In 1367, after Zhu Yuanzhang successively eliminated the forces of Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, and Fang Guozhen, his regime was basically stable, and the vast area in the south no longer had any worries. As a talented and strategic king, Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally not willing

1367, Zhu Yuanzhang After successively eliminating the forces of Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, his regime has been basically stable, and the vast area in the south no longer has any worries. As a talented and strategic king, Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally not willing to settle for a corner. As a result, the Northern Expedition was immediately put on the agenda.

In the history of China, there are countless Northern Expeditions from south to north, such as Eastern Jin Dynasty Zuti, Hengwen Northern Expedition, Southern Song Dynasty Longxing Northern Expedition, etc., but there are only a few who can win. Naturally, there are reasons for this: The Yellow River The natural moat and the climate getting colder as we go north, but there are also reasons for the constraints on our strength.

For Zhu Yuanzhang and the regime he established, the significance of this Northern Expedition is self-evident. Therefore, when discussing the strategy of the Northern Expedition, although the vanguard Chang Yuchun proposed to drive straight into Huanglong - Yuan Dadu ; however, Zhu Yuanzhang did not adopt his plan, but instead adopted an extremely prudent combat policy - - First take Shandong, rotate to Henan, and eradicate Tongguan. Then the army points to the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, marches westward, and pacifies Shaanxi and Gansu.

It can be said that compared with Chang Yuchun's complacency, Zhu Yuanzhang fully demonstrated his strategic determination and super analytical ability as a king here. In strategic practice, the correctness of the combat policy formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed proved.

On October 21 of that year, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Xu Da as the general to conquer the captives, Chang Yuchun as the deputy general, and sent 250,000 troops out of the north.

As the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty , Xu Da and Chang Yuchun can be said to be Zhu Yuanzhang's absolute confidants. Zhu Yuanzhang praised Xu Da for " breaking down the barbarians, and he was the first among all ancient and modern people; he was unparalleled in both civil and military talents when he was a general and became a prime minister"; he praised Chang Yuchun: "In light of his pioneering achievements, Yuchun is the best in history." It ranks among the seventh and eighth." and the other two were among the six founding dukes in the early Ming Dynasty (often died suddenly in spring, and their sons were granted titles under their protection).

However, it must be said that although the two of them are brave generals, they are not the same type of generals. Xu Da is better at planning the overall situation and coordinating the army; Chang Yuchun is more suitable for charging troops, whether in ordinary battles or in the Northern Expedition, this is clearly reflected.

Under careful planning and deployment and military generals with civil and military skills; while making progress, Zhu Yuanzhang also specifically warned the soldiers to "never kill and loot" and to unite the Han people .

In this way, the Northern Expedition, which started at the end of October 1367, quickly achieved results. In just four months, the Ming Dynasty captured Shandong. Immediately Xu Da sent his army to the west, splitting his troops into two groups and heading directly towards Henan. Soon Bianliang, Xuzhou, Nanyang and other places were conquered one after another.

After removing the protective arms of Yuan Dynasty , Zhu Yuanzhang even went to Bianliang in person. At this time, facing Xu Da's decision to go straight to Huanglong and attack Yuan Dadu, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that the time had come. After Feng Sheng, He Wenhui, Guo Xing and others were stationed in Bianliang, Luoyang, and Tongguan, Xu Da led his army to approach Dadu.

At this time, the Yuan Dynasty could be said to be in danger. Facing the successive losses of the northern lands, its chief general Wang Li Siqi and others were isolated in the northwest. After the Ming army crossed the Yellow River and captured Hebei and Tongzhou , seeing that the Ming army was unstoppable, Emperor Yuan Shun immediately fled from Jiandemen in Beijing with his prince and concubine, passed Juyongguan and arrived in Kaiping, Shangdu. Seven days after Emperor Yuan Shun fled, Xu Da's army captured mostly Peiping.

This also marked the end of the Yuan Dynasty's rule in the Central Plains. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's plan in advance, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun transferred their troops and marched westward. In response to Feng Sheng, Tang and , Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and others successively conquered it, and the main forces of the Yuan Dynasty, such as Li Siqi and Zhang Sidao, were also wiped out.

In this way, after two years of the Northern Expedition, the Ming Dynasty achieved actual rule over the Central Plains and northwest regions. After pacifying the northwest, the target naturally fell on Kaiping, the capital city. As the saying goes, "one go at once".

Xu Da and Chang Yuchun once again attacked Kaiping. However, Xu Da, as the commander-in-chief during the siege of Kaiping, did not besiege the city on all sides. Instead, he only surrounded the city on three sides, leaving an opening to the north, which could be Escape to the direction of Mongolian grassland .

Such an arrangement of troops naturally allowed Emperor Yuan Shun to escape from Kaiping again after successfully escaping from the capital of Peking. Faced with such a result, Chang Yuchun became furious.

In Chang Yuchun's view, this obviously caused them to miss an excellent opportunity to make a great contribution. But in response to Chang Yuchun's question, Xu Da replied: "Although we are barbarians, we have been emperors of the world for a long time. What more can we do, my lord? Is it possible to split the earth and seal it, and then be willing to do so? Neither can be done" , then it will be solid." ( Feng Menglong " Think Tank Complete Works ")

The meaning is very simple. In Xu Da's view, although Emperor Yuan Shun was a Yidi, he was the successor to Song Shuo after all, and he was orthodox. . If he is caught, how will Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang deal with it? Killing him is obviously inappropriate; fiefdom is even more inappropriate. In this case, letting go is the best option.
As deputy marshal, Chang Yuchun obviously did not agree with Xu Da's approach. In the report after the return, the matter was stated, but Zhu Yuanzhang (Zhu Yuanzhang) was not guilty of Xu Da's "private manipulation of Emperor Shun of Yuan Dynasty".

Why didn’t Zhu Yuanzhang blame Xu Da for letting Emperor Yuanshun go?

In fact, in "History of the Ming Dynasty ", when Zhu Yuanzhang went to Bianliang in person for the Northern Expedition army's attack on Bianliang, there was a record of Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da's discussion about the fate of Emperor Yuan Shun. Zhu Yuanzhang also wanted to release him outside the Great Wall. The interesting point is that as his opponent, Emperor Yuan Shun seemed to understand his intentions. " Yuanshi " also has a record of " knowing that he obeyed destiny and retreated to ".

The deeper issue is about the succession of the Ming Dynasty. To achieve a stable transition of the dynasty, the best strategy is undoubtedly to respect the Yuan Dynasty as the righteous one and inherit its political legacy. This was also Zhu Yuanzhang's rebellion against the Yuan Dynasty. Immediately after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, he had "Although the Yuan Dynasty was a barbarian, it took control of China. Within a hundred years, the population was large and the family was well-off. My grandfather also enjoyed peace... "The reason why is such a slap in the face.

As for Xu Da's indulgent behavior, it was obviously in Zhu Yuanzhang's interests, and it was appropriate not to blame him. Through this incident, we can also see the reason why Xu Da was ranked first among the six founding princes. It was not only his outstanding military achievements, but also his ability to know how to advance and retreat, and understand people's hearts. This is also the reason why Xu Da survived in the Ming Dynasty's vigorous "Cunning rabbit dies, lackey cooks " movement.

reference materials; "History of the Ming Dynasty", "History of the Yuan Dynasty", etc. The pictures are from the Internet, and any infringement will be deleted.