Zhu Yuanzhang faced the sky, facing the sky, he was helpless. He turned to Guo Xing beside him, Guo Xing spread his hands, saying that there was nothing he could do but choose to persevere.
They waited, hoping that the direction of the wind would change.
On the afternoon when everyone was about to give up hope, the northeast wind suddenly rose. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately seized this opportunity and ordered the fireboat to attack. After the fireship was ignited, it took advantage of the wind to approach Chen Youliang's battleship. The warships locked in chains could not escape, and in an instant, they were swallowed by the sea of fire.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the whole army to launch a general attack, and the battlefield was filled with earth-shattering killing sounds. Chen Youliang was in the cabin of the Chinese army, dreaming of defeating Zhu Yuanzhang completely, when he was suddenly interrupted by the panic of the soldiers. He immediately rushed out of the hatch, and the sight of him was terrified—the eyes of the soldiers on the ship flashed red with fear.
The sunset is like blood, the blood on Poyang Lake is dyed red, and the former beauty has become a hell on earth. Chen Youliang's fleet was burned one by one, the flames soared into the sky, and the screams were endless. At this moment, Chen Youliang realized that his end had come.
Firelight, blood and remnant sun are intertwined into a tragic picture, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers are fighting to the end in this red, and life and death have long been decided by themselves. This battle is not only a contest of strength, but also a test of will. Although Chen Youliang lost, the cruelty of this gamble also makes people think deeply.
Chen Youliang's final blow: the white flagship
After Chen Youliang's tragic battle, he gathered his generals, and his eyes flashed with unwillingness and determination. In the face of the impending storm, he chose solidarity over blame. "We lost today, but the dawn of victory is still ahead. His voice was filled with strength and hope, and it was a strange conviction in all hearts.
At the same time, on Zhu Yuanzhang's flagship, cheers of victory have already sounded. With a smile on his face, Zhu Yuanzhang announced to his generals that the end of Chen Youliang had come. However, Xu Da's calm reminder was like a basin of cold water, which made Zhu Yuanzhang's smile a little deeper. "I know. His answer was full of meaning.
On the fourth day of the war, Chen Youliang had a glimmer of hope, and his self-confidence came from accurate intelligence - as long as Zhu Yuanzhang was killed, the tide of the battle could be reversed. However, fate always seemed to like to joke, and he was surprised to find that the enemy battleships had all turned white overnight, making it impossible to locate Zhu Yuanzhang's flagship.
The battle horn sounded again, and Zhu Yuanzhang's army drew courage and strength from past victories, and they flexibly used tactics to continuously sink Chen Youliang's heavy ships. From sunrise to sunset, the battle continued until Chen Youliang's army was exhausted and forced to retreat.
Chen Youliang failed miserably
Chen Youliang, a general who once held a lot of power, faced the heaviest moment of his life. He always believed that if he was cold and ruthless enough, the world could bow down at his feet. However, the cruel irony of fate forced him to face a painful truth - his creed is not omnipotent.
In the past, looking at the perseverance of Hongdu City and Zhang Ziming's bravery, unprecedented doubts arose in his heart. Is his approach, his path, really right? The betrayal of General Jin Wu on his left and right was like a sharp dagger, piercing his self-confidence. In the contest between anger and reason, anger prevails. His order to retaliate, in opposition to Zhu Yuanzhang's order of tolerance, became the last force that pushed him to the abyss.
Zhu Yuanzhang's benevolent strategy not only won the hearts of the people, but also deeply shook Chen Youliang's military morale. The flight of the soldiers and the departure of the generals left Chen Youliang alone in the face of desolation. His dreams, his ambitions, seemed to be shattered at that moment. From Hongdu's persistence to his final escape, Chen Youliang's life was full of dramatic changes.
His defeat was not only a military defeat, but also a complete repudiation of his life's creed. He never understood why a man with a strong army and a war machine could lose his loyalty and trust. He didn't realize that the real strength came not from fear and violence, but from the belonging of the human heart and the trust between each other.
Zhang Xueliang, who has experienced vicissitudes of life, once said to young people in Japan with his life's experience: Don't believe in violence, history has proven that violence cannot solve problems.
What he said is not only a piece of advice to future generations, but also a summary of countless tragedies in history. Chen Youliang's failure is a vivid embodiment of this lesson.
Chen Youliang, who has experienced countless battles, was extremely resolute in the final battle of Poyang Lake. He tried to retreat through the mouth of the lake, retaining a shred of life. However, in this battle, he is no longer the tough and invincible general of the past. In the desperate battle, he opened the passage with difficulty, as if he saw a glimmer of life.
But the cruelty of fate did not stop there. Zhu Yuanzhang, the opponent who has been oppressed by Chen Youliang for many years, vowed to completely defeat him. When Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the army in hot pursuit, Chen Youliang stood at the bow of the ship, bravely commanding the last resistance. However, a sudden cold arrow announced the end of his life. At that moment, Chen Youliang's heart may be full of doubts and remorse.
With the fall of Chen Youliang, Zhang Dingbian bravely fulfilled his responsibility and brought Chen Youliang's body and son back safely. The Battle of Poyang Lake, a decisive battle that lasted 36 days, ended with Zhu Yuanzhang's complete victory and Chen Youliang's complete defeat, laying the foundation for Zhu Yuanzhang to unify the world.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not let go of his old rival Chen Youliang's son Chen Li. Even if Chen Li didn't pose any threat to Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang still decided to do nothing and solve the problem completely.
In the spring of 1364, Zhu Yuanzhang personally led a team to Wuchang, which was Chen Youliang's former base camp and Chen Li's place of refuge. Zhang Dingbian, a seasoned general, saw the situation and surrendered with Chen Li. This move not only put an end to Zhu Yuanzhang's troubles, but also marked a more stable rule in China.
But when it comes to Zhang Dingbian, he is really a person with a story. His loyalty to Chen Youliang remained until the last moment, even if he finally chose to surrender. He rejected Zhu Yuanzhang's ** Houlu and chose the same path as Zhu Yuanzhang back then - becoming a monk. What's even more interesting is that he seemed to want to compete with Zhu Yuanzhang, and he lived to 1417, at the age of 100, twenty years longer than Zhu Yuanzhang, as if he was silently avenging Chen Youliang.
Here's a tip: When you hate someone so much that you want to fight him, think about Zhang Dingbian's story. Staying calm, taking care of your body, and living longer than your opponent may be the best counterattack.
Let's take a look at Chen Youliang again and give him a fair evaluation. True, by traditional standards, he was a badass, but his choice was not uncommon in those chaotic times. The problem is, he takes this option to the extreme. His violence and lack of credibility eventually led him to lose the hearts and minds of the people. Despite this, he was also a real strongman, brave and resourceful, daring to act, and insisted on resisting the Yuan Dynasty until the last moment.
In that troubled era, although he was a hero, the real hero was Zhu Yuanzhang.
How did the landlord come to be?
Zhu Yuanzhang has gone from a poor peasant beggar to a land-owning landlord. Such a change is not only a leap in personal destiny, but also touches the profound law of the historical development of feudal society. Here, I would like to talk to you about some stories and systems of the Ming Dynasty, and those seemingly esoteric historical and institutional issues. I believe that no matter how complicated the analysis of historical laws and systems is, they can be understood and understood by everyone in simple language.
In the long course of history, there is actually a certain pattern of how land ownership in feudal society has changed. When peasant rebels were victorious, their leaders tended to change from a fighter for equal land distribution to a landlord who owned large tracts of land. This phenomenon is like a historical cycle, and the peasant leaders after victory will almost always become the new landlord class, regardless of the dynasty.
Suppose, for example, a peasant leader named Zhang San who led an army of 30,000 men to victory and occupy a piece of land. The primary task facing Zhang San was to solve the problem of food and clothing for the army. He may have thought of snatching the landlord's food first, but he soon found that this was an unsustainable solution. Once the landlord's grain is robbed, what will happen next?
At this time, Zhang San's only option was to distribute the land in his hands to the peasants, let them cultivate, and then collect leases to sustain himself and the rebels. In this way, Zhang San, a peasant leader, was naturally transformed into a local advocate three.
The limitation of feudal society was that people had basically only two choices in terms of identity and lifestyle: either peasants who cultivated the land or landlords who owned the land. Businessmen, although they existed, did not have enough political power to push for social change at the time. They could not make political claims to the hungry peasants, nor could they demand social reforms for the rights of the merchants.
In this case, the peasant's appeal is simple, it is nothing more than the ownership of the land. As one historian put it, the 2,000-year-old peasant revolt was essentially a struggle for a piece of land of their own. There is no third option in this process.