The Founding Ceremony is the most anticipated moment for every entrepreneurial team, because it is a symbol of their hard work being rewarded, and the reward received is like an iron rice bowl, which can be passed down from generation to generation.
However, the process of awarding rewards is often fraught with uncertainty, as all decisions are in the hands of the emperor alone, even in the Ming Dynasty.
In the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang held the founding ceremony of the award, which makes people wonder why the ceremony was not held in the early days of the founding of the country? The answer is that Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country in 1368, he pacified the two major rebel forces in the south, and then faced a small force that was not worth talking about.
The only opponent is the Yuan Dynasty, if it is not established at this time, then when? Because once the Ming Dynasty was established, it was tantamount to denying the legitimacy of the Yuan Dynasty and announcing to the people of the world that the Ming Dynasty was about to replace the Yuan Dynasty, so that the people of the world could eliminate the resistance of the people of the world to the Ming Dynasty replacing the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang adjusted the traditional titles at the founding reward ceremony of the third year of Hongwu, and removed the last two sons and men of the duke, marquis, uncle, son and male, and only retained the duke, marquis and uncle.
In the end, a total of thirty-six people received these three titles. Among them, Xu Da, Li Shanchang, Chang Mao (the son of Chang Yuchun), Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, and Deng Yu are among the dukes; Tang He, Tang Shengzong, Lu Zhongheng, Zhou Dexing, Hua Yunlong, Gu Shi, Geng Bingwen, Chen De, Guo Xing, Wang Zhi, Zheng Yuchun, Fei Ju, Wu Liang, Wu Zhen, Zhao Yong, Liao Yongzhong, Yu Tongyuan, Hua Gao, Yang Jing, Kang Duo, Zhu Liangzu, Fu Youde, Hu Mei, Han Zheng, Huang Bin, Cao Liangchen, Mei Sizu, and Lu Ju are among the marquises; Liu Bowen and Wang Guangyang are earls.
It is worth mentioning that it is not easy for Liu Bowen and Wang Guangyang to get the earl, because none of the previous Wenchen have been knighted, in order to prevent this from happening again, Zhu Yuanzhang also clearly stipulated in the "Da Ming Law" that later Wenchen shall not be knighted.
Although Wang Yangming is a civil servant, he is also a military general, and his titles include military strategist, which shows that his comprehensive ability is very good.
Li Shanchang, both civil and military, Zhu Yuanzhang's butler, was his solid backing when he fought on the front line. He is not only responsible for all affairs in the rear, but also responsible for preventing those who try to sabotage Zhu Yuanzhang's career.
For example, when Zhu Yuanzhang had not yet crossed the Yangtze River and his base was in Hezhou, he went to attack the chicken coop cottage, but he encountered the danger of Yuan Kong coming to steal his home. Without Li Shanchang, Zhu Yuanzhang's plan may fall through.
Although this threat no longer existed after Zhu Yuanzhang captured Nanjing and expanded his territory, Li Shanchang's exploits were still indelible. He is Xiao He of Ming, worthy of the status of a duke.
So, what about Tang He? His contribution was just as important, so why couldn't he become a duke?
In Chinese history, there have been many visionary figures, and Zhu Yuanzhang is one of them. His participation in the rebel army stemmed from the revelation of a letter, and when he was still a small soldier, he had become a thousand generals.
However, what is even more amazing is that his Qian always obeys him, which is not only his vision, but also his influence. His influence was so great that some thought that it was not too much to give him the title of duke.
His exploits are not only qualifications, but also real military exploits, whether it is the destruction of Chen Youliang, or the destruction of Zhang Shicheng, or the destruction of the Yuan Dynasty, he has a figure. However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not give him the title of duke, but gave him the title of marquis, why is this?
Because he needs to serve the people. Zhu Yuanzhang put the four generals of the Chaohu Water Army in the marquis, and if Tang He was not placed in it, these four generals would definitely be dissatisfied.
Because, these four generals made indispensable contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang's capture of the Yangtze River and the capture of Nanjing. Zhu Yuanzhang's food problem gave him a headache, and he knew that Danyang Town, Gaochun, and Xuancheng near Taiping on the opposite side were all rice-producing areas, and as long as he occupied them, the food problem could be solved.
But the problem is that they are separated by a Yangtze River, which is difficult to cross. So, Zhu Yuanzhang began to look for a solution. At this time, he met Li Patou, the leader of the Chaohu Water Army.
Li Patou was suffering from the conflict with Zuo Junbi, and Zhu Yuanzhang needed his fleet. The two hit it off. Zhu Yuanzhang successfully crossed the Yangtze River and took the Taiping.
However, he threw Li Patou into the water and drowned, because he wanted to annex the Chaohu Water Army. Zhu Yuanzhang knew the importance of the navy, his ideal base was in Nanjing, and the vicinity of Nanjing was all waterways, and he could not defend without the navy.
Therefore, the development of Zhu Yuanzhang's navy is based on the Chaohu navy. After Zhu Yuanzhang killed Li Patou, the reason why the Chaohu Water Army did not rebel was because the other four leaders Zhao Yong, Liao Yongzhong, Yu Tongyuan, and Hua Gao all expressed their attitude of submission to Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, when Zhu Yuanzhang arranged all four leaders in the marquis at the founding ceremony, this made many people feel dissatisfied. Chaohu Water Army is an important part of Zhu Yuanzhang's entrepreneurial team, and they have made great contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang's success.
Therefore, some people question why their status is only slightly higher than that of the duke, and they are still close to the bottom of the marquis. This will undoubtedly be unconvincing. Zhu Yuanzhang arranged Tang He and Guo Xing as the Marquis, intending to balance their psychology and consolidate the loyalty of the Chaohu naval army. Guo Xing, as Zhu Yuanzhang's brother-in-law, could have a higher status, but Zhu Yuanzhang placed him in the marquis in order to strengthen his control over the Chaohu Water Army.
This is because the Chaohu Water Army defected to Zhu Yuanzhang back then, but nominally, they were Guo Zixing's son Guo Tianxu's subordinates. After Zhu Yuanzhang left Guo Zixing, Guo Zixing was driven away by the three major generals in Haozhou City in less than a year, and he had nowhere to go but to Zhu Yuanzhang. This led to the merger of Guo Zixing's army with Zhu Yuanzhang's, and as Zhu Yuanzhang's only boss and father-in-law, it would seem inappropriate to arrange him to work under him.
As a result, he is revered as a leader. After Guo Zixing's death, his son Guo Tianxu naturally became another leader. However, because the main force of the army at that time was Zhu Yuanzhang's subordinates, including Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen and other civil ministers and Chang Yuchun, Xu Da and other military generals, Guo Tianxu could only be the nominal leader.
And the person you originally defected to was not Zhu Yuanzhang, so you can't prove your loyalty, so you can only grant the marquis.
The remaining marquis, Kang Duo, Zhu Liangzu, Fu Youde, Hu Mei, Han Zheng, Huang Bin, Cao Liangchen, Mei Sizu, and Lu Ju, had no objection to being made a marquis.
They are all generals, some are from the Yuan Dynasty, some are from Chen Youliang, and some are from Zhang Shicheng.
After the founding ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang also specially emphasized: "These are all decided by me personally, and they are the most fair and selfless." "This is obviously three hundred taels of silver here.
You know, the reason why he put Tang He in the marquis's propaganda was that Tang He was thirsty for killing, so if Tang He was thirsty for killing, why could Chang Yuchun be ranked ahead of the duke? But this is normal, if you devote yourself to politics, you may become a victim of politics, this Tang He and Guo Xing must understand, otherwise they would have come out a long time ago.