Li Chenggui is the founding monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. Although his father Li Zichun is from Goryeo, he is an official of the Yuan Dynasty, and he also has a Mongolian name called "Wulusibuhua". Li Chenggui was born at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when the world was in chaos. 高丽王朝 took advantage of the weak strength of the Yuan Dynasty, so he coveted the two cities of Liaoyang province on the border of .
Due to the fear of the Yuan Dynasty army, the Goryeo Dynasty had to find a "二五仔" among Yuan Dynasty officials who was willing to "anti-water". This "光荣" task was soon "contracted" by Li Chenggui and his sons, and made the Korean version of "余则成". In 1356, 李成桂父子 cooperated with the Korean army and sold the “former owner” of Yuan Dynasty, and sold it thoroughly.
The father and son sold the "former owner" at a good price. At this time, "My Lusi does not spend", no! It should be Li Zichun who was named Ronglu doctor by his "new owner" in Korea and sentenced to be a supervisor, Shuo Fang Dao, and a soldier. Li Chenggui and his son finally completed a gorgeous turn, and took the first step for the future "great cause".
1. A wishful "expedition" that turned out to be Li Chenggui's "great cause"
Li Chenggui has been familiar with military books since he was a child and is proficient in martial arts. ， Since the age of 25, he has been fighting on the battlefield, putting down the rebellion, expelling Japanese pirates, fighting against the Red Turban army from the Yuan Dynasty, and even defeating Naha, the chief general of the Yuan Dynasty.
In the following two decades of military career, , 李成桂 basically won more with less, with frequent successes, and its military achievements continued to accumulate, and gradually became the Korean regime, A pivotal figure. In 1388, the 53-year-old Li Sung-gye was appointed as the guardian servant (equivalent to deputy minister) and formally entered the power center of the Goryeo Dynasty.
At this time, the Yuan Dynasty, under the double blow of internal strife and peasant uprising, had already sunk in the west, and its vitality was exhausted. The new Central Plains dynasty—Ming Dynasty is slowly rising, gradually replacing the position of Yuan Dynasty in the northeast. At this time, the King of Gaoli thought "stupidly" that , the Ming Dynasty had just been established, and there are still a large number of remnants of the Yuan Dynasty in the north, should take the opportunity to recover the lost land in Liaodong.
Li Chenggui, who has been through the battlefield, has long been keenly aware of . The strength of the Ming Dynasty is definitely not comparable to that of the Korean dynasty. Therefore, he has repeatedly advised the King of Korea. Do not act rashly , But they were all rejected one by one (it seems that King Goryeo was really "ill"!). So in 1388, Goryeo generals Cao Minxiu and Lee Sung-gye led an army to attack Ming.
2. Reject all opinions and promote the "Waihua Island to return to the army", opening a new era
Lee Sung-gye’s “stupid” strategy against the Goryeo Dynasty , There is no way, so I had to lead the army on the expedition. Due to the poverty of Korea's national power, the army was short of food and salary just after crossing the border, causing the whole army to complain. Li Chenggui categorically stopped marching in the face of this unfavorable situation.
Li Chenggui disregarded the opposition of some old officials from Korea and led a large army back to Korea, known in history as "威化岛回军". Li Chenggui led the army day and night, and quickly reached the capital of Kaesong, and wiped out the power minister Cui Ying. Faced with such a "chaotic situation", the King of Korea had no choice but to let Li Chenggui monopolize the .
In the following years, Li Chenggui gradually cut off the power of the Korean royal family, and finally deposed the end of Korea in 1392.On behalf of the king, the Joseon Dynasty was established. Li Chenggui is known as the grandfather of the Korean Li Dynasty. A new era has begun.
3. Actively communicate with the Ming Dynasty, strengthen land distribution and civilians
At the beginning of Li Chenggui's succession, there were a large number of hostile forces of the previous dynasty in the country, and There are also many people in the Pro-Yuan faction in Korea. These people are always ready to cooperate with the Yuan dynasty, which has long lost the dominance of the Central Plains. rule.
In order to consolidate his dominance, Li Chenggui adopted the following two policies :
1, Li Chenggui abandon the previous blindness Loyal to the Yuan Dynasty, hostile to the Ming Dynasty’s foreign policy, and adopt flexible diplomacy when examining the situation, especially after the Ming Dynasty gradually established an absolute dominance in the north, the main move made good relations with the Ming Dynasty and even respected it as North Korea. Overlord.
is not only that, but the country’s title also requested the Ming Dynasty to grant it, making Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang龙心大悦, the special gift is "the bright country of asahi" (in fact, this matter is based on Lao Zhu The level of comrades’ education is simply impossible. This is done by Minister Song Lian). The foreign policy of
provided Li Chenggui with the legitimacy of the power, which greatly consolidated the country’s foundation. At the same time, also greatly attacked the important hostile pro-yuan faction, for the last Eliminating it provides an important legal basis.
2. At the end of the 14th century, due to the frequent civil wars and disasters in North Korea, the people were miserable and class contradictions were extremely sharp. To solve this contradiction, Li Chenggui, vigorously promoted land reform .
He distributed a large amount of land originally from the old nobles to the landless people free of charge, and realized the taxation policy of 轻徭薄伏. This move reaped the hearts of the people, and strengthened the ruling foundation ; at the same time, it also uprooted another hostile force, the old nobleman, and eliminated political enemies, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
Conclusion
Throughout Li Chenggui’s life, although he was not born a famous family, can barely be regarded as a local tyrant, but he With outstanding qualifications, it is not easy for to ascend the throne of the king of a country step by step from a middle and lower-level military commander in this troubled world in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties.
During this period, although there is one kind of history accidental factor , it also reflects that the corruption and incompetence of the Korean ruling class gradually made the inevitable cause of the country out of control element. All in all, Li Chenggui is a rare "lucky guy" in East Asian history (including our "beggar-born" Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang)!
According to the traditional view of history, Li Chenggui’s political career is actually not glorious. The political method he used to replace the Koryo dynasty is a typical "谋朝 USeury ". In the eyes of literati and scholars of the past dynasties, Li Chenggui was an improper "rebellion", and was despised!
However 李成桂 does not rely on violence and terror to consolidate his rule like other usurpers in history (for example, Zhu Wen, who was the back of the five generations of China), but actively adopts flexibility and variety With political skill, the hostile forces were resolved one by one, and at the same time, they strived for the support of the people to consolidate their own rule basis .
李成桂 in its systemDuring the period of governance, a small East Asian country that has experienced war and chaos can achieve national stability and food and clothing for the people in just a few years. During this period, he showed political wisdom and personality charm , and lost to any politician of his time.
Although 李成桂 was in power for only a few years, it laid the foundation for the ruling of the Joseon Dynasty for more than 500 years. He also opened a "good game" for this country that will have a significant influence on the political situation of East Asia in the future, !
