, and established immortal achievements.
He was thus awarded"Dingyuan Hou"The title. With the pacification of the south, Zhu Yuanzhang began the Northern Expedition. Because Wang Bi is experienced and has gone through a hundred battles, Zhu Yuanzhang is full of trust in him.
During Lanyu's Northern Expedition to Mongolia, Wang Bi was appointed as a deputy general to assist him. Lan Yu and Wang Bi led their armies deep into the vast expanse of the Mongolian steppe. Despite the numerous spies dispatched, they were never able to find any trace of the Mongol army.
Retreat without seeing the enemy, how to explain to Yuanzhang? This sentence woke up Lan Yu, and he realized that if he returned like this without gain, how could he return to Zhu Yuanzhang?
So, he ordered his soldiers to be stationed in the area, digging burrows, eating raw food, and secretly reconnoitring the traces of the Mongol army. Finally, the emperor lived up to his wishes, and in the eastern part of the fishing sea, Lan Yu's troops discovered the Mongol army hiding there.
So, he ordered Wang Bi to lead 10,000 horses and rush into the camp while the Mongol army was unprepared.
Wang Bi's exquisite tactics caught the Mongol army off guard and fled in a hurry. And their escape route was accurately outflanked by the blue jade army, and finally the Ming army annihilated them all.
Sapphire won a brilliant victory in this battle. With Wang Bi as the vanguard, he went straight to the enemy camp, Lan Yu and Wang Bi returned triumphantly, Zhu Yuanzhang praised their performance, and named Lan Yu as the Duke of Liangguo, and Wang Bi also received a certain reward.
This collaboration not only allowed the two to build a deep friendship, but also allowed them to achieve remarkable results in their respective fields. However, this deep friendship didn't last long.
After Lan Yu ascended to the high position, he betrayed Wang Bi. This incident has made people see the ugly side of power, and also let people see the fragility of friendship.
Zhu Biao is Zhu Yuanzhang's **, and Lan Yu is his candidate for general. But Zhu Biao died young, and Zhu Yuanzhang planned to let Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunwen succeed him. However, Zhu Yunwen's ability is not high enough to convince the public.
So, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to clear the court's capable ministers and pave the way for Zhu Yunwen. Lan Yugong is very shocking, Zhu Yuanzhang is very jealous of him, and has always wanted to get rid of him. And Lan Yu is proud of his high merit and has done a lot of outrageous things, giving Zhu Yuanzhang enough reasons.
Eventually, the Lanyu case broke out.
Long ago, Lan Yu was dissatisfied with Zhu Yuanzhang because of his arrogance and self-righteousness, but Zhu Yuanzhang punished Lan Yu appropriately because he loved Zhu Biao.
However, after Zhu Biao's death, Zhu Yuanzhang's hatred of Lan Yu reached its peak, believing that Lan Yu's actions were self-defeating. In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the execution of all ** related to Lan Yu**, including more than 10,000 large and small**, which is known as the "Lan Yu Case", and its cruelty is rare in history.
Emperor Hongwu decided to purge the generals associated with Lanyu, including Wang Bi. Wang Bi had a close relationship with Lan Yu and was promoted by Lan Yu, so he became Zhu Yuanzhang's target.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Wang Bi had no objection, he believed that Wang Bi's ability was comparable to Lan Yu, and if he was not eliminated, he might pose a threat to Zhu Yunwen. This was unacceptable to Zhu Yuanzhang, so he decided to kill Wang Bi.
Wang Bi was very clever, and he warned his sons not to resent the emperor, not to rebel, and to be loyal to the court. Although he knew his fate, he still died generously, hoping that Zhu Yuanzhang would take into account his loyalty and not accuse his sons.
Wang Bi told Zhu Yuanzhang his thoughts, relieved his doubts, and finally protected the continuation of the family and bloodline. Zhu Yuanzhang was grateful for Wang Bi's help, readily agreed to his request, and said with a smile: "It is exactly what I want." ”
Wang Bi said to Zhu Yuanzhang on his deathbed: "I have been assisting you all my life, and even if I die, I have no regrets." Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply moved, but for the sake of Zhu Ming's stability, he had to helplessly kill these people with high merit.
During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, many heroes were punished by the nine clans, Hu Weiyong, Li Shanchang and Lan Yu and other family members were killed or exiled, only Wang Bi's descendants were safe and sound, and even enjoyed glory and wealth, all because Wang Bi's words before his death deeply moved Zhu Yuanzhang and brought a better future for his descendants.
Of course, ancient emperors were often ruthless and unjust, and in order to maintain their regime, they could not hesitate to kill their brothers who had lived and died together, all with imperial power first, whether right or wrong.
In the political arena, protecting oneself is not only to avoid making mistakes, but more importantly, to learn to retreat bravely at critical moments. Zhu Yuanzhang's wanton killing of the founding heroes was not because they committed unforgivable crimes, but because they were too proud and brave to threaten his rule.
Wang Bi's death was not because of a crime, but because he didn't know how to retreat bravely and held military power in his hands, which made Emperor Hongwu worry about him the most. Even before his death, Wang Bi trained troops in Shanxi, Henan and other places.
Therefore, we need to make wise decisions at critical moments to avoid falling victim to the political storm.