After solving the tricky Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't plan to stop there. His next target is Zhang Shicheng, who is richer than him. The grievances between Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng are simply the main line in the script - although Zhu Yuanzhang feels that he has not particularly provoked Zhang Shicheng, but in Zhang's eyes, Zhu is a thorn in his side. With the fall of Chen Youliang, it was the turn of Zhang Shicheng, the head of the salt sellers.
Zhang Shicheng is by no means an easy opponent to deal with, and he has a group of loyal brothers around him, such as Zhang Shiyi, Zhang Shide, and Zhang Shixin. It's a pity that except for Zhang Shixin, everyone else has already died heroically on the battlefield. Today's Wu Guo, under the leadership of Zhang Shixin, is obviously not as good as before. It seems that Zhu Yuanzhang has no interference from his opponent this time.
In 1364, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself king of Wu, marking his transformation from an ordinary peasant to the king of a country. All this shows that as long as people have ambitions, no matter how difficult the road is, they can eventually blossom and bear fruit. In order to distinguish it from Zhang Shicheng's state of Wu, history called Zhu Yuanzhang's regime Western Wu, while Zhang Shicheng's was Eastern Wu. However, some historical records mention that Zhu Yuanzhang "established himself as the king of Wu", and the word "self-reliance" here implies that he did not get the official approval of the nominal emperor Han Lin'er at that time, which is quite a bit offensive.
By 1365, Zhu Yuanzhang began an attack on Eastern Wu, and after half a year of fighting, he captured almost all the important cities in the Jiangsu region. Just when he was about to clear the last obstacle and prepare to compete with the Yuan Dynasty, an unexpected news surprised him.
Unexpected betrayal
During Zhu Yuanzhang's conquest journey, a shocking news broke the peace: his nephew, Zhu Wenzheng, a hero on the battlefield, actually betrayed him and secretly joined forces with his enemy Zhang Shicheng, preparing to attack him. Although it was not the first time that Zhu Yuanzhang had been betrayed, Zhu Wenzheng's behavior still deeply hurt him. Why did even his most trusted nephew, the highly decorated general, betray him? The answer turned out to be because of the competition for official positions.
After the war, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Wenzheng what official position he wanted. Zhu Wenzheng pretended not to care, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to seal others first. Zhu Yuanzhang was ecstatic, thinking that his nephew was high-spirited, but it turned out to be a big misunderstanding. Zhu Wenzheng was actually waiting for a higher **, but he didn't expect Zhu Yuanzhang to be really so serious, and directly asked him to continue to guard Jiangxi, without giving him a better position.
At this time, Zhu Wenzheng was completely unhappy. He thought he had made a great achievement, but he was not duly rewarded, and his resentment and anger began to grow. Eventually, this feeling drove him to make the extreme choice: join forces with the enemy.
After Zhu Yuanzhang learned the news, he immediately put down the work in his hand and went to deal with it in person. The confrontation between him and Zhu Wenzheng was full of drama, and Zhu Yuanzhang was unceremonious and directly punished. Although he originally planned to execute Zhu Wenzheng, under the persuasion of Queen Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang finally chose to be imprisoned.
Behind all this, in fact, is the tragedy caused by the flaws in Zhu Wenzheng's personality. Although he was a military genius, he had a perverse personality and a narrow heart, and in the end, these character flaws led to his defeat.
Sure enough, character determines fate.
Zhu Wenzheng's betrayal was not only a profound personal disappointment for him, but also a great test of human nature. Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart has been full of distrust, and this shadow seems to have planted a time bomb in his heart, making him more wary of the people around him. But even so, his political and military ambitions did not weaken.
After inner struggle and preparation, Zhu Yuanzhang refocused his eyes on his old rival Zhang Shicheng. That year, he not only succeeded in forcing Zhang Shicheng's forces out of the north of the Yangtze River, but also pushed the front to the junction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, in the area of present-day Suzhou and Hangzhou. Zhu Yuanzhang's strategic vision shone again, and when faced with the next strategy plan, he had a difference of opinion with his two generals, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. They proposed to directly capture Pingjiang, but Zhu Yuanzhang put forward a plan to attack Hangzhou first and then Pingjiang, proving his strategic foresight.
Zhu Yuanzhang's military talent is not only reflected in strategic planning, but also in his humanized handling of war. He strictly ordered that after conquering the city, he should not kill at will, because he understood that winning the world was not only a victory in the battle, but more importantly, winning the hearts and minds of the people. This point, which he especially emphasized to Chang Yuchun, seemed to remind him to correct his excesses after the siege.
With Zhu Yuanzhang's careful planning and the superb command of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, the army quickly won victories in Hangzhou and Huzhou, and the capture of Pingjiang was just around the corner. Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the tent, the excitement in his heart was indescribable, he knew that he was one step closer to the dream of unifying the world.
Pingjiang Assault Battle
Pingjiang City, a fortress that claimed to be invincible, became the next target of Zhu Yuanzhang's conquest. The city's fortifications are a work of art, each gate is like an impregnable rampart, and the materials used to build it are so strong that even the glutinous rice is used to reinforce the walls, so that any enemy who comes close can be turned into an arrow hog in an instant. The city's food reserves were sufficient to sustain a long siege.
Zhang Shicheng, the man who stayed in the retreat city, seemed to have long been aware of Zhu Yuanzhang's threat, but his reaction was to stick to the end. Zhu Yuanzhang faced such an opponent and showed his unique strategic thinking. When his subordinates asked which city gate to attack, Zhu Yuanzhang's answer was simple and rude: go all out and attack in an all-round way. This strategy almost made later strategists look sideways.
Zhu Yuanzhang mobilized his generals and troops to attack from every angle of Pingjiang City, as if heavenly soldiers had descended from heaven and were everywhere. What's more, he built a long fence outside the city, almost making Pingjiang an isolated island. In order to overcome the problem of high walls and difficult attacks, Zhu Yuanzhang also introduced new tactics - the construction of wooden towers, which not only provided the advantage of high ground, but also equipped with bows and arrows and new artillery, allowing Zhu Yuanzhang's army to carry out precision strikes on the city from a high place.
However, Zhang Shicheng and his soldiers showed incredible tenacity and perseverance, and they persevered in such a difficult situation for eight full months. But in the end, under Zhu Yuanzhang's all-out offensive, Pingjiang City still fell.
Zhang Shicheng's ending
Until the last moment, when the city was broken, he still launched a desperate struggle in the streets and alleys, showing extraordinary courage. Zhu Yuanzhang promised that as long as Zhang Shicheng surrendered, he would not only spare his life, but also treat him and his family well, but this did not shake Zhang Shicheng's determination in the slightest. Faced with a desperate situation, he chose the extreme, killing his own relatives and attempting to kill himself, only to be saved by loyal men.
On the journey after being captured, Zhang Shicheng expressed his unyielding attitude with silence and hunger strike. No matter how Zhu Yuanzhang's minister Li Shanchang interrogated, he only received Zhang Shicheng's contemptuous gaze until Li Shanchang was angry. Zhang Shicheng's only response was contempt for Li Shanchang: "You are just a dog, call your master to come to me!" In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang came forward in person, although he tried his soft words, he could not shake Zhang Shicheng, he responded firmly: "You are not better than me, the reason why I lost is only because fate favors you." This sentence angered Zhu Yuanzhang and led to Zhang Shicheng's tragic end.
Zhang Shicheng, a self-reliant figure who started from scratch and became a hegemon, his life is a symbol of confrontation and rebellion. In the troubled times, he was not only for his own interests, but also against the ** of the Yuan Dynasty. Despite the surrender at one point, it was only a temporary strategy. In the last moments of his life, he showed courage and faith beyond fear, which is the highest respect for death.
After Zhu Yuanzhang cleared the obstacles in his path, he was about to face his final opponent.