The Sixteen Emperors of the Ming Dynasty

Author: Zhang Yumin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: Zhu Yuanzhang worked as a cowherd for Liu De, merely to have a bowl of rice to eat. At that time, there was a severe drought in the Huai River Basin, and the harvest was poor. After a year of hard labor, the little they earned barely covered their rent, leaving them with almost nothing. The Zhu family had to "mix edible grass with rice to cook." A teenager of his age was ravenous. How could a few bowls of wild vegetable soup ever fill his stomach? Zhu Yuanzhang, starving, would only return to the village when the sun had set. Liu De often criticized him for feeding the animals poorly and scolded him harshly. These hardships made Zhu Yuanzhang develop a deep resentment toward landlords from a young age and recognize that the greed of the landlord class was one of the main reasons for the people's suffering. Later, although he became the protector and highest representative of the landlord class's interests, he still issued warnings to the landlords to alleviate social conflicts: "As your ruler, I have established laws and regulations to ensure the wealthy can preserve their wealth and the poor can sustain their lives. You must abide by your duties and the law, for only by doing so can you protect yourselves. Do not bully the weak, do not swallow the poor, do not oppress the small, and do not deceive the elderly." He also issued clear orders to restrict and crack down on those "who bully the common people and act arbitrarily in the village."
The Legend of Dragon's Rise and Benevolence records that one day, Zhu Yuanzhang, along with fellow cowherds Zhou Dexing, Tang He, and Xu Da, was herding cattle. It was not yet evening, but the few bowls of wild vegetable soup in their stomachs had long been digested, leaving them hungry. Everyone said how nice it would be to have a hearty meal of greasy meat like Liu De's. Inspired, Zhu Yuanzhang volunteered to lead Liu De's young water buffalo out and kill it with a few cuts. Zhou Dexing gathered firewood to start a fire, while Tang He and Xu Da helped Zhu Yuanzhang skin the buffalo. Soon, the young water buffalo had become roasted beef. Everyone ate their fill, but only after wiping the grease from their mouths did they worry about how to explain to Liu De that they had eaten his cow.