Zhu Yuanzhang (Full Two Volumes)

Author: Zhu Sujin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the court was corrupt, and rebel armies rose in various regions, plunging the country into chaos. On a mountain, Zhu Zhoubai climbed up a large stone, with a group of cowherd children shouting at him. He gave orders to the children: "I—Emperor Zhu—will reward each of you with a big cake if I ever ascend the throne!" At that moment, his parents had already starved to death at home. To bury his parents, Zhu Zhoubai entered a temple as a monk. A month later, he traveled around, begging along the way. One day, he escaped death at the hands of the Yuan army but was captured by a peasant rebel army and sentenced to death as a spy. In despair, he was saved by a girl.
As a newcomer to the rebel army, Zhu Zhoubai adapted quickly to the battlefield, achieving numerous remarkable feats and earning the deep favor of the leader, Guo Zixing. Guo Zixing not only married his adopted daughter, Ma Xiuying, to him but also gave him an official name—Zhu Yuanzhang. "Zhu" means the beginning of time, and "Yuanzhang" () refers to jade, which is a symbol of state power. From then on, a man named Zhu Yuanzhang stepped onto the stage of Chinese history, performing a series of dramatic and tumultuous events.
He was meticulous in his thinking, gathering talented generals like Xu Da and Tang He around him, while treating scholars like Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen with great respect. In the Battle of Poyang Lake, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated his formidable enemy, Chen Youliang, with fewer troops and overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, establishing the Ming Dynasty. He implemented reforms, severely punished corrupt officials, and created new governance laws, reviving the nation swiftly. However, to secure the stability of the Zhu family's realm, he unleashed mass executions.
His only true love and the woman he revered, Ma Xiuying, passed away. The crown prince he had painstakingly raised, Zhu Biao, suddenly died, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang grief-stricken. In the end, he too followed the setting sun as he departed from life.